Cavetto Construction Hampshire Limited

"Mark Hawkins proved himself to be a consistently unprofessional, not trustworthy builder. He was recommended to us by our architect which still makes me angry. We would never have used or heard of Mark Hawkins otherwise. Mark Hawkins never misses a chance to save money for himself at the detriment of the customer. As other clients have said, working with Mark Hawkins was a complete ordeal. He is disorganised, makes promises he cannot keep and pretends he cares about customers. He cares about saving himself money and not the quality of the work delivered. We were quoted 15-18 weeks for our renovation. This turned into 31 weeks (we added on some work which would have added 3-4 weeks). The prolonged snagging took another 3 weeks. So 34 weeks in total. There was no communication and we were regularly asked by his team what needed doing next as they hadn’t been told. He delayed work for months due to asbestos, then proceeded to send his workers round with just masks on to rip it out, leaving it lying around outside our home. The stress he caused was astonishing. He didn’t provide proof of official testing or disposal. He lied and charged for it anyway. As the customer we had to monitor what was happening and point out things that had been missed regularly. Mark Hawkins tries to do as much of the work himself to save himself money and save sub contracting to expensive professionals who actually know what they’re doing. The architect plans were looked at the beginning of the build and never again. We chose to stay living in our home during the build which made things difficult for us and for them, however, there was no consideration throughout the whole process that this was our home and it should be treated as such. There was no consideration for the fact that we lived without vital services for many, many weeks more than we should’ve done. The pace of the whole build was painfully slow; some weeks would go by when nothing was actually achieved. Mark would make promises about products being delivered or things being done and these were never carried out. We were never informed when there was no one on site. The only thing that was a constant and we learned to expect was an invoice to arrive on a regular basis expecting payment which we did as we just want to get it over with as quickly as humanly possible. We even received an invoice from Mark when he was on a two week holiday and during this time barely any work was done, as when the boss is away not much gets achieved. We would never recommend Mark Hawkins company as a builder for any project. He takes no responsibility for mistakes he makes and will blame you as the customer. We disputed the final bill as we were overcharged for services not delivered and materials not used. Prices were inflated in order that he could make it appear that he done us a favour in other areas of the work. So he then threatened to send in debt collectors, after he has added to the bill of course. What a reasonable man he is! His boys came to our house once they found out about the dispute as Mark had told them he wasn’t paying them which was extremely intimidating. Guarantees were promised and withheld. We’re still waiting for replacement windows promised seven months ago. We had to dig out drains ourselves on the last day to satisfy the building inspector as this hadn’t been done despite it being one of the first things on the architect’s list. The whole experience was a complete ordeal. What started as an exciting project turned into one of the most stressful and upsetting seven months of our lives. It didn’t have to be like that but unfortunately working with Mark Hawkins was a truly negative experience."

