1. Your tradesperson should be qualified for the job …..FULL STOP. It is your responsibility to check their qualification and registration to relevant qualifying bodies e.g. Plumbers must be registered on the Gas Safe Register.
(Most handymen will have a qualification from a college but some may have been taught be a family member. If this is the cause you should see work they have done before and find out how long they have had experience working on their own.)
2. When you make an appointment with your tradesperson to come to your house and discuss the job you need to be done, listen to what they says and how they approach the job. They need to be enthusiastic and not sceptical about the work to be done. If it is a big job make sure that they have suggestions about what might be best for your house. If they rushing and are not prepared to discuss exactly what you want, then they may not be the write person for the job. This first meeting should give a good indicator of the kind of quality you can expect from him or her.
3. Ask your tradesperson for references, and talk to him/her about where they have recently done work. Find out if you can talk to people the has done work for in the past. If the work was of a good standard, they will be happy to talk about it. They should be keep on maintaining their reputation.
4. Check their time keeping. If they are late for the first appointment it could be an indicator of bad time keeping, which will be a big part of getting the job done on tim
5. Make sure you feel comfortable with them. (Don’t feel that comfortable that they pull the wool over your eyes.) After all, they will be spending a considerable amount of time in your home, depending on the size of the job.
1. A written quotation is always a good idea. It shows that the tradesperson is professional. This quote should be a written contract detailing the price for labour, parts and materials, start dates and completion dates. Find out what precisely is included in the price you are quoted – are you being charged for your tradesman’s trips to and from the DIY store, for example?
2. Always insure that your trades person has some type of liability insurance in case something goes wrong.
3. If they ask for the full fee up front – Warning!!! Don’t ever pay the full price up front. If he or she requires an up front fee it should be no more than half the price of the quote. You can then pay the rest when the job is done and you are satisfied with the work. Note: If the proposed work is an expensive job, it’s advisable to involve your solicitor.
4. Before your tradesman starts work it may be a good idea to see if they have a complaints procedure in place in case you aren’t satisfied with the work.
5. Take time to think about choosing the right tradesperson. Don’t let anyone including large companies, rush you into a deciding who should do the work in your home.
6. If the tradeperson isn’t willing to take the time to discuss what you want to be done and negotiate this, they may not be the best person to employ for the work to be done.
Making a decision on someone to carryout work in your home is not a decision to be taken lightly. We at TradesQuote gets you on your way to finding the tradesman that is best for you. When you have posted your job on TradesQuote and have gotten tradesmen to give you a quote the you have to make have to do your research and find out as much information as you can about them. This will ensure your home improvements will be carried out properly. This will eventually cost you less because any repairs or maintenance will last longer and add more value to your home.
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