Cooke & Charman Limited Reviews

After using Cooke & Charman for an extension in 2020 which we were delighted with, we went to their sister company Charles Ashley for a new kitchen. From the design to installation to snagging I couldn’t fault them. The product is superb and nothing was too much trouble. The cleanest & tidiest builders I have ever worked with too which means a lot when you are living where the work is. They are probably not the cheapest but definitely the best and worth every penny more than going to your bog standard retail park kitchen suppliers. 5+ stars.

We've recenty completed an 8 month project with Cooke and Charman for a double extension with extensive internal work on a new home and we are absolutely delighted with the end result! The quality of their workmanship is outstanding and given the scale of the project C&C must be commended for not compromising on this while still completing the work to schedule - virtually unheard of with building projects, especially ones of this size. Following a strong referral from friends, a big reason we chose C&C was the reassurance having a large team behind them would bring. I can't overstate how often we felt the benefit of this with the depth and breadth of the C&C team meaning we always felt in experienced hands across various types of work. It also meant that any developments that came up always felt very much in hand with nothing that was too much for the C&C team. Charlie and Ash were always friendly and great to deal with and have put together a truly exceptional team. They are an incredibly helpful, friendly group all of whom clearly take pride in the work that they do. It's very much a case of treating our home as if it was their own and the small touches were evident every time we visited them on site. Our main point of contact has been Sean who has been fantastic throughout - regularly keeping us updated, coorindating across the C&C team and also genuinely investing his energy to see our project a success. The wider team are also fantastic and though we don't remember everyone's name we met, a huge thanks again to Mark, LP, ground workers Adam & Mike, carpenters Paul & Michael, electricians Dan & George, the fantastic plumbing team Gary & Jack, tiler Paul, flooring team Byron/Jack/Sam/Kyle (and a few more whose names I can't remember!), decorators Peter, Mickey & Jamie and the every helpful Barry. Having since completed the project we're also impressed and pleased to see that the after care on has been exceptional. Thank you to C&C for helping us realise our dream home and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend or use the C&C team again!

I haven’t used Cooke and Charman for any building work, but if their work reflects the kindness of their employees, I’d highly recommend them. One of their team members went out of his way to help me when my car battery died and I was stranded in Crawley, he even drove to get jump leads and got my car starting again! If this is the level of care they bring to their work, you’re in good hands. Thank you again!

Beautiful window seat to make the most of my beautiful bay window. The workmanship is excellent and the work was done quickly with no mess. Delighted with it!

After receiving planning approval, we began searching for a builder in the spring of 2023. Although we found plenty of options, none quite matched what we were looking for. A friend recommended we reach out to Cooke and Charman, and we're glad we did. You often hear horror stories about builders underquoting and then increasing costs once work begins. However, from our initial enquiry to the completion of the build, Cooke and Charman were proactive and transparent. Knowing the project would be extensive, we purchased a caravan to live in while work was ongoing. When it arrived, we needed help positioning it onsite, and Cooke and Charman didn’t hesitate—they assisted us immediately. Throughout the build, we met various team members, from carpenters to electricians to painters. Every individual was professional, polite, and their work was of exceptional quality. One of Cooke and Charman's standout strengths is the size and expertise of their team. If any issue arose, the right person was onsite quickly to address it, keeping the project on track. Our primary point of contact was Dan, who regularly visited the site to ensure progress stayed on schedule. He was always available to answer questions and keep us updated. Dan, you were fantastic—thank you! We also requested several additional projects, including a new roof. Each time, the team provided clear quotes and completed the work seamlessly. During the renovations, we decided to install a new kitchen. Cooke and Charman collaborate with Hacker, a German kitchen brand. After visiting their London showroom with Dan and comparing options with Howdens and another local company, we found Hacker's quality superior and the pricing more competitive. We moved back into our renovated home in September 2024 and couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Would we recommend Cooke and Charman? Absolutely—100%! They are a fantastic company, and we are thrilled with both the process and the results. If you’re looking for a builder, give Cooke and Charman a call!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I recently hired Cooke and Charman, to knock down a wall between my kitchen and lounge/dining area, fit a new kitchen, completely renovate the space, and install a media unit—and I couldn’t be happier with the results! The work was carried out to an exceptionally high standard, with incredible care and attention to detail. The team was fantastic at communicating throughout the project. I was kept involved at every stage and appreciated their timely advice, which really helped bring everything together perfectly. They stuck to the agreed timeframe and budget, which made the whole process smooth and stress-free. It was clear that they genuinely cared about the project and took pride in their work. I’m absolutely thrilled with the end result—it’s everything I hoped for and more. I highly recommend Cooke and Charman to anyone looking for quality workmanship and a professional, reliable team!

This is the second time we have used Cooke and Charman for our house renovation project. Ash, Charlie and all of their team are extremely professional, knowledgeable and easy to work with. Their workmanship is second to none - they completed my daughter's disabled wet room to a very high standard and we are really happy with the extension, utility and driveway they also did. I would highly recommend them 👌

Excellent company who done a fantastic job on my kitchen. Charlie has an excellent eye for detail and designed the layout perfectly. Les and Jim and Bailey who carried out the installation were polite professional and courteous from start to finish. I Can not recommend Cooke and Charman enough and will be using again very soon.

