Peter is the founder and owner of his own construction company in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. He has been building and restoring both residential and commercial properties there since 1977. Prior to that time, Peter acquired a hands-on appreciation for the building trades during the years he spent in Vermont as a young man. He cut and hauled timber from a Vermont forest, delivered it to a sawmill for processing, and then crafted his own post and beam two-story structure, making it his primary residence during his years in Vermont.
Once Peter began building homes in the Berkshires, people who liked his work started referring him for other building projects. His reputation and his business grew despite multiple downturns in the home-building market. Peter has always avoided soliciting work through advertising, relying entirely on word of mouth to stay in business. It has been only since November of 2017 - quite recently given Peter's long career - that his projects have been showcased online at peterwhiteheadbuilder.com.
Homes built by Peter have appeared in a variety of publications including Berkshire Living, UK Homes and Gardens, and Interior Design Magazine as well is in the 2015 Tom Kundig book called Tom Kundig: Works. It is Peter’s belief that best results are achieved through a careful collaboration between client, architect, and builder.
Peter has cycled in the Pan Mass Challenge since 2010, raising more than $35,000 for cancer research. At this time, he serves on the Board of a local organization called Greenagers, whose mission it is to provide outdoor jobs for Berkshire youth in farming, agriculture, and conservation. He has served on the building committee for the Southern Berkshire Regional Community Center, as well as the Feasibility Committee researching the possibility of renovating existing school buildings for the Berkshire Hills Regional School District. Peter is a longtime Business Friend of Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Our experiences with Peter - who built two houses for us on our property in Becket - were wonderful beyond our wildest expectations. Think of a category to evaluate a builder and Peter gets the highest marks in each. In those areas that typically worry first time home builders like us - timeliness, cost overruns, continued on-site attention to the project, ability to hire and work with the best subcontractors, honesty - we were continuously gratified. He and our architect worked together like old friends, which they were. For our money there’s no better builder, nor finer person, than Peter. We recommend him without reservation to anyone needing a builder.
Robert and Mary
Becket MA
For 25 years we have loved living in our home built by Peter and his superb crew. It is our second Peter Whitehead house, and we dearly wish we could build a third one with him . . . It is a mark of Peter’s character that he has remained attentive to us and always prompt to help with the few small issues that have arisen over all these years.
Georgeanne and Jean
Glendale MA
Peter D. Whitehead Builder, LLC
128 Alford Road - P.O. Box 236
Great Barrington, MA 01230 (413) 528-3185
