Simon Jacob, Director of D & S Carpentry Southern, had a desire to build a company where everyone goes home happy at the end of the day. Having built up a solid reputation as a carpenter over some 16 years, he worked as a Principle Contractor on high-level refurbishment and new build projects for private and commercial companies throughout London and the South East. His experience includes working on English Heritage salvage projects in Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian buildings.
He wanted to create a business that provided a stable income and enjoyable work for his team, so he set up D & S Carpentry Southern in 2018 with his equally experienced business partner Danny Robinson and hasn’t looked back.
The carpentry company based at the Portsmouth Technopole have completed some great projects. Simon’s favourite to date was building a one-off bespoke, five-bedroom house in Caterham, it was my first opportunity to dig a storey underground and fully waterproof it, we installed a cinema room and guest annexe into the basement area with some rather swish smart home control systems. We carried out the complete build in 12 months.
His advice to others wanting to start in the industry is:
“Be brave in your decision making, never doubt yourself, trust your instinct and always be honest with yourself and others.”
He values having a team around him that can keep smiling and focused even when projects are complex and challenging. They pride themselves on customer care and quality management.
Simon’s plans for the future, include growing the business and one-day cycling through Italy with his family.