Choosing your trade

Choosing your trade

After years of experiencing both pain-free and some very painful renovating experiences, we’ve discovered that if you choose your trade well, then your renovations can run smoothly and professionally. And best of all you end up with exactly what you want.

On the other hand, if you adopt a carefree attitude and don’t spend your time early in carefully checking your trade’s expertise, then your renovation can simply turn into a very expensive and stressful disaster.

And remember, a good-looking and rugged tradesman in King Gees may be great eye-candy, but let us assure you handsome sexy looks don’t always guarantee a first-class tiling job. In fact before you know it, you will quickly forget the sweetness of those picture-perfect looks when the bitterness of poor quality work lingers on.

Here are our tips for helping get the right trade for the job.

Previous customers
Find out what previous customers thought of their work. This is a really important step as you can get a good picture about their quality of work and how they like to work. We would prefer either to call the person or visit their project first-hand.

Shop around
Don’t pick the first tradesperson that you see. It is important that you get a selection of estimates so that you can compare what is available. You should choose the best person for the job, and sometimes this comes down to who you feel comfortable working with.

Outline your expectations
Ensure your tradesperson knows exactly what work is to be done, what preparatory work is to be included, when the work should begin and how long it should take. And this should also include ensuring the site is clean and tidy with all rubbish removed.

Quotation
Make sure it is a quotation and not an estimate. Estimates are not legally binding, but quotations are.

Don’t go for the cheapest
This is perhaps the worst way of choosing a tradesperson and nine times out of 10 you get what you pay for.

Products
Make sure you agree on any specific products or materials to be used to avoid inferior products or being overcharged. Sometimes a tradesperson will provide a lower quality product to get the quote down and win the job. In the long run this could become the more expensive option.

Guarantee of work
Always ask your tradesperson about any guarantees, particularly any which are insurance-backed.

Licence and trade associations
If a trades-person is licensed and a member of a trade association, then it usually gives you that little bit of extra security should a dispute arise.

Insurance
Check that the tradesperson has insurance-backed warranty for work. This should cover damage to your neighbour’s property. Also make sure that the tradesperson has their own insurance covering death and personal injury.

Agree on final costs
Do this before any work starts. You should also avoid full payment in advance. And if you pay a deposit, make sure you get a receipt.

If things go wrong
First speak to your tradesperson if you think some of the work is not correct. Try to sort out the problems as soon as they arise. If your tradesperson does not resolve the matter after you have chatted with them, then put your complaint in writing. If you are still experiencing problems, then you need to seek further professional advice.

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