Meet Andy and Mark – the yin and yang of Portsmouth-based building company, Turnquay Construction Ltd. Why yin and yang? “We complement each other really well,” Andy says. “It wasn’t always the case; we annoyed the hell out of each other in the first six months working together until we realised, we were both checking the other one’s work and there was no need. Now we have this great balance; probably because our skills overlap so we each play to our strengths, and we have got each other’s backs.”
Mark continues with a smile: “I’m the brain and Andy’s the brawn,” although in fact it’s Mark with the more academic background and a degree in quantity surveying, who is often found doing the paperwork. But but he has also done his time laying floors, while Andy started off as an apprentice carpenter before becoming an assistant site manager and working his way up. He still loves to get stuck in and get his hands dirty as often as he can.
So, what are Turnquay all about? They describe themselves as ‘the perfect middle ground’ between a large commercial contractor and a small general builder because they have the professional approach of one and the hands-on skills of the other. Plus, they can tackle both kinds of jobs and everything in between.
They recently won a tender to build an extension to a cricket pavilion as part of a government contract, partly due to their reputation for planning ahead, dotting the I’s and crossing the Ts. And this is something they do for every client, Andy says. “We won’t ask the client for a decision on something by next week, we’ll provide a schedule that sets out in advance when we need a decision about something, like choosing a roof light or deciding what a style of doors they want.”
Although Turnquay is a relatively young company with just three years under their belt, the pair have known each other for almost a decade and worked together years ago at the same construction company. They were happily doing their own thing until an architect they knew made contact and asked if they could recommend a good company to handle a particular-sized job. Realising that between them they had the optimum skills and were the perfect fit and just days later Turnquay was born.
Andy said: “Over the next few months we sometimes worked 100-hour weeks. We built the company up, using subcontractors whose work we already knew and trusted from previous jobs, and many of them are still working with us today. In fact, some are retiring we’ve known them that long!” The fact that Turnquay works with tradespeople they’ve known for years, explains in part why the company has a slick operation and a five-star reputation. They say that it’s important to them to have people they can trust. When a storm blew the temporary roof coverings off an extension last year, they called the roofer who abandoned his Saturday night dinner to drive 40 miles and fix it in two hours with his torch between his teeth.
Mark and Andy’s dream jobs are building bespoke houses, but as these don’t come along that often I ask them what’s the next best thing? The answer is building extensions and working on remodelling projects to transform people’s homes. At which point we’ll let the photos do the talking.
