Choosing a Builder For Your House
Before you employ a builder to work on your property, you should do your research to make sure the
work involved will be carried out properly, safely and within budget.
As well as using the local telephone directory and the internet to search for builders in your
area, you can also ask family and friends for recommendations. Look around for building work being carried on in your neighbourhood and don't be afraid to call to the house when the builders are gone and ask as many questions as necessary.
Spend some time writing a list of the building work you want done on your house. Although often time consuming, the more detail you include on this list the better. You can use the list to focus on exactly what you want to achieve and it will also be the basis for any discussions with prospective builders. Even if you have little artistic ability, simple drawings can go a long way to help explain your ideas to the builder and allow you to check if they are feasible or not. Where possible, draw to scale using actual measurements and check the sizes of the intended kitchen units, bathroom suites etc to ensure they will fit into the available space.
Get written estimates from at least four builders and ask them to explain any variations in cost
from your own calculations. Ask to visit previous work carried out by the builder that you intend to
employ and if possible, speak to the previous customer to find out their opinion of the builder and learn about problems they encountered and how they were resolved. Learning from the experience of previous customers is immensely valuable in reducing budget over-runs and getting your project finished on time.
Make sure the building quotes you get cover everything from start to finish, including property preparation, rubbish removal and site tidy up after the project is completed.
Price should not be the only consideration when choosing a builder. You need to be confident that your property project is as important to your builder as it is to you. You should also insure that the builder has the appropriate level of insurance cover. Depending on your project, the builders may be around your house for weeks and even months and you need a good relationship with them.
Put everything important and relevant in writing. No matter how well recommended the builder is, and how well you get on with them, a written contract is absolutely essential in resolving the inevitable problems. The contract should include details of how payment will be made, either in stages or as a once off payment on successful completion of the project.
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