If you are carrying out a property project which requires the help of a builder, you need to spend time and potentially money securing the right builder to help you.
| The biggest mistake people make when employing a builder is going with the cheapest, going with the one who can start next week, the builder who doesn’t charge VAT or worse will work for cash. Typically if you find a builder that does all these things, they will charge you up front for the work, either do a bad job or just run off with your cash, so it’s really not worth falling for them. | XXX |  |
Ideally a builder should take up to a week or two to quote for the job you want. They wouldn’t be able to start earlier than 6-8 weeks and they would never ask for cash or money up front. These builders may have big enough businesses that they have to, by law, charge VAT. Although that means the job will cost around 20% more than someone who doesn’t, it also means they are more likely to do a good job and if any mistakes are made put them right.
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XXX | When choosing a builder, always get three quotes, always make sure they break down the labour and materials charge and ideally have a contract drawn up between you. If the builder doesn’t, you can find free contracts to use on the Federation of Master Builders website.
Agree a payment schedule and things like who buys the materials. Don’t be offended if they want to buy the materials as if they are a good builder, they will want quality materials to work with – and they are really better placed than you to know what will do a |
Finally, agree what happens in advance if the builder doesn’t turn up or doesn’t do the job to your satisfaction.
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