so. HOW do you find a builder?

martinthebandit

Leif wrote: »

Not sure I accept that, for reasons in earlier posts. Your original post also sounds a bit like mummy and daddy telling darling child to be good because Santa Claus only visits good children.

In practice of course it is a two way exchange.

Santa Claus? bless

In reality think of it more like your credit worthiness, if you have poor credit history the only people willing to take you on are the more cowboy end of the banking system.

If you have a poor reputation as a customer the only people who will generally willng to work for you will be towards the more cowboy end of the trades.

Gurj247

going back to the OP's original question...

Yulka1974 wrote: »

since "mybuilder" & co is not all god
and I do not have anyone who can recommend a builder
how I could find a trusted builder?
not the one who just "money-money-money!!" or "tea-tea-tea! and biscuits!"

As with many people I would go with reccomendations.
But you need to be clear about what you actually want, what are your requirements.

For Example
New bathroom
Have you selected a bathrooom suite
Would you want a shower added if so what type
What do you want on the walls? tileing all around or around bath?
Flooring - tiles, lino, carpet etc...

You need a clear idea of what you want before you even contact a builder from any trade.

I would then provide the same "Scope of works" to the builder and then get atleast 3 quotes (although i personally try to get 5 for all jobs).

Aslo request evidence of previous work, ideally somewhere you can visit so can speak to the other person to (although this will not always be possible)

Simple thing is that on forums etc you always hear about the bad builders, car dealers, painters etc etc rarely do you hear the positives.

busy_mom wrote: »

Offering my advice, I rang the local council and spoke to the building inspectors there. they came out free of charge and discussed my ideas. they then put me in touch with various people to do my plans and they also gave me a list of good builders with whom they inspect their work on a regular basis.

The builder I eventually chose, after all the quotes, was excellent, no issues at all and even the few issues I have had since with patio doors, a phone call and he is always there the very next day and sorts everything.
I did have to wait a few months before he could fit my job in but certainly worth it.

This is a very good route to do, i know that i will eventually be looking to carry out some work on a property that my father has, so may well take this route.

You then in theory have the council to go back to if there are any difficulties, where they could possibly act as mediators.

Leif

martinthebandit wrote: »

Santa Claus? bless

In reality think of it more like your credit worthiness, if you have poor credit history the only people willing to take you on are the more cowboy end of the banking system.

If you have a poor reputation as a customer the only people who will generally willng to work for you will be towards the more cowboy end of the trades.

I'm not sure where you get this idea from, but as I said, the trades I used had not even heard of each other, let alone spent time communicating. In truth there are so many trades, and so many customers, that what you suggest is not feasible. Credit rating scores work by electronic data sharing between shops, banks etc.

Leif

Gurj247 wrote: »

As with many people I would go with reccomendations.
But you need to be clear about what you actually want, what are your requirements.

For Example
New bathroom
Have you selected a bathrooom suite
Would you want a shower added if so what type
What do you want on the walls? tileing all around or around bath?
Flooring - tiles, lino, carpet etc...

You need a clear idea of what you want before you even contact a builder from any trade.

You make a very good point.

However, the problem for the householder is that more often than not they do not understand the details of the proposed work, and it is left to the trade to do that. I have chatted to colleagues, and they only gave rough specs for their bathrooms e.g. suite in same place, walls tiled, using white ceramic tiles chosen by client, taps as chosen by client. It was left to the trade to decide to install a new radiator and tell the client to choose and buy one, chase pipes into the walls etc. But, I would second your advice. Try and find out. Do you want a new radiator? Should pipes be chased into the wall, before tiling, or simply boxed in? However, there are details that only an installer will know, and a good one should either do it the good way, or discuss beforehand with the client.

Really this is about good communication by the trade. I say trade, rather than client, on the grounds that the trade does this for their living, and so it is their responsibility for managing the work, and ensuring that the client is well informed, and communications are good to avoid trouble. A good trade should assume the client is an ignoramus, who needs hand holding through the process. And that includes a proper written quote, with details spelled out, so as to avoid disagreement, and protect the trade as well as the client.

Oh, and from experience I would say never ever accept the trade's suggestion that it is far better to talk face to face or on the phone rather than by email or letter, or if you do, then make sure you get written summaries of any agreed work. I made that mistake, and it makes life difficult if you get into a dispute. Some trades prefer verbal agreements, as it protects them i.e. there is little or no comeback if they do not do what you agreed.

Leif

NakedService wrote: »

leave a recommendation on ############.co.uk !

Whilst your post is clearly spam, and hence contrary to the T&C here, could you explain what your site does? What is the business model? Do trades and businesses sign up, and pay you a fee, or is it simply a place for the public to post reviews?

I have not marked your post as spam on the grounds that if it is a genuine review site - not funded by businesses - then it might well be of great value.

Chris55_2

I have marked all the posts by N****S****** as spam as they have spammed several threads with the same message.

Antoine1

Hi dude.
When i am making my house then i has need for a builder and i find out the
builder from internet and get his number you should also take help from the internet

cyclonebri1

martinthebandit wrote: »

So you don't think tradesmen talk to each other? Trust me, if there is even a hint that your an awkward customer or, even worse, a bad payer, you will never see a good tradesman.

Ok so we have 1 builder, a plasterer, a plumber and a sparky, that's 4.

How many customers do they serve??

I'll give you a clue, it's probably near 500 between then, now does your argument stand up????

Leif

More feedback about CheckATrade from forum members:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2791140

Yulka1974

Fed_Up_Tradesman wrote: »

Dunno.

How do you find a good customer ?

Not the ones who just scream "cheap", "cheap", "cheap" then go crying on internet forums when the job is rubbish.

Tis a conundrum to be sure ...
.

so.
quotes are in.
one assumes a regular PVCu rear door would cost almost £1000 and I would need 2 3m RSJ for it.