Bathroom renovation booked in - now what

Doozergirl

Hannimal said:

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.

It's nice that he has four years worth of regular photos of his work.   There isn't much engagement with what he does, but a load of plastered walls probably isn't much to engage with.  

I can see any evidence of what he uses as a base for floor tiling, I'd like to see cement boards down to form a good solid base.   The setting out of the wall tiling and the general standard of it looks as it should.  

He's a jobber, not a big builder working on high end property, so it doesn't particularly surprise me that he wants money up front, but you would protect yourself if you paid for the materials directly and had them delivered to you.  Make sure of the quality of your fittings.  No one wants to be replacing cheap rubbish after a couple of years.    You want decent guarantees on your brassware.  

I wouldn't not use him on the basis of what I'd seen, put it that way.  🙂

Hannimal

Thank you, that puts my mind at ease. You can see there the work he did on my front garden - taking down the DIY bit from previous owners - and I was pleased with what he did. Compared to anyone I've spoken with about the bathroom he has been much more thorough and responsive. I take I should ask him about the floor

Rosa_Damascena

By all means re-imburse for the materials once you see evidence that they have been purchased, but release the money for labour in stages as the work is completed. Half of the net cost the half-way stage and the rest on completion is ideal. VAT can be paid at the end of the quarter when it is collected.

Doozergirl

Rosa_Damascena said:

By all means re-imburse for the materials once you see evidence that they have been purchased, but release the money for labour in stages as the work is completed. Half of the net cost the half-way stage and the rest on completion is ideal. VAT can be paid at the end of the quarter when it is collected.

VAT is a cost to businesses as well, you shouldn't be withholding it separately for any period of time as long as the invoice is legal. 

Hannimal

I have absolutely no intention of paying the job in full until it's completed. Thanks for the help everyone