difficulty finding tradespeople

cattie

I second the suggestion by Thrugelmir, I've recently found a couple of excellent trades people from my local Nextdoor. Both live in my neigbourhood with one of them living practically over the road. Plenty of Nextdoor users are happy to give recommendations on people they've used & been happy with.

donemedosh

Getting hold of trades people is hard as more people have not gone on holiday etc due to lockdown so have more money to spend on house or garden. As a tradesman my self all the trades I know are so busy that they are turning down work or giving 6 or7 week waiting times. Trades people do (even though I think it is wrong) sometimes look at a job & think that they really not really interested in doing it so they put in a quote that they think you will not go for but if you do they have made a big profit. Last thing to note is that a woman I know runs a hairdressing buisness during lockdown she tried to get it refitted out & decorated. Had a few issues trying to find the trades but when she did the price was higher than expected, then halfway through the refit they stopped turning up & left her with a mess to sort out because the trades people had been offered another job with a big profit margin.

eastmidsaver

it does seem really tough.
i have downloaded the next door app.  
i am just trying to figure out how to use it if anyone has any tips to best navigate through it.
many thanks.

TELLIT01

Good tradespeople are in extemely high demand.  My brother-in-law, and most of the rest of his family are involved in the building trade.  They haven't advertised for work in years and constantly turn work away.  I'd be more worried about a tradie who was available immediately.

Teapot55

The useful bit about a tradesperson having either a website or an entry on a site such as Checkatrade is that you can work out what their preferred method of contact is. 

If they list a landline number first they’re either a biggish firm with an office to phone or a sole trader who picks up their messages from their answering machine or partner at home. 

If they list an email address first then they’re someone who actually checks their emails. 

If they list a mobile first it’s always better to text in my experience, and they’ll get back to you if they have availability. 

Sandtree

I add my name to the list of those that have struggled getting good trades people.  

Even going through recommendations hasn't yielded good results... a recommendation from a friend who's a builder was a no show for two appointments. A recommendation from a just turned freelance kitchen designer for a fitter did at least show up for the appointment to measure up etc. Came back a fortnight later saying they were busy but hadn't forgotten, fortnight after that they were away for a family emergency and a month later they'd decided to relocate. Did ask if they'd give a ball park price just to use as a yardstick on price, they said they would and never heard from them again.

Did find some reasonable sparkies, had 3 days of work really but wanted day one done first and the other two done slightly later. Work on day 1 was fine, paid for services rendered. Contacted them again about the rest of the work and they never responded. 

paula_pieandmash

We used a comparison website that I found online, I think it was home improvement quotes and they recommended 3 companies, all were very good to be honest.  So good it was pretty hard to choose 

eastmidsaver

i have been on nextdoor as advised by posters above.  i have written down about 7 numbers...  i will at some point try contact them and see if any of them come up good.

ceewash

We've had same problem. Plans drawn up and passed. About 10 builders contacted. 8 either came round and didn't submit quote, didn't respond to messages, didn't turn up. The 2 quotes we got were only after several reminders from us and were £10,000 apart. We've given up. Possibly will try again next year. It's the same with everyone you speak to. 

eastmidsaver

yep it's not great.  hopefully be better next year.