"If i could give zero stars I would. This company has done a truly shoddy job on a substantial extension to our business premises, and before anywhere near finishing ( being already over double the promised project time) , having made countless broken promises, walked off site leaving our business premises in a terrible state. I want to warn others, so I outline a glimpse of the worst of our experiences, with us discovering new problems almost daily. Having caused 3 damaging floods to the building and on every occasion leaving our staff to mitigate, Cavetto workmen abandoned the project with many defects including live wires hanging out of the walls and ceiling, and water coming through a new wall. Having gone to Australia for 3 weeks, the owner promised he would be on site daily to work himself to start to remedy the situation. Then, one hour before he was due to arrive, he messaged us asking for a £30,000 unscheduled payment. He never attended and his workers just came to collect their tools. Cavetto also failed to apply for necessary licences from the council such that they have threatened enforcement action against us and they have left council land damaged with paviours sunken and flower beds ruined. The owner Mark barely ever visited the site and didn’t manage his team. Work was chaotic, ineffective and slow/non existent, and often had to be repeated due to errors. One flood was caused by their electrician cutting through a central heating pipe, another where their plumber cut through a water pipe. The third flood was due to the roofer leaving the building for the night with the roof open during a storm. they had installed flooring and doors which we had paid for before the walls were finished – these were then damaged/warped in the floods. The door frames were not compliant with fire safety regulations nor was the cabling for the hard-wired smoke alarm. Cavetto Building Services left us with live wires hanging out of the walls and ceilings, water coming through a large wall downstairs, little in the way of sanitation and almost nothing working or finished. Expensive external doors and other items have been paid for by us, but never supplied by Cavetto. The damp proof course has been wrongly installed at the outside ground level and there is only one downpipe for the large new roof, which was never agreed with Building Control as required under contract. Neither skylight has been installed to regulations, and we have no idea where the rainwater goes to the blind side of the building, but this could be the reason water is coming in through a wall on that side. Even the two halves of the building don't match, there is a 4.5cm deficiency between the new floors and existing on both floors. giving a significant step with no adequate remedy available. All bathrooms should have been fitted with water resistant plasterboard but the floods soon revealed this is standard plasterboard. Everything was filthy and new radiators (which are not even straight on the wall) are absolutely full of debris and dust which we cannot remove. Some windows won’t open and others won’t shut. We repeatedly asked for the certification/qualifications of the electrician that attended – but this was never supplied. He was utterly incompetent, he drilled holes all over the place for lights, light switches and power points all in the wrong places (not to the plan), then cut again going through the pipes mentioned above in the process. The wiring is a total catastrophe, and it is going to cost at least £1,500 just to get it tested to work out what has, and has not been done correctly. We haven't been paid for the contracted over-run costs which now run to thousands of pounds, failed to supply many items we paid for, and damaged many others which need replacing. The overall quality of work is appalling with new problems being discovered all the time. Mr Hawkins made many, many promises that he never delivered. He ignored virtually all communications, until he was asking for money! DO NOT BE CONNED BY THIS MAN"

"We hired Mark to carry out building works on our property and the experience has been nothing short of disastrous. From the outset, the project was plagued by constant delays. Deadlines came and went, promises were made and broken, and what should have been a straightforward job dragged on for over 13 months, making our lives a misery throughout. Key issues we experienced include: • Repeated dishonesty about progress and his team’s whereabouts – we were continually told work was happening when it simply wasn’t. • Poor workmanship that required multiple attempts to put right, often leaving us with substandard finishes. • Overcharging and invoicing errors – on more than one occasion he failed to deduct sums we had already paid from his invoices, forcing us to challenge the accounts. • Charging for works not done – for example, we later discovered that we had been billed for insulation between floors which was never actually installed. • False assurances around materials – most recently, he told us a bespoke door had been ordered through a joinery firm, only for us to confirm with them directly that no such order had ever been placed. When challenged, he changed his story rather than provide proof. This pattern of behaviour amounts to lies, broken promises, and negligence at almost every stage of the build. What should have been an exciting project turned into a prolonged ordeal. I would strongly caution anyone considering working with Mark to think very carefully before proceeding. In our experience, he has shown a complete lack of professionalism, integrity, and basic competence."

"Mark at Cavetto Construction is outstanding. His deep knowledge and breadth of experience across a wide range of building projects—large and small, simple and complex—really sets him apart. He’s saved me both significant time and money through his insight and practical advice. I’d highly recommend him to anyone looking for a trustworthy and capable professional in the construction field."

"I recently contracted Cavetto Building Services to convert my garage into a photography studio, and I could not be more thrilled with the results. Led by Mark, the team has created a space that feels like a natural extension of my home, executed with a polished and professional finish. Cavetto Building Services were exceptional in their work approach. They were friendly, reliable, and made me feel comfortable throughout the project. Impressively, the project was delivered within the agreed budget, and timelines were meticulously respected. What made a significant impact on me was the team's willingness to go the extra mile. They attended to every detail with maximum precision and enthusiasm, exemplifying that nothing was too much to handle. I found their commitment to deliver the best service truly reassuring and it was reflective of their professional attitude. Having had such a remarkable experience, I am extremely happy with the outcome and I would wholeheartedly recommend Cavetto Building Services to anyone looking for professional building services. They are definitely my go-to team for any future home projects! Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5"