TRISH Nuttall is a woman in a man’s world.
But dealing with burly builders and trudging across muddy construction sites is all part of the job for Trish – who came to the building industry almost by accident and now runs Huddersfield-based Jo Simon Homes with her husband, Simon.
The business, based at the couple’s spacious Edgerton home, specialises in renovating houses and schools – dealing with all aspects of the project from design and costings to sourcing materials, fixtures and fittings and supplying the labour to get the work done.
Trish, who hails from Manchester, was brought up in Birkby and attended St Patrick’s Junior School and St Gregory’s Grammar School before studying on an art foundation course at Huddersfield Polytechnic.
She got a job with Grahams builders’ merchants in Huddersfield selling architectural ironmongery and garage doors – and discovered she enjoyed the buzz of the construction industry.
“It suited me because everything was fast-paced with deadlines to meet and quick decisions to make,” she recalls.
Trish went on to work for a number of other companies. At one Leicester firm providing bespoke staircases and balustrades, Trish built up her department working for builders such as Mowlem and Laing.
“I enjoyed attending site meetings and working with surveyors and site managers,” she says.
About four years ago, Trish went part-time her in job while launching her own business.
She says: “I was almost 50 and it was a bit of a risk because at that age you don’t have too many years’ earning power left!
“My husband had retired from the police force and we decided to give it a go. About a year later, I was able to give up my job and focus on this.”
Trish recalls: “It all started when someone we know wanted to buy a new house at Netherton, but missed out. They asked us if they bought another house, would we re-model it?
“Other people saw the results and said they wanted work doing on their homes. It just snowballed from there.”
As well as private houses, Jo Simon Homes works in the public sector on schools – fitting suspended ceilings and air conditioning systems, installing soft-surface play areas and even creating a “willow walk”.
Trish now has 20 years’ experience in the building industry and thrives on tackling major projects and “thrashing out technical details” on site.
Being a woman in the industry is a positive advantage, she feels.
“It is usually the lady of the house who instigates the work and drives it forward,” she says.
“They can sometimes find it daunting to deal with a man. They think their questions will be thought silly or they will be given a lot of technical terms they don’t understand.”
Trish recalls the patronising attitude of some men when she began work. “I turned up at one firm to be greeted with: ‘Ay up love, are Grahams sending out girls, now?
“Today, if women turn up on site with a hard hat, hi-visibility jacket and safety boots and show they have a professional manner, attitudes are much more positive.”
Trish said she was keen to see more young women go into construction, but would not favour special treatment for them.
She also believes that when it comes to physical strength, women cannot compete in lugging around bricks or heavy radiators.
However, she says women have other strengths – such as persistence, good communication skills and the ability to work in a team without their egos getting in the way.
Trish is also aware that the traditional image of the builder – drinking endless cups of tea while getting very little work done – needs to be dispelled.
She says she takes great pains to ensure clients are happy with the cost and details of each project before work begins – and that there are no nasty hidden extra costs.
She also aims to make sure that if a job is scheduled to take six weeks, Jo Simon Homes will do it in four.
”We have a start date and a finish date, but I always like to finish before that,” says Trish.
“Working on period houses will always throw up problems you weren’t expecting. We monitor progress as we go along and if necessary we will ‘throw’ more people onto the project to tackle it.”
The company has its own in-house architect and draws on a trusted team of trades people who share a commitment to quality and hard work.
Jo Simon Homes is a member of the Federation of Master Builders, which also provides a good measure of reassurance for its clients.
The firm’s details are posted on the FMB website at www.fmb.org.uk
Trish played squash to county level before a persistent leg injury persuaded to her to quit. Now she keeps fit at the gym and by “power walking”.
Trish and Simon also enjoy meals out and spending time at family gatherings with their “fabulous” mums, mothers-in-law and other relatives.
She is also a huge fan of her adopted home town, saying: “Huddersfield has everything. It has quality buildings, scenery and remains a wealthy town.”
Trish finds herself too busy with work for much free time – but gets huge satisfaction from walking into a house after completing a project and seeing the finished product.
“You want your home to be a haven,” she says. “We aim to make sure it is just right for our clients.
“It is very satisfying to create something that pleases people.”