We highly recommend Cooke & Charman as our chosen contractor for high end domestic projects. Its gives us great peace of mind to be able to leave them with our valued customers to produce the high end homes that we expect. We have a had a successful partnership for a number of years which continues to strengthen and grow. Ellisdon Architectural Associates

We chose Cooke & Charman for a 3 month project to replace a large conservatory with a new “garden room” and to build a new utility room at the back of our garage. The project was completed on time and on budget (any extra costs were due to us changing spec and agreed in advance) and we are absolutely thrilled with the end result. More importantly, the whole project has been like a dream and I do not say this lightly, having lived through 2 major building projects, one that ran like clockwork and the other that turned into a total nightmare – definitely “buyer beware” when selecting builders and we thought we’d done all the due diligence needed then, but still had our fingers burnt. So, we approached this project 17 years later, with extreme trepidation and a good dose of realism and the team at Cooke & Charman exceeded our expectations. Every single person who came on site has been a professional - polite, hard-working and “on it” – so many different skillsets needed and an impressive number of people on site over the course of the project, and every single person has been a craftsman, taking pride in the job, whatever their role and respectful of our property. Sean, managing the project, has given us great confidence at every stage and the back office team have also been brilliant. It’s a measure of how competent the team has been that we have not had that much contact with Charlie & Ashley but they have always been available and responsive when we’ve had any queries. We couldn’t praise the team more highly and we would recommend Cooke & Charman to anybody.

From the moment we met with Charlie, we knew we wanted to work with Cooke & Charman. And we weren’t wrong. C&C expertly guided us through from design to completion of a two storey side extension and a large single wrap around (with many other alterations to the original part of the house). We didn’t want to move out for various reasons, and nothing was ever any trouble. We truly felt they listened, and delivered. The most important aspect for us was finding people we trusted, and who were perfectionists in their work. From Charlie, Ash, Martin and Sean to their incredible carpenters, we couldn’t fault them. Nothing was ever a problem and they always went the extra mile. We can actually say with confidence this build went well, and that we found the whole process calm and enjoyable! Also worth noting, we used their kitchen company too (Charles Ashley Kitchens) and that was pretty wow! Thanks C&C

I had my internal doors replaced from Cooke and Charman, over the moon really happy with the service, first initial contact was with Charlie who was great talking me through everything and setting a date. On the day Craig and Kerian came to fit the doors they was brilliant kept me updated with what was happening. i have seen their work before at a friends. Thinking of booking a job with them ?? Book book book !!! You won’t be disappointed. Will defiantly be booking again. Have some more projects to do. Thank you so much.

We can’t recommend Cooke and Charman enough. They had just finished our extension and we couldn’t be happier with the result. The whole team that worked on the project were friendly, helpful, and the quality of work is excellent. They were more than happy to accommodate any tweaks and last minute extras, and the whole project was perfectly managed from start to finish, making the process stress free. I would recommend Cooke and Charman and will defiantly be using them again for any future projects.

We chose Cooke & Charman for our one-storey rear extension project based on their local reputation and the quality of their previous projects. Their quote was the most comprehensive, with realistic broken-down estimates inclusive of all the details often overlooked. We decided to also include an update to our bathroom, a refresh to the hallway and cloakroom space and the full landscaping of the rear garden; including a large porcelain patio, drainage and raised planters. We also chose Cooke & Charman’s own brand Charles Ashley Kitchens to supply the new kitchen. Before the project started Charlie helped us review the architect’s plans, providing advice to reduce unnecessary cost and suggest improvements to our ideas which was really helpful as we are not construction experts. The entire project was managed by Cooke & Charman meaning all we had to do was make decisions on finishes and enjoy our new space once it was complete. The costs quoted were exactly what we paid, following an agreed payment schedule for a complete end to end job. Cooke & Charman’s approach to transparent and accurate up-front costs with no surprises was both refreshing and enabled us to maximise our budget without the stress of managing increasing costs along the way. From day one until completion, Charlie and Ashley were always available when we needed them, overseeing the project and communicating with us both on site and via a project Whatsapp group chat which was really helpful. Cooke & Charman are unique in my experience, in that literally any question or new requirement is always met with a positive, can-do response. Not once was anything ever a problem, whoever in the team you spoke to. We were constantly assured that they had everything under control and any issue would be quickly resolved. In fact, this approach meant that in the end there were surprisingly no snagging issues as nothing was left unresolved at the time. As expected, over the course of the project we had many different members of the team on site daily. Essentially, there’s someone in your home working around your family life, every day for best part of 4 months, which could be really awkward. With Cooke & Charman it was genuinely a pleasure. The brickies, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, decorators… every single member of the team, was professional, polite, friendly and always considerate. Without fail they would arrive on time in the morning and leave the site very tidy at the end of the day. The team were also great at contributing design ideas or suggesting better ways of doing something. Charlie and Ashley ensured everything was well planned in advance. We experienced zero delays with labour or materials arriving on site including the big components like steels, windows, bifold doors, flooring, kitchen units and worktops, etc all arriving on time. Working with clearly carefully selected, reliable, local suppliers, the project ran smoothly to the timescales communicated which was impressive and really helpful to plan family life around. It’s unbelievable to think the entire project was completed in little over 12 weeks! And at the end care was taken to leave us 100% satisfied with the work, even including professionally cleaning the driveway. The end result is beyond our expectations and has literally transformed the way we use our home. We now have a stunning open plan living space for cooking, dining and socialising. The quality of the Charles Ashley kitchen units and finishing touches like the quartz worktop, bifolds and LED feature lighting have provided us with a beautiful family space we love to spend time in. Our experience with Cooke & Charman has been first class from start to finish. Charlie, Ashley and the whole team have been a pleasure to deal with. We would not hesitate to use them again for any future building projects and can’t recommend them highly enough to others.

