- Ask family, friends and neighbours to recommend builders they have used recently
- Search for professional builders in your area on the FMB website
- Produce a detailed written brief of the work you want done, including detailed drawings. Invite at least three builders to visit the site, give them your plans and ask them to quote
- Ask the builders for references from previous customers and follow them up
- Check that the quotations include EVERYTHING that you would like doing – including removal of rubbish and making good
- Don’t award a job on price alone. Consider the references and how well you got on with the builder when they visited
- Check that the builder has the appropriate level of public liability insurance for your job
- Set yourself a budget and build in some contingency funding – 15 percent of the total cost is about right
- Agree a stage payment plan to suit you and your builder
- Always draw up a WRITTEN contract with your builder
Supplied by the FMB.
