Bathroom renovation booked in - now what

Hannimal

I have booked a builder/plumber to supply and fit my bathroom. I found him through another tradesman who has worked in my house and been brilliant and this builder has done a small job in my garden to a good standard already. I trust him and he has been thorough so far, he has gone through the design with me carefully and been much more attentive to what I want than others I've gotten quotes through. He gets his supply from a local bathroom shop who did the final design. The overall cost for the bathroom revamp including materials is quoted at around £4000, which seems like a fair price for a small bathroom in my location. He is asking for 35% upfront prior to work commencing to cover materials. Rest to be paid on completion. He is free to do the work next month.

I am a natural worrier and now I have looked him up online. He has a Facebook page for his business but not much other presence. The FB page overall looks good with 3 reviews and pictures of a couple of bathrooms he has installed. I am incredibly anxious about handing over the money before the job starts. I had a nightmare experience with a local company that were meant to do my bathroom but then never showed up - I had paid them more than 50% in deposit. They did refund me but it has left me quite worried. I trust this guy but it's a lot of money.

What steps should I take before I pay and finalise this? What should I ask him for? I have an e-mail where he outlines the basic terms but that's it. 

GDB2222

I suppose that one solution is for you to buy the stuff, rather than him.

Hannimal

This might be stupid but do I not need like insurance or something for this? Check his qualifications in some way? How?

clueless_but_curious

Ask him for materials list and buy it yourself, or pay him via paypal/credit if supplied with an invoice detailing it is a fee for commencement quoting the finished job price.
If you feel you can sue him against the invoice he provides in the event of him not showing, pay it and relax

Hannimal

I have received the detailed list of materials from the supply company directly but the builder gets a discount hence he'd order it. The price quoted to me was much higher than what he pays. I could ask if there was a way for me to order from the company direct. We haven't spoken about it yet in much detailed. I have an email from him and then we agreed on a start date and the terms in the email verbally over the phone.

This is the email I have

Remove old suite and dispose of all rubbish

supply and fit of new suite which includes bath, shower screen, shower mixer, taps, vanity unit (customer to supply sink) sink taps, w/c, tiles for walls (as chosen by customer and customer is supplying floor tiles which are to be laid by me)
All building and plumbing materials supplied

As with all works what is required and quoted for could change dependant on any unforseen and unplanned for issues. If any issues do arise I will speak to you in the first instance to decide a best way forward.

The total price for the work stated above is £3860

If you do decide to go ahead with the works please note I will require a deposit from you in order for me to place a deposit on the new suite. This is usually around 35% of the total cost and will be required a week before the work is scheduled to begin.

EssexExile

Don't buy the materials yourself. If he supplies and fits he is responsible for everything, if you supply the materials he could blame any problems on your materials, making it your responsibility to put it right.

Doozergirl

Hannimal said:

I have received the detailed list of materials from the supply company directly but the builder gets a discount hence he'd order it. The price quoted to me was much higher than what he pays. I could ask if there was a way for me to order from the company direct. We haven't spoken about it yet in much detailed. I have an email from him and then we agreed on a start date and the terms in the email verbally over the phone.

This is the email I have

Remove old suite and dispose of all rubbish

supply and fit of new suite which includes bath, shower screen, shower mixer, taps, vanity unit (customer to supply sink) sink taps, w/c, tiles for walls (as chosen by customer and customer is supplying floor tiles which are to be laid by me)
All building and plumbing materials supplied

As with all works what is required and quoted for could change dependant on any unforseen and unplanned for issues. If any issues do arise I will speak to you in the first instance to decide a best way forward.

The total price for the work stated above is £3860

If you do decide to go ahead with the works please note I will require a deposit from you in order for me to place a deposit on the new suite. This is usually around 35% of the total cost and will be required a week before the work is scheduled to begin.

Would you PM me with the previous work you've seen if you don't want to share it on here.  Also, your materials list?  Obviously you'll get more input if you put it on here.  You could always remove it after a 2/3 hours...  

My concerns are the fact that he does garden work, asking for money up front means even more homework, but also there's no mention of the building work that has to happen before fitting anything in order for it to be a properly comprehensive job. It IS a building project, not a tinkering.  

Hannimal

I've sent you a DM as I don't really want to put it here in case it affects his business. I believe him to be an honest and genuine tradesman and I've no reason to believe otherwise, I am just not wanting to be naive about this as it is a considerable amount of money and I've bad experience from before.

What is the anticipated building work? There is another email that verifies that this quote includes building an alcove, and yet another that includes a screenshot of the materials list from the supplier. The replacement of the bathroom is pretty much like-for-like.

Hannimal

The work in the garden was bricklaying, not gardening. If that changes anything.

TELLIT01

KeithSussex said:

Most trades people have a credit facility (account)  with their supplier, so no need for customer to stump up for materials before work starts.

Some sort of bespoke contract is often used, to protect both parties   

Getting work done 

Some will have credit facilities but by no means all.  When we had our kitchen done, our builder specified all the materials and put the order in place but I actually made the payment to the supplier direct (via credit card).  Speaking to the supplier, they said this is a common way for smaller businesses to work in order to stay below the VAT threshold.

Undervalued

Hannimal said:

This might be stupid but do I not need like insurance or something for this? Check his qualifications in some way? How?

Unless he is doing gas work there is no legal requirement for him to have any qualifications.