Charlie & Ashley gave us great confidence that we could achieve our spec, within budget and to a high standard. They were working in a difficult time, where supplies and manpower were often affected but still managed to provide good communication and quality service. We were one of the first customers to install a Blossom Avenue kitchen which is superb quality and finish. The design of a bespoke seating and cupboard space has been widely praised and is truly unique. We cannot speak highly enough of the professionalism of all the staff involved in our project.

Having just recently finished our single storey rear extension, I can not speak highly enough of Cooke & Charman. From the initial meeting with Charlie, right the way through to completion, they were a joy to work with. Charlie, Ash, Les & Tim were professional, personable and their quality of workmanship was second to none. They took the stress away from us, organised all trades and ensured everything was completed in a timely manner to the highest of standards. We can safely say without hesitation we would highly recommend Cooke & Charman. Thank you both and all your team for turning our vision into reality.

Cooke and Charman were recommended to us by our architect and we are very happy that he did. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have to build our kitchen extension with downstairs cloak room and utility room. They were professional from start to finish, offering good advice and ideas we hadn't even thought of. They really do go the extra mile. We are delighted with our new kitchen and can't recommend Cooke and Charman highly enough. Will definitely be using them again in the future!

I have used Ashley Charman for some time from when a friend recommended him to do some electrical work for me and haven't looked back since. He has a wide ranging capability from heavy cable works to the other end of the scale sorting out IT and internet issues too. When he joined forces with Charlie it enabled them to offer so much more and a brilliant team was born. Charlie's eye for detail clearly came through when they fitted a staircase for me, with it being fitted and removed a number of times until Charlie was totally satisfied that it was completely right. I continue to use them now , in fact we have electrical work being done this week, so I have no hesitation in recommending them.

Charlie and Ash provide a top quality service when it comes to house renovations. When others told us what we wanted to do was too tricky or complicated, Charlie and Ash simply said ' No worries, we'll get it done." Cooke and Charman have helped us to reinstate an annex back to our main property by refitting two stair cases and knocking through to re-join the space back to the main property. They also fitted our utility room with units supplied from Howdens and have delivered fantastic results. All of their work was delivered on time and has really helped us to utilise space in our home which previously unusable. They are a well organised business and provide a high quality service with impeccable finish. We have been so pleased with the work completed that we've got them coming back to help us transform another room. We couldn't rate them more highly!

We recently completed a full refurbishment of the downstairs of our home with Cooke and Charman. Not only did they meet our expectations set they also went above and beyond to exceed them. From the start of our design process through construction and follow-up, Cooke and Charman showed off their professionalism, expertise, customer service, and true passion for their business. It is clear that their true purpose is to ensure their client’s complete satisfaction, and each and every individual – from Charlie Cooke and Ashley Charman(Co owners) to their designers and own highly skilled contractors and office staff –have put in the time, effort, and energy to ensure that they accomplish this goal. Cooke and Charman have excellent project management, ensuring a successful project. They very clearly outlined expectations for budget and timeline, and worked with us to adjust and fine-tune both as needed. Ultimately, our project was completed on budget and on time (give or take a few additional days for final touch ups). The weekly meetings during construction are very organised and efficient, including agendas sent in advance to ensure alignment on open topics/issues. Cooke and Charman also partners very well with any sub-contractors needed to ensure that the same level of professionalism and work ethic is provided, regardless who is completing the work. If any questions or issues arise, Cooke and Charman goes above and beyond to ensure they are addressed immediately, even coming by our house after hours to ensure that we were happy with the work and to answer any questions that we may have. Minor issues were treated with a very impressive sense of urgency. Not only are we extremely pleased with the final result of our refurbishment, but we are also excited to have found a reputable, respectable, trustworthy company to partner with again in the future. The team at Cooke and Charman quickly becomes more than a construction partner; they become trusted friends who you know have your best interests at heart. We would recommend Cooke and Charman to any one. Thank you so much Charlie, Ashley and all at Cooke and all Charman at Cooke and all at Cooke and Charman. Terry and Lorraine