Retired Builder Geoff Stanton chooses PHCS for insulation project

May 2011 Park Home & Holiday Caravan Magazine

Park Home People - sponsored by Park Home Chassis Services

In this series of people profiles, we put park people under the spotlight. This month we talk to Geoff Stanton, who lives on Tregainlands Park near Bodmin, Cornwall, with his wife Ann.

Geoff Stanton is a man who knows his way round property and the building trade.  In his early years he ‘served his time’ as an apprentice joiner in Bedford, which he says gave him a really good all-round grounding in the building trade in addition to the more formal distinction of a City & Guilds Higher National Certificate. His pay at the time was about £8-10 a week, hard to imagine now, but I’m sure it was a tidy sum back then for a job well done. 

Following that in 1960 he was offered a job as a trainee foreman but wanted to gain more experience in the building and housing trade and in particular working on dry wall linings in traditional and timber framed housing, which he did for a couple of years together with a work mate.  He then formed two limited companies with another colleague and after subcontracting for a year or so they began to become quite successful in their own right, winning contracts direct.  They built that up for a few years and despite having several other workers on board Geoff says he always liked to work out in the field, not behind a desk.  He said; “I’m a hands on person and I like to know who I’m working with. When you get a team used to working together it can be really good, timing is important and you have to work round each other and get on well – several workers on one job can sometimes involve a bit of technical wizardry so it pays to stay closely involved with projects.”

Geoff’s enthusiasm for working direct on projects himself soon came to the fore again in his next change. In 1980 he moved to Cornwall originally intending to stay for a year, building five houses with another colleague.  He also built himself a house and automatically started to make connections with local firms there, putting down a new set of roots, which meant he didn’t actually return to Bedford as intended.  He picked up new contracts in timber frame and dry lining from several large Cornish building firms.  He also met his second wife and in the early nineties, deciding on a change from the building trade, they ran a small guest house in Truro together.  They retired in 2006 and decided to downsize to a park home, releasing equity so they didn’t have to rely on pensions too much. Geoff says; “Ann lived in a pre-fab home after the war and was really happy there. Many of them exceeded expectations so in some ways the concept is not very different to living in a modern-day park home, although they’ve naturally evolved quite a bit. That’s why we knew they’d be a good potential option.”

They looked at several sites and decided on Tregainlands, situated between Wadebridge and Bodmin.  Geoff says it’s a very well-run, happy and friendly environment and he sees great potential for further growth in the park home industry in the future as more people start to understand the benefits.  “For us it meant we could comfortably afford a home in a lovely area because the prices for traditional property tend to be off the scale a bit here. There’s so much to do locally that we go out all the time to places like Padstow, Perranporth and Newquay. It’s a great lifestyle.”

As a builder, maintenance is high on Geoff’s agenda. In 2010 they prioritised on the insulation of the home and he says that the chassis is just as important. In 2011 they contacted Park Home Chassis Services who removed traces of rust and corrosion from the chassis steelwork and then recoated it all with rust inhibitor paint, and added additional new adjustable tripod support stands. PHCS also insulated the underside of the home at the same time with insulation boarding and their special polyurethane expanded foam system, to help keep down heating costs further.  He said; “They did a very difficult job to a very high standard. For me it was well worth the money to get them to do it as it’s an awkward job. It won’t take us long to get our money back and we’ve noticed a difference in warmth already.”  He’s a strong advocate of having the chassis checked anyway every 10 years and of having extra insulation added if needed. “It not only pays you back in reduced heating costs but it also gives you peace of mind that your home is ok, and you’ll have the paperwork if you every want to sell – it shows you’ve maintained your home well and that’s always something buyers look for.”

In a nutshell :

• Geoff knows his way round construction, insulation and building processes, took a keen interest in the work as it progressed and was impressed with the job done
• He is a strong advocate of adding extra insulation if possible, and regular checks on the condition of the chassis
• If you want to stay in an expensive area but need to release equity to help with everyday living costs, downsizing to a park home can make that possible
• Don’t forget that your chassis may need more regular checks if you life near the coast, as the steelwork and supports have an increased susceptibility to corrosion when exposed to sea air.