HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BUILDER FOR YOUR PROJECT The key to a successful project is thorough preparation. You have the drawings prepared for you by your architect and structural engineer. You’ve spent some time preparing the proper specification, which reflects all the work you’re planning to have done. You’ve made sure that your project is straightforward, well-structured and easy to understand. These steps are important not just for your own use, but also for the person who will make it all happen – the builder.
Now, how do you make sure that you choose the right builder for your project?
RESEARCH STAGE 1) Ask for recommendations: To start with, you should ask your friends or colleagues if they have a builder they would recommend. This is the obvious first step – word of mouth can be the most reliable referral available. However, I would recommend not stopping there, and taking extra steps to find an excellent candidate for your project. The recommended north london builder may be overloaded with work, and might not be available in a reasonable time frame. Alternatively, his circumstances might change, and his performance may not be the same quality as it used to be.
2 ) Check Google: Nowadays, our first instinct is to check online – searching Google for builders in your area is a good first step to take, particularly if you don’t have any friends or colleagues who can make recommendations. If you see a company on the first page of the organic search, this suggests that the company takes care of their website, ensuring that it is properly optimised.
3) Check builders’ accreditation websites: Another way to look for a reputable builder is by using builders’ accreditation websites. Again, take the time to go through the testimonials and the website carefully.
4) Check the building company with Companies House: A further check you can make is to see whether the building company that you are considering has been declared insolvent in the past. You can do this by checking their company number in the Companies House registry. Using the registry, you can check how long the company has been trading, and if the owner of the company has been declared bankrupt in the past; if they have, this should be a red flag, raising a lot of questions about the company’s reliability.
COMMUNICATION STAGE 1) Arrange visits with builders: After you decide which local builders in north london to consider asking for quotations, the next step is to get to know them better by arranging for them to visit to your house to make their assessment.
2) Send the drawings and your specification:
Before arranging the visit with the builder, you should send him the drawings and your specification. A well-organised builder should familiarise himself with the drawings and the specifications. Having done so, he ought to ask related questions during his visit. This would be a good indication of a builder with a thorough approach – precisely what you are looking for.
3) Allocate at least one hour for the builder’s visit: You should allocate at least one hour for each builder’s visit – and please do make sure that you don’t schedule multiple builders visiting at the same time.
4) Ask about experience: The reputation of any builder is mainly decided by the type of projects it manages. Therefore, when choosing a home builder, be sure to spend an amount of time studying the work they have already done. Also, those builders who are hesitant to talk about their past projects should be blacklisted.
5) Don't forget to talk to former clients: As a prospective customer, home builders will be happy to allow you to interact with their past clients. However, you can also make sure. Interacting with previous clients is important. After all, when previous buyers are satisfied, it also adds more credibility and positive word of mouth in favour of the home builder.
6) Attention to the details is key: You may have noticed that I’ve mentioned the phrase “attention to the details” quite a few times. A builder with the “attention to the details” attitude should apply the same approach not only to the cosmetic stages of the project, but to the structural steps as well. A house renovation project is always full of surprises, and is a complex combination of very different jobs; you therefore need an experienced builder who pays attention to the details in order to find efficient and effective solutions to the surprises and problems that often arise as a project progresses.
7) Ask about availability: Once you are satisfied with the builders you have spoken to, you should ask about their availability. If your desired builder is not available to start your project straight away – as often happens with residential projects – it would unwise to compromise on the builder you have chosen in order to start your project quickly. To avoid being put in this situation, I would recommend asking this question when you first meet the builders so that you leave more options for yourself.
QUOTATION STAGE
1) Allow two weeks to collect quotations: After you have met all your chosen builders and learned as much as you can about them, it is time to get their quotations. There are two ways in which builders prepare their quotations. •
The first is that they do their own calculations.
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The second is that they use quantity surveyor services, sending them all
the details and paying them a fee of a few hundred pounds. Either way is appropriate, but only if all builders do their price using the same specification.
2) Pay attention to how quickly each quotation is sent and how neat it is – this is good indication of future communication: At this stage, I would pay attention to which builder sends his quotation fastest, how detailed and neat his presentation is, and how willingly he makes any necessary corrections. After following these steps, you should have a much better understanding of which builder you would like to go with. Good luck with your building project!