Hiring a builder without regrets

You cannot brief a builder from an idea. Drawings, a specification and, where anything structural is happening, calculations. Everything you have not decided, the builder will decide for you or price as a provisional sum.

• Contractor vs Individual Trades: Which Should You Hire? 7 min

Do it Estimate builder

Before the next stageA scope you could hand to three firms and get comparable answers.

Recommendations from people who have had the same work done, then verified: registered company, an address, insurance, and jobs you can go and look at. Cheap and available is the combination to be careful of.

• How to Find & Vet a Good Builder 6 min
• Cowboy Builders: Warning Signs Before & During a Job 3 min

Do it Supplier shortlist

Before the next stageThree or four firms you would be content to have on site.

The same drawings, the same specification, and every exclusion written down. Ask each of them to price the same list line by line rather than as one figure, because a single number hides where they differ.

• How to Get & Compare Building Quotes 6 min
• Are Quotes and Estimates Legally Binding? UK Rules 4 min

Do it Quote comparison

Before the next stageLike-for-like quotes, with exclusions and provisional sums visible.

A contract, a payment schedule tied to stages of work rather than dates, a retention held back, and a start date. A deposit should cover materials the builder has to buy up front, not their cash flow. Everything agreed in the kitchen and never written down is the thing that is argued about in month four.

• Builder Contracts & JCT: Protecting Yourself 8 min
• Builder Deposits: How Much Is Normal in the UK? 4 min
• Contractor vs Individual Trades: Which Should You Hire? 7 min

Do it Build plan and stage payments

Before the next stageA signed contract, a stage payment schedule, and a start date.

Stage payments against work completed, never ahead of it. A deposit covers materials bought up front, and you should see the receipt. Retention held to the end is what gets the snagging done.

• Builder Deposits: How Much Is Normal in the UK? 4 min
• Can I Withhold Payment From My Builder? UK Rules 4 min

Do it Build plan and stage payments

Before the next stageA payment schedule tied to stages, with a retention.

Keep a site diary, take photographs at every stage that will be covered up, pay against work actually done rather than time elapsed, and put variations in writing before they happen rather than arguing about them after.

• Communicating With Your Builder: Systems That Work 3 min
• Living Through a Renovation 8 min
• Renovation Order of Works 7 min
• Builder Running Late? Delays & Liquidated Damages UK 3 min
• Can I Withhold Payment From My Builder? UK Rules 4 min

Do it Budget tracker

Before the next stageA written record, and payments that match the work on the ground.

Most disputes are about the same three things: money, delay and quality. Put the complaint in writing early, keep it constructive, give a fair period to put things right, and keep every photograph.

• Builder Dispute Resolution: A Step-by-Step Guide 4 min
• Builder Running Late? Delays & Liquidated Damages UK 3 min
• Builder Walked Off the Job? What to Do Next 3 min
• Builder Disputes: The Complete Guide 4 min

Do it Defective work letter

Before the next stageA written record and a clear, reasonable request to put it right.

Practical completion is not the end. Agree the snagging list in writing, hold the retention until the items are genuinely done, get the completion certificate from building control, and collect the guarantees and certificates. The certificate is the piece of paper a buyer's solicitor will ask for.

• Snagging Lists & Retention: Getting the Job Finished 8 min
• Completion Certificates & Why They Matter 7 min
• Insurance-Backed Guarantees for Building Work Explained 3 min

Do it Snagging listRetention releaseDefective work letter

Before the next stageSnagging closed, completion certificate issued, retention released, paperwork filed.