having builders in - what to do

bs0u0128

having never had builders in before, do we buy things and they fit? eg bathroom, etc or can we ask them to get things for us and fit that way after choosing? whats the best way moneywise? also do u only pay once work is complete? and/or pay for any items u want when they buy them?

robnye

first - the builders should have supplied a quote for the required work. any extras will be charged on top of that......
secondly - most builders will require payment as you go, you could even agree stages, with the final payment being made once you are happy with their work
we had the loft converted 2 years ago, the builders supplied a breakdown of what would and wouldnt be covered, as the work continued, any extra bits we where informed or asked about , then we received a summarised list at the end, we paid in 5 stages (including final payment) spread throughout the 5 weeks the worrk took to complete,

talk to the builders.......... any decent/reasonable builder will be only to happy to chat about your concerns

ariba10

And make plenty of Tea/Coffee.

lyla

ariba10 wrote:

And make plenty of Tea/Coffee.

we are having builders in for the first time soon too. Do you usually give them access to the kitchen so they can make drinks while you are out? or do they normally wait until you are there to make them the drinks? ( i have 2 big dogs that live in the kitchen so im abit worried they might not like lots of strange men walking into the kitchen when im not there)

sorry i know this is a fairly trivial problem but any experience welcome.

nelly_2

Keep the dogs out of the way. Sharp tools and wet plaster etc and stupid dogs dont mix that well

back to the original question.

Get at least 3 quotes. Ask them for references, dont feel doing this is rude simply say - "look we have all heard about cowboys so I want to be sure as Im assume you would in my position."

Any decent builder would be more than happy to offer references.

Let them get the materials for a couple of reasons

A - They know wheres best to get them from
B - They can probably get them cheaper than you, most builders merchants offer trade disscounts not available to the public (an example is HSS plant hire offer up to 60% off for big customers)

Tell them from the outset that stage payments are ok but you ALLWAYS want to be on the right side ...ie you never pay for anything up-front.
And that the finall payment will be on satisfactory completion of everything.

I dont know what your intending on having done, but in building, starting one thing has a habit of leading to something else needing to be done, Ive seen it a million times. And guess what?............ its never cheaper.

Tell them, for anything that crops up or any 'extras' you want consulting by phone as they happen, with an exact quote for the added expense.

Ive seen jobs go up in price by thousands because of un-forseeable things like plubming and electrics had to be re-routed to acomadate a new wall etc.

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before_hollywood

if you know someone who has had similar done, its always best to speak to them and make sure everything was done to standard, we had our roof done last year, neighbours were all done by the worst firm in history, we knew someone who knew someone and got a better job done loads cheaper!!!!
in the end one of the neighbours that hadn't been done took the same guy on and was made up with the job too

robnye

lyla wrote:

we are having builders in for the first time soon too. Do you usually give them access to the kitchen so they can make drinks while you are out? or do they normally wait until you are there to make them the drinks? ( i have 2 big dogs that live in the kitchen so im abit worried they might not like lots of strange men walking into the kitchen when im not there)

sorry i know this is a fairly trivial problem but any experience welcome.

you can, i have heard of it....... otherwise make the tea/coffee for them......
beware, some disapear for breakfast around 10ish........