Hi, I would recommend each trade to his own, however most good tradesmen know others that have traded for years together. I am a painter by trade but can call on good trades to cover anything from house builds to complete refurbs as I have done in the past.
Go with one company Any probs only one to chase Easier to arrange trades on site as only one company Will have this all set up before jobs start And no one can pass the buck Good luck
Hello Lynda First a couple of general points -- Never pay up front for anything, [ interims and a final , as the job progresses, is how we work ] a decent contractor has credit accounts, and own their own plant/equipment , so no need for anything up front . Check the contractors insurance policy that all decent contractors have. No cash ,-- cheque or bax to the person you are actually employing . Be around, and ask what is going on , decent contractors will be happy to explain . Get a written quote/estimate , with a decent works list of what is to be done, and with what . Confirm that the job will be all in one go , and that you both agree what is included in the price .[ scaffold, skips , clearing up etc ] Be happy to pay for genuine extras, or additional works , to the agreed list . Keep quotes to yourself, [ ' Beat any quote' = cannot price jobs ] Cheap quotes are often for only 'half ' the job ! See previous work If one company is 'main contractor' , they are responsible for what they have quoted for , quality , coordination, certification, security , LA inspections etc , and the H&S aspect of the trades they employ , you have one person to deal with. If 'you' run the job, you are responsible for all of this , and what I call the ---' everything else' or the overlap/ gap between trades -- which is a lot of work . On big building sites the Manager [ was me ] has people running around after contractors to keep it all going forward . You really need to be on site a lot of the time if it is an extensive job . Trick is to find an experienced professional , careful contractor , who can actually price most of the job you want correctly , Rated people is a good way, take a little time to find the right person. Regards Peter R. ---- Beamish Const. Services.
Hi Lynda all depends on the work needing done you may need specialist contractors for some of the work , again with out knowing exactly what the job entails is very hard to give an answer. Most good company's will have contacts that will be able to undertake most refurb works .
Hello Lynda, Getting it managed by one company we be cheaper and you have just one reason to talk to. Try not to piece meal the job together with several trades Regards Michael
Hi lynda a descent builder will have the contacts to bring in plumbers / electricians etc at the right times and oversea the whole job leaving you to have to deal with one person only
Go with a builder
very simple , one main contractor , liaison officer is of paramount , many contractors blame the other .
Hi Linda firstly I agree a lot with what Jason as already stated there are a lot of idiots out there even on rated people using family and friends for ratings as he says lots of pros and cons me personally would say it really depends on what avenue you want to take I am a floorer by trade specialising in all types of wooden floors and garden decks internal woodwork so I would not dream of installing a gas boiler or consumer unit. I think you get my drift I always say bout good traders stick to what you know. Good look with your project regards john
Hi Lynda The Main thing with getting all the work done by 1 company is It is easier to organize the workforce, 1 point of contact and their responsibility To get the trade as and when needed Thanks pete
Pros are less time consuming with one contractor, but possibly more costly. For example a good builder will have good contacts, a good builder wont get let down by people be uses And a good builder will use good trade people for a number of reasons. Obviously you would need seperate quotes from different builders. One point to be aware of, when you have separate quotes from different trades, you must be fully aware of building regulations as you may encounter issues separately and mistakes can be costly. Whereas a good builder can reel the regulations of in his sleep On the other hand if you are organised and personable and have management skills, you can get quotes from the different trades. Just make sure you get the right people. If you search on rated people be carefull. there are some idiots using the service who dont know what they are talking about. Make sure any feedback they have is relevant to what you need doing. Example a plumber may have a fantastic rating for fitting an outside tap. Or turning a radiator on. I have even heard of people placing jobs by friends and family ect just to get ratings. And there are genuine experience excellent trades on as well. Advice for pros and cons no matter how you tackle it, be very very specific.
Hi If you employ a larger contractor to do all the organising you pay a premium for this. Also the contractor employs whoever they like to do all the bite size chunks of the job whether you approve of them or not as they are running the job. If you do the organising yourself you are in control and you can pick each individual contractor yourself. Doing it this way it mite not be as easy to knit all the different trades together so it needs careful planning for a smoothly run project. Not forgetting of course that all this takes time. Also you can shop around for better quotes your self for the individual elements, you could even look at getting materials yourself. Depending on the size of the job you need to take serious considerations to your time and knowledge. I hope this is helpful but please remember that all jobs are different and so are contractors!!
Hi Lynda You will be better off with one builder for the lot because you only have to deal with the same person for all your questions and answers, also the builder will organize the different trades as they are needed. if you do it yourself you will have to be a good organizer. The builder takes all the flak and the book stops with him, if you do it varioud trades will blame each other if things go wrong. Leave it to the builder!
shop around for quotes if you have time to do so it will work to your advantage use seperate companies but get a contract drawn up as regards to start dates
Hi Lynda, If you are unsure of how to go about the work done. you can use one company however this may not come cheap. The alternative would be to employ a contact manager he can organise quotes, references etc. This can save you a whole load of stress and allow you to get on with earning your living and more importantly allow you to control your finances. If the house is in the Lancashire area I might be able to help. Hope you find the above of some use. Regards Andy Thornton
Hi, Congratulations on the new house.Depending on what is it to be done,i think one main contractor will be advisable for the cost effectiveness and responsibility. I have a team of subcontractors with witch a work and i can come a quote you for the project. Good luck. George Ginga
The pros are that you end up with a project manager that's supposed to take the grief away from you. The consumer are as follows. The electrician and gas fitters may not be up to the regulatory standard. Usually the builder takes charge because he's there from start to end. Just because he is there for the entirety doesn't make him a project manager. You'll find his work will be pretty spot on, the other work will be subject-contracted out. The other consumer are who's responsible? The builder or the sub-contracted sparky. I would get separate tradesmen to complete the project. Nearly all tradesmen will work with each other, and as each one reports directly to the customer, then communication is always good. Hope that helps.
