Hiring Tradesmen

KRS291

I am planning on getting some work done, which requires a few tradesmen. I've not hired anyone before and I don't happen to know anyone in the area that has had work done.

I am planning hiring a painter/decorated for pretty much the entire house, a joiner to lay wood flooring and an electrician for some other minor work.

My question is: should I have the tradesmen sign a contract prior to commencing work? What sort of portion of payment is typical for paying up front?

Also, should I pay on credit card so that if there are problems, I can get assistance? I do, then pay the bill off the next month, will I still have this recourse?

Any other tips or experiences in hiring trades people?

cattie

Unless you are having a big job done & using a builder who supplies/contracts all trades, then I doubt most trades people, especially if sole traders will want to tie themselves into a contract as it won't be something that they are used to

I've recently had my place pretty comprehensively refurbished & I must confess to having used the people concerned before, apart from the decorator who is a relative of somebody I know.

I always offer to pay for any materials they may need to go & buy up front if necessary once they have started work. Otherwise everything is paid for on completion of the job & receipts supplied for any materials bought.

You'd have to be using a big building company to be able to pay via credit/debit card. Sole traders/small businesses won't have card facilities for payment.

You need to work out the way the tradesperson wants paying. I always ask before the job is completed whether they would prefer cash or cheque. Quite often I've found it will be a mixture of both, perhaps materials money in cash & the rest via cheque.

Look after your tradespeople with plenty of cups of tea & cake & buscuits & let them have a bit of music to work by & with luck, everything will go smoothly.

trailingspouse

I've never had a contract with any of the trades I've had in to work on the house, apart from the electrician (and that was a full re-wire, £7000 + VAT).

Most now accept BACS payments, and I would be wary of employing anyone who would accept only cash. And I would never use anyone who offered to do it cheaper for cash - if they're cutting corners with their own business, chances are they're going to cut corners with my house!! Also, I've never paid upfront for any of the work, apart from a deposit to the aforementioned electricians.

Most people would suggest that you go on recommendations, but a) what someone else thinks is a good job might not be up to your standard b) if, like me, you've just moved into an area, you don't have anyone to ask!!

I just googled what I wanted, then started making phone calls. Got three people from each trade to come and do a quote - this was really just a way for me to meet them and decide if I liked them. I knew there would be much more work than the one room I was asking them about!!

In the end I've found a basic list of tradespeople that I call on regularly as work in the house progresses. But I've still never been able to find a painter I thought was any good, and finding a joiner is a bit of a nightmare (the jobs we need doing seem to be too small for a joiner, and too complicated for a handyman).

MonsieurFrugal

I see a lot of people getting / asking for work done on these facebook for sale groups. Might be worth a try.

pollypenny

If you go for someone through a pesto all recommendation you should not have trouble.

We've got a decorator in at the moment, an ex-pupil on mine, and he's does loads of work for his former teachers.

(Did sweet FA in school, mind you).