Emergency call outs and expert carpentry in the South Hams: meet SB Carpentry and Roofing

Having trained as both a carpenter and a roofer, Shane at SB Carpentry and Roofing offers high quality skills and a unique attention to detail when it comes to carpentry and roofing work at your home. from emergency call outs in the winter to renovations in the spring…

How did the business start?

I had always been employed by companies throughout my career, but when I moved to the South Hams I wanted to take the opportunity to work for myself and set myself the challenge of running my own business. The result was S BOYS Carpentry and Roofing, which has since become SB Carpentry and Roofing, getting a new logo this year to emphasise the growing company as it develops.

What did you do before running your own company?

I have worked in carpentry and roofing since I was an apprentice. I went into carpentry first and then I worked for a very large roofing firm for a number of years, developing more and more skills until I was confident enough to go out on my own. I started the business at the beginning of 2019, and everything since then has been about word of mouth and it’s been growing very well with work flowing from one job to another.

Have you always been in the South Hams?

I have lived in and around Plymouth for most of my life but I moved to Kingsbridge two years ago. I still have work in the Plymouth area but we’re increasingly established in the South Hams now.

What exactly do you do?

We work mostly on domestic properties, doing all the carpentry through first and second fix in developments including both finishing work as well as the structural side of the building. For example, that includes kitchens, stud work, trusses, skirting and architraves. So if a customer wants a skylight fitted and there’s a rafter in the way, I can take that out and strengthen it up.

On the roofing side, we can do all slate and tiling work, it’s mainly pitch work but we can also do flat roofs as well. As a result of my carpentry background, I think the attention to detail we’re able to offer is much higher than normal, and if I am there doing work in the roof and see a problem, I will look to fix it where a lot of roofers would arrange to get a carpenter to come in separately.

We can also do more general building work, but we specialise in carpentry and roofing.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’ve just finished a big job in Kingston replacing lead valleys, felt batten and slating the whole of the roof, which took a month. We always have emergency call outs to attend to, especially with the recent storms where quite a few people have had tiles come off leaving holes in their roofs. So we have been running around getting people back in the dry as quickly as possible, especially over the weekends. It’s important we get to them quickly to prevent bigger problems developing inside the house. I really enjoy that work because knowing you’ve helped someone is really satisfying.

What are you looking forward to over the coming months?

The emergency call outs continue to dominate at this time of year, so that keeps me busy. There are a lot of big companies around, but often they don’t tend to take on the smaller jobs and repairs. So we’re able to help there, but also take on projects of all sizes as well.

At the moment I work on my own, but if I need extra help then I have a network that I can call on. I am looking forward to getting to the point where I can take on an apprentice and bring other people into the team.

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