Whether or not you are a private home owner, a commercial landlord, a business, a housing association or a local authority; when you need a building contractor it’s vital to pick one that will do a quality job at a reasonable cost to a fixed timescale. In this industry, horrific stories abound about long delays (or even half finished projects), overcharging and low quality (and infrequently dangerous) standards of work and materials.

Here are some guidelines to help to pick the right building contractor so that your building project goes well.

Health & Safety

The contractor must have the obligatory health and safety accreditations (ask to see them), training (ask the staff) and policies. If they do not have these they will be a danger to themselves and you.

Organisational Memberships

The contractor should have memberships of organisations like NFB (National Federation of Builders), NHBC (National House Building Council) and Exor. Check with these associations that they really are accredited members. Such memberships and accreditations should be on the builder’s website. For example, our memberships and accreditations can be discovered at Hungerford Builder.

Experience & References

The contractor must be in a position to give examples and references of work they have done which is similar to your requirement. Ask for references and follow them up. A good web site here is very helpful as it should show examples of the contractor’s work as well as having satisfied customer testimonials. Look for reviews and ratings in Google Places and other applicable local review websites. Google the contractor’s name and see what comes up and the try again adding words such as ‘complaint ‘, ‘problem ‘ and ‘quality ‘ to your search.

Cleanliness & Tidiness

Are there vans and offices kept neat? If not, then they are likely to leave your place in messy state. Their staff should be respectful and well dressed (ideally with ID badges and uniforms).

Materials

Where do they buy their building materials? They should use reputable suppliers. Always ask.

Trades & Contractors

Do they employ a good range of building trades (e.g. Bricklayers, carpenters, roofers and decorators)? If they only have one trade then they’re going to have to subcontract out the other work and won’t actually have the experience to properly manage those subcontractors. Where they do subcontract out work, they should have proof of a longstanding relationship with the subcontracting firms.

Pricing & Timescale

When possible, they should quote a set cost and timescale for the job with a clear statement of work so you know what is and is not included. They ought to have a variations process to agree pricing and impact of any changes that arise in the job.

SIS Construction is a family owned and run building company, based in Hungerford West Berkshire, with a lots of experience, and employing all building trades. We specialise in repairs, maintenance, modifications, extensions, renovation, development for example. Further information can be found in our FAQs about Building Work.