About and team
A small firm, on purpose.
Jess Hollis and Tom Rowe started Hollis & Rowe in 2014 with one rule: the client should always know what they are paying for. Twelve years on we are nine people, one workshop and about eight jobs a year.
Most building jobs go wrong in the gap between the price and the work. A figure gets agreed, things change on site, and nobody writes the change down until the final bill.
So we write everything down. The price is itemised before we start. Every change is priced and signed before it is built. And every Friday you get a report with the photos, the progress and the money, from week one to handover.
We keep the firm small so that the person who prices your job is the person who answers your call. We take on about eight projects a year, all within fifteen miles of St Albans.
Founded
On the books
Jobs a year
Joinery
The team
Who is on your job.
Four people you will meet. The trades on site are people we have worked with for years, and Samuel names them in your report.
Director · Project lead
Jess Hollis
Jess does every site visit and prices every job herself. She trained as a quantity surveyor, ran sites for a regional builder for nine years and started Hollis & Rowe with Tom in 2014 so that clients would always know what they were paying for.
Takes your calls
Director · Design
Tom Rowe
Tom draws our design and build schemes and takes them through planning and building control. When an architect draws the job, he is the one who checks every drawing can be built for the number we agreed.
Draws your scheme
Site manager
Samuel Okafor
Samuel is on site every working day. He runs the trades, keeps the programme and writes the Friday report: the photos, what got done, what is next and anything we need you to decide.
On site daily
Head of joinery
Graham Dyer
Graham runs our workshop. His team makes the kitchens, stairs, doors and oak frames we fit, so the joinery on your job is priced, made and fitted by the same people.
In the workshop
How we choose jobs
We say no more often than yes.
Within fifteen miles
Close enough that Jess can be on site within half an hour, any day of the build.
One job per site manager
Samuel runs one site at a time. When he is busy, we give you a later start date rather than a thinner service.
A price before planning
If we cannot price the drawings, we say so before you spend money on planning.
Book a site visit.
An hour at your house with Jess and a cost range before she leaves. Free.