Choosing a Builder - what due diligence?

keith969

Sorry I must be misunderstanding something here...

Maybe general building work is different to kitchens/bathrooms etc. As all of those I have had done have been paid in full on completion, not 95% or whatever, and not before completion.

EssexExile

keith969 wrote: »

Sorry I must be misunderstanding something here...

Maybe general building work is different to kitchens/bathrooms etc. As all of those I have had done have been paid in full on completion, not 95% or whatever, and not before completion.

There has to be a bit of trust, you trust the builder to do the work & the builder trusts you to pay for it. But no one has that much trust so for a big job you pay in stages as agreed at the outset. That way no one is ever owing anyone too much. A builder is not going to build a £100,000 extension in the hope that you pay up eventually.

Doozergirl

keith969 wrote: »

Sorry I must be misunderstanding something here...

Maybe general building work is different to kitchens/bathrooms etc. As all of those I have had done have been paid in full on completion, not 95% or whatever, and not before completion.

My current project budget is £491,000. Should I ask my client to pay us at the end or can I keep my own house?

As EssexExile says, there needs to be trust in a job and it goes both ways. Your plasterer and kitchen fitters were willing to *trust you* and extend you a small line of credit. That trust only goes so far and that is why stage payments exist.

There is just as much trust, if not more, extended by tradespeople to clients. It helps to bear that in mind.

Risteard

Absolutely. If you don't want to pay a penny until completion then forget getting any work done because no sane person will entertain your ludicrous notions.

EssexExile

Risteard wrote: »

Absolutely. If you don't want to pay a penny until completion then forget getting any work done because no sane person will entertain your ludicrous notions.

I wouldn't put it quite like that. I've found most tradesmen are happy to be paid at the end for jobs like rewires, new kitchen, double glazing etc. For a big job though stage payments are the norm.

keith969

Doozergirl wrote: »

My current project budget is £491,000. Should I ask my client to pay us at the end or can I keep my own house?

Ah I see. That sort of figure is clearly staged payment territory.

The work I've had which is sub-5K is perhaps different. None of the tradesmen have asked for payment up front (not that I'm averse to that, especially if the materials cost is high).

As said its all about trust. I try to use local tradesmen and so far it's worked well.