How do I find a reputable and honest builder?

What the hell are we doing in here? Where are we?

We're in a garage or a lockup. It's where builders keep all their tools and a few bits of materials and lagging for pipes. There's a suit covered in paint.

Yeah, I think you need a big tidy up because there seems a lot of stuff.

Bigger garage, bigger garage. Nightmare finding stuff. Just like a nightmare, you lot say, about finding something. Builder.

Yes, absolutely. So how do you find a decent builder?

I always say the best thing, it's the easiest, it's the cheapest, it's just the best all round, word of mouth. So if you're lucky enough to have a friend, family member, neighbour, having work done, go and speak to them and as I've said before, wait till our slot have cleared off, finished the tea, got out, gone home and come in and say, right, the, the work looks great, but now they're not here. Can you please be honest with us? You know, are they polite, do they smoke in the house? You know, just small things that a lot of people are not going to be happy with. So ask that client, without the builder there, their honest thoughts, because the workman.

Would be a really good idea and I'd never have thought of doing that. But personal recommendation is obviously fantastic, but if you've not got that to go and speak to the person that's just had their work done by somebody, it's brilliant idea.

But then again, if you haven't got that, what do you do if you just move to an area or you've. I don't know you. You just don't know anyone having work done. You're taking a punt.

Yeah. So what do you do then? So, you know, there's all these websites these days, like my builder Trusted Review. All these review websites for builders, there are.

I don't know how many. Every month there's a new one coming out. Not naming any in particular, but a lot of these are quite broad. When I mean tradesman, you can be a florist and be on there and you're rated by a card you give to a customer, which could be you or your mum or anyone, to give you five stars. If you look at trade accredited, almost specialist websites and companies. Federation of Master Builders, 75 years old, biggest trade organisation in Britain. FMB.org.uk the best bit on there for someone like yourself or anyone looking to have work. It's called Find a Builder. You click on that, you put in your postcode and you click on your tradesman. If you want a bricklayer Electrician, general builder, and then say, I'm happy to go to 10 square miles or whatever. And you get every member come up in that. So that gives you enough to get three people round and start sort of looking at their capabilities, talking from out the job, looking at the work they've done in the area.

Three quotes. Would you say if you're getting three builders out that you don't know? Get three quotes done?

Yeah. Don't do more than three. A, it's an absolute B ball ache for you because you've got to rely on more than three coming back. Also, if you do get 4, 5, 6, 10, your brain will explode. You don't need more than three. Usually I say aim at the middle price, the cheapest. You get what you pay for. They're cheap for a reason. The most expensive, more than likely, they've got loads of work on. They think, do you know what? I don't need this work, I'm going to put another 40 grand on it. If we get it, I'll sub it out and make a few quid. Middle price. But obviously consider the others. But most importantly, each price has to be the same. So don't say, build an extension. You want to know, is it underfloor heating or radiators, what type of kitchen's going in, your flooring, your paint finishes.

That's where the schedule of works comes.

So your schedule of works comes into that, obviously, with your sort of detailed estimate. So all of that's included. Then you've got a like for like. So if one is 80 grand and one's 35, 35 more than likely is going to come in. And then we've got an expression that he's going to smash you for extras. Oh, didn't include laying the floor. Oh, you want central heating in the extension. And they can charge anything because there's half a house and you can have horror stories. So covering all these points that we've highlighted and enjoy it. Yep.

Pay for your normal current account because at least then, if anything was to go wrong. And touch wood, if you follow the steps we've given you, it won't go wrong. But at least then you've got a paper trail of. Yes, I've given that money and stage payments as well.

Stage payments. We've talked about this before. There's many contractors. The F and B have their own. There's jct, which a lot of builders use. I don't like it because you're not allowed a radio on site. Can't cope with that. Plaster singing anymore. Anyway, many contracts. But with these contracts you have things such as payment schedules, two types, stage payments and weekly draws. Stage payments. For example, if you're building this garage, when you get up to plate, which is the top of the brick or block work, that's the stage completed, you get paid. However, if we're one course off and we have a month of rain, I've got a team of bricklayers to pay and I haven't got any money, so I personally don't like that. So what I like is a deposit up front which totals all your setup costs, your skips, scaffolding, plant, hire, and then every Friday morning, the same amount clears each week. So I pay my guys, I clear my trade accounts and then there's a retention amount which is anything from one and a half to 5%, and that's this lovely snagging list. So we will get to the end of the job, you'll get weekly emails and reports from me and then I ask for this snagging list and snagging list. I always say go overboard, because once we're gone, we're kind of gone. It's difficult to say, come back and do this. But importantly, if you've got a long list, most of which I know every single thing on that and I'm probably going to do more than that, but it means you can go, I'm happy with everything. Here's your keys back. Here's the final payment certificates of the work done.

To recap. Word of mouth.

Word of mouth.

Go and see jobs that builders locally have done.

Definitely. And make sure they're their jobs. Not. This is something I did six months ago and it's that mansion on the hill up there and it's your mate's.

Mum living in it, if not Federation of Master Builders. And then make sure there's some sort of contract signed and stage payments.

Stage payments, yeah. And I think the whole thing is keep that relationship open.