Recommended tradesmen

Doozergirl

phil24_7 wrote: »

A damp proof course will unlikely work on a 200 year old property.

If moisture is getting in it is likely for other reasons. 1 is the external render and the internal plaster being redone in modern cement/gypsum based products rather than lime. Another reason could be high ground levels outside/ground sloping towards the house. my recommendation is to look at how and where the damp is getting into the house and treat that, not the symptom of 'rising' damp!

Agree.

A house doesn't stand for 200 years perfectly well and then suddenly need a damp proof course. You stand to do more damage than good!

There will be a reason the water ingress. Find it and solve it.

jakemillspaek

Check your local paper and google.

27col

SuzieSue wrote: »

Have you actually started a thread on Streetlife asking for roofer etc and you didn't get any answers?

Yes!. That is what you should be doing.

Mocha61

Hi, we asked on our local streetlife for a builder, the builder who replyed lived in same street, using him was a big mistake, after 25 years as a builder he was unaware of building regulation and carried out work whick left the house in a dangerous state, the local council have taken him to court for endangering lives and he was given a fine by the courts. Although these sites are good just be careful, choosing the wrong person is extremely costly and worrying.

jakemillspaek

These sites are NO guarantee of decent workman.

dominoman

jakemillspaek wrote: »

These sites are NO guarantee of decent workman.

Nor is asking for recommendations.

Some of these sites, including checkatrade, work off reviews. Just like Tripadvisor, there are fake reviews and some of the best tradesmen aren't listed at all, but if you know nobody it is still better than nothing.

Always research the job first, get three quotes, ask plenty of questions, and if it is anything major ensure you see examples of completed work in person. Any red flags, walk away.

SuzieSue

jakemillspaek wrote: »

These sites are NO guarantee of decent workman.

Unfortunately, in the UK, there is no way to guarantee decent workmen as the building trade is totally unregulated. Even organizations like the Federation of Master Builders aren't a guarantee any more.

The couple in the following article did more checks than most people would do when they engaged a builder but it didn't help them:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3015425/A-suburban-nightmare-just-wanted-builder-create-little-extra-space-followed-rules-happened-child-blood.html