Great ‘builders/decorators/handymen insider tips’ Hunt

MSE_Martin

Calling all builders, decorators and handymen - I want your top insider tips on how to save money when doing up or repairing your home.

What should people look for when hiring workmen? Are there any jobs we should do ourselves? How can you pick up materials more cheaply? Is there anything else we should know?

Please post below to share your expertise.

marybishop

Can I just make the point re 'hiring workmen'. Don't simply rely on adverts in say Yellow Pages. If a trader claims to be a member of a professional body please check it out by phoning that body direct. Anyone can put an advert in YP or similar and claim to be members of all sorts of things - it doesn't mean they're legit.

Canucklehead

Good afternoon: My top tips ...
1. Always get at least three written quotes before getting anyone in
2. For gas work always check the engineer's credentials at
https://www.trustcorgi.com
3.If you are looking for a plumber a good starting point is https://www.plumbers.org.uk
4. Ask friends, family colleagues to recommend a tradesperson.
5. If you want to know more about bathroom installations visit http://www.bathroom-association.org/training/guides.asp
6. For more info on gas central heating specification and installation requirements check http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/uploads/documents/housingbuildings/ce30.pdf
7. Always ensure your tradesperson can and does issue Building Regs certificates for gas and electrical work.

The bottom line is...getting it done right the first time is the key to moneysaving...educate yourself! Ask questions on MSE but include specific detail about your DIY issues as it helps save time and gives the pros (and experienced DIYers) enough to help you along.

HTH

Canucklehead

Volcano

Buy one of those big, thick DIY books by Collins or Reader's Digest. A bit like a Haynes manual for your car it will pay for itself with the first job you do. Even if you don't do the work yourself it will show you how others should be doing it!

Also as they show you the job in detail, you can decide whether you can manage the job yourself or leave it to an expert.

weekendwarrior

Volcano wrote: »

Buy one of those big, thick DIY books by Collins or Reader's Digest. A bit like a Haynes manual for your car it will pay for itself with the first job you do. Even if you don't do the work yourself it will show you how others should be doing it!

Also as they show you the job in detail, you can decide whether you can manage the job yourself or leave it to an expert.

The diy book is dead! I suppose they will still be purchased by people who will buy them for Christmas presents, buy spending money buying a book is hardly saving money. You can get all the DIY information that you need here-

DIY Help

There is also support in the forum for when you get stuck Try ringing the publishers of the DIY books and asking them for a bit of advice

nickj_2

always go for a recommendation from friends / neighbors etc
there's no such thing as a cheap job , you either get the job done well at a reasonable price that you're prepared to pay or the job done badly at a cheaper price .

Snazbaz

I have been married to a self-employed painter & decorator for many years and have learned the following:

- Get your decorator to buy your paint for you - he/she can get a trade discount, and even if he whacks a bit on for his trouble, it more often than not still works out cheaper than buying from DIY stores.

- Also beware 'special bathroom/kitchen paints' sold in DIY stores. A water based paint (such as vinyl silk and soft-sheen) will do just the same job.

- Customers often pick colours from well known paint brands thinking they are better quality. Some of these brands are £10 a 2 1/2 litre tin more than the equivalent colour in a cheaper brand, which can be just as good.

- Get a price for the whole job rather than asking the rate charged per day. Decorator A might quote £x a day but take twice as long than decorator B - who charges more a day, but due to having more experience/expertise, works much more quickly than decorator A (and decorator B therefore ends up costing you less).

- Get a personal recommendation from a friend, there are plenty of cowboys out there claiming to be painters & decorators. My husband had to serve an apprenticeship with a firm, and go on day release to college to do his City & Guilds for 3 years to become qualified. Paints = lots of chemicals - there's more to this decorating lark than you might think!

- Surprisingly, the painting & decorating City & Guilds qualification includes glazing (not the plastic windows sort)! It does not include plastering, tiling, carpentry, or building.

- Prices in winter are often lower than a decorator's busiest time, which is in the spring and summer. There is usually a rush on for inside work just before Christmas (for all those friends and relatives coming to stay.)

- Often professional decorators only do outside work in the summer. This is not because they are sensitive creatures who don't like the cold - it's just not a good idea to try and paint outside when it's misty, damp or dewy, which it is most of the time in the autumn and winter - in these conditions the paint can peel off after the decorator has left the job.

- Get at least 3 estimates (at the full price for the whole job), and book your decorator early. The best decorators are often booked months ahead (especially in the summer) and should offer you a free estimate.

