So you need work doing and have to get quotes in.
“GET AT LEAST 3 QUOTES IN”.
I say this until I am blue in the face to people. Three quotes will give you a good idea of cost, it gives you chance to meet the person that will do the work and also it gives you a figure in mind to work to. Don’t go moaning to everyone about a rouge builder if you took the first quote you were given and couldn’t be bothered to search around, there is no excuse. On that subject don’t get someone to do the work that has knocked on your door and will do something cheap for cash….They are not proper qualified tradesmen. It’s different if you see someone carrying out work at a neighbours and the neighbour rates the person and you can see their work first hand, its fine to go up to them and ask them to quote but don’t accept work to be carried out by someone that has literally knocked on the door to sell their services this is a “no go”.
Going back to getting 3 quotes in, I even say this to people when I am out pricing.
I carry out a pretty broad spectrum of work but inevitably there will be someone that specialises in a certain area that may be able to do a certain job quicker than me or even be able to get the same materials only cheaper. I had a job recently were the painter I use could not match the quote we had from another. As this chap offered a guarantee and had work I could look at to verify he was good I went with him. (My usual painter even said go with him at that price)
What is worth noting with quotes, Is they are not all going to come in exactly the same hopefully you have a good spread. It’s important however to make sure each builder is pricing for the same work, Don’t tell one to do it one way and the other to do it a different way. It will inevitably be different.
When the quotes come back ensure the quote/estimate has everything written down that you want doing don’t assume because you spoke about it when they were looking at the job that it is on their. These things need clarifying from the outset.
When you have confirmed everything is included that was expected then you can look through them in more detail. If they all come back the same it’s about picking the guy that has good references and if possible can show you some of their work also someone you will get on with. This is especially important if they are going to be in and out of your house for a month.
This is not normally the case what you generally find is you will get back 3 prices, low-medium and high.
Standard advice is “go for the middle.” But what people generally do is just go for the cheapest. There is nothing wrong with this but just do your due diligence, make sure the person has been checked out (Like I did above) ideally see their work and if possible speak to a recent customer. Also weigh up the pros and cons, the middle price or even the higher price maybe from someone that has been highly recommended and known to use good quality materials and do a thorough job they also may have an in depth knowledge of the works and can offer more advice throughout rather then just doing the basics. So you have to weigh up what your ideal will be, at the same time the type of job you want doing and finish.
So to summarise:
-YOU NEED 3 QUOTES!
-Don’t accept a doorstep salesman to carry out work for cash because it sounds like a good deal,
“IT WILL NOT BE”.
-Even after the 3 quotes, do your due diligence and check the builder/tradesmen out, ask around, check references and if possible look at previous jobs they have carried out.
If you follow the steps above you will not be one of the people that end up on TV complaining about a rouge builder.
For more help and advice on hiring a builder read my post “Top tips on choosing a builder”
Thanks for reading
Toby 🙂