Hi Lynda in my experience having one person take control of all trades makes life a lot easier and is usually cheaper and quicker than trying to get trades to work with each other's time scales with kind regards paul
If you get a company in to do the work it will cost a lot more , but you only deal with one man Alternative separate trades work out cheaper as long as you get references or seen there work Regards Gary branch plastering
If you use one firm to do all the jobs they will subcontract the work out to the tradesmen in question and put there charge on top so it works out cheaper to go to the tradesmen direct through ratedpeople good luck from steve
Hi,I have a good team and references gas safe And 17th addition part p electrician, good references and jobs you Can contact the clients, trouble free and Fully insured,will come and give you free advice And quote, kind regards Dave , DC builders
hi lynda one contractor for defo,but make sure he can provide a reputable electrition and a gas safe plumber i have done lots of these jobs and if you get more than one contractor makes it difficult for a time scale as everyone is waiting for everyone else and people getting in the way of each other,also lynda get a contract drawn up either by yourself or by the contractor for different stages of work and payments,dont give him a lump sum up front a good contractor will have accounts with reputable building supplies and most suppliers give you 4/5 weeks to pay for the materials please dont give him a lump sum,or they other way is you can say to him if he orders all the materials you will pay for them on delivery or once he as ordered them you will go into the builders merchant and pay for them its a bit of a mess lynda but at least you know you cannot get ripped off,as if the contractor decided he didnt want to finish the work he will only be paid for the labour he has done and you will still have all the materials it is a mess but most building merchants will either let you do it over the net or over the phone,and still for next day delivery give him a small float maybe £200 for any bits he may need and tell him to keep all the reciepts and at the stages of payments ask him for reciepts and sor that out they and then any more info you need contact me please thanks greg, gtm joinery/home improvments
Hi lynda , the pros are , youwill deal with one contractor for the whole job , so if theres a priblem , with some.trades holding up other trades then you are only dealing with the main subcontractor & not having to call individual people . The cons are maybe you could get each individual trade at a lower cost ,where you could negotiate a better price for the works to be done . Hope.this helps you
if you have ever watched builders programme on TV take a piece of advise get someone who knows what they talking about to liaise with the builder at all times, A good project manager will make sure that payments are only released when necessary and the work is done to full standards
The pros are that everything is kept easy and clear, normally the job will run more smoothly as one company will liaise with all tradesman.
Hi Lynda I agree with Allan The contractor you employ to take full control of the job will say who / what is needed and when . This means your job will run smoother & taking the woories away from you. It is important that you let your contractor have full control & have a weekly meeting to discuss any issues you or he has Also there may be dangers in the property during the work ( floorboards up / ceilings down - etc ) So with a set time for a meeting these ares can be made safe for you to view And to make sure you are getting the right man check their ratings & ask to see proof of previous work like yours A good company would be happy to supply you with this information & answer any questions
I think its always better to have one contractor and let him control the quality and time schedule , if you try to do this with different trades it would be hard to control , plus if you get the right contractor you should get the work done with no pressure to yourself he will have that to deal with .
Hi,most people who offer a service that covers all tradespeople either take a cut from the sub contractors they bring in or charge a management fee,simple planning of the work you require and a morning to meet up with relevant contractors,example if you require plumbing/heating or electrical work then you would have this done first before you have any plastering carried out,stick with rated people,the guys who you ring will keep you right,most people provide free estimates so try and get as many as you need before you commit to anybody.
Hi Lynda the issue here is who do you hire,? use one company that checks out and despite being dearer than individual trades you'll only have one point of contact ,in the event of query,and they run the show , choose individual trades and you'll have as many as you hire to control and organise in the order they should be in please ensure they are all accredited in some format particularly gas and electric check out other trades accreditations and references if you have doubts don't hire good guys have nothing to hide Allan Russell Coalville Decorating Services
Hi Linda The benefits of using one company is timescale and cost you will know upfront and if the same company is supplying all the materials they will be no running up and down wasting time for yourselves and if it is a reputable company you should only be giving a 30% deposit I hope this helps you mark
Hi Lynda, You must realise that a Builder will be taking a cut of all his contactors who work through him, however he will organise the work for you, to the standards you require Thats his job and what you are paying him for It really depends on your knowledge of the Building trade and the sequence of constuction If you can manage the project yourself you may be able to save a fair bit on costs Please contact me if you need further advise on the Plastering Regards Steve Belcher
more expensive
Recomendations is the best way see if anybody near to you has had any work done and ask them who they used and if they would recommend them failing that post the work on rated you can read all there reviews
Hi Lynda Time wise it will save you hours of time. Secondly it's generally cheaper to use one supplier however you need to check if the company uses its own staff or sub contractors. There's nothing wrong with using subbies but sometimes you can lose a little control. I use a mix of both on my bigger projects. Ensure that all the gas & electric services are provided by registered tradesmen and you get the relevant installation certificates. And I agree with Angela, get them to do a smaller project for you and see what happens.
My advice is don't give all the work to one company from the get go. Start with one job and see how they perform. If they do good, do the next job and so on. The last thing you need is one business ripping your house apart then letting you down. Hope this helps Regards Neil Priors Home and Garden Services
Hi Lynda We do complete refurbishment bathrooms, kitchens and any aspect of building works. If I can give you advise?please take one reliable,capable company to carry out whole project. Simply you will save money. If you need a quote we can come to the site and soon after you will get quote for all works. Regards. Mirek(C&GBS )
Nick shares his story of finding local tradespeople in his new area.