- If your wallpaper is expensive, in the long run it's probably worth paying a professional decorator to hang it for you. And if you are buying it yourself, check you have bought enough and that your batch numbers match!

- Let the decorator do the preparation work for you - when my husband has gone to jobs where the customer has done the prep, it is usually not up to professional standards. That tiny bump can look like a massive lump under pale wallpaper.

- Dark paints don't stand up to direct sunshine as well as paler colours.

- And finally, don't forget that tradespeople are doing a physical job all day long so cups of tea, coffee or other refreshments are very welcome, especially when it's a hot day!

misgrace

<- Surprisingly, the painting & decorating City & Guilds qualification includes glazing (not the plastic windows sort)! It does not include plastering, tiling, carpentry, or building.>


I go along with that, I had to glaze a window as part of my C&G test, never glazed one since.
Also, the reason I am a very clean worker is cause the man who tested me said if I hadnt have cleared my bits of paper when I was doing the papering test as I went along he would have failed me:eek:



<- Also beware 'special bathroom/kitchen paints' sold in DIY stores. A water based paint (such as vinyl silk and soft-sheen) will do just the same job. >


Again I go along with that:D as the properties in bathroom and kitchen paint are very similar if not the same as in silk or soft sheen.

I too did an apprenticship, and was sent out on jobs to learn the trade, but TBH, I learned more from the 'old boys' than I did in my lessons.


-
< Let the decorator do the preparation work for you - when my husband has gone to jobs where the customer has done the prep, it is usually not up to professional standards. That tiny bump can look like a massive lump under pale wallpaper.>


Ditto again, as much as the client says they will strip and do the prep to save money, and I can understand thier reasoning,but when I have gone in I have spent half a day going over the bits they missed, or the great lumps of filler that they put on with a shovel lol.

HugoSP

There are a number of good tips here. I cannot disagree with any of them.

A few of my own though.

If you're serious about DIY but lack the skills there are several short courses available at your local College of Further Education.

I would second the suggestion of the Collins DIY manual, especially as WH Smiths were selling them at £5! Despite technological advances - it's still easier to take a book to the job rather than a desktop PC connected to the internet

When you need materials shop around. Go to the builder's merchants, DIY stores, mail order etc. It's not a given that one will be cheaper than the other.

I started a thread on this some time ago:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=378247

Broadly speaking this covers the following:

1 - sourcing of materials
2 - reusing materials and fittings
3 - weighing up the costs of DIY to getting someone in. Sometimes the latter works out cheaper!
4 - Waste management. I use this prase as management of waste is important not only for the environment but also to save money. Filling a skip with rubble is usually much cheaper than filling the same skip with mixed rubbish, as the waste companies have to sort through it.
5 - Scrap metal. Copper, lead and aluminium removed as waste are atually worth quite a bit at the scrap merchant. Although the steel and iron is not worth much it pays to take this at the same time. A cast iron bath weighs in for around £7. I have weighed a copper HW cylinder in for £40!
6 - Purchase of tools as opposed to hiring - cost based decisions
7 - Dealing with advice. How to assess advice as good or bad. Bad advice can cost a lot of money!

It's also important to make sure you have all the necessary LA approvals for your large projects, as well as consent etc from English Heratige etc. Another thread can be found here.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=449677.

Finally, some stuff on Eco Friendly Property Renovation. Saving the planet can save you money as well.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=197219&highlight=money+saving+on+property+renovation

I'm sorry that this is a parade of threads that I started. However there are some brilliant contributions from other MSE members. I feel that they should keep the credit for those and it saves me having to retype it all here

I hope you find these useful.

hollyblue

HugoSP wrote: »

I would second the suggestion of the Collins DIY manual, especially as WH Smiths were selling them at £5!

I bought one of these last week, was £25 now £5. As a mere woman who only uses a paint brush to dust awkward small places - it was invaluable for understanding how the job is done.

That way when the builder comes round and starts spouting technical jargon I know what he means - I'm sure when they see a glazed look the price goes up!

loftykitchens

I'm a carpenter living and working in Poole in Dorset and get all of my work through recommendation.I ask my customers to write a reference after each job just to say how happy they are. I keep all of these letters in a portfolio to show new customers and this really reassures and them and swings the jobs my way. This also saves a fortune in advertising. Of course. You do need to be good , but i would always ask for current references if i was employing a stranger. Hope this helps .
Steve Loftus