Doughty Construction

HOW TO AVOID THE COWBOYS

Ask the builder how much public liability insurance he carries and ask to see his certificate of insurance. Legally this should be displayed at his offices.

Ask to see the health and safety policy, if the company has more than five employees they are legally required to have one. Ask to see method statements and risk assessments. These will prove that the builder has thought about the risks involved with the building job, and considered the safest way of completing the work.

Ask for references, some contractors may have customer satisfaction questionnaires for you to look at of course these can be forged but then it's not hard to get a mate to give a glowing reference either. Once the builder can see that you are serious about your project he may well give you names of past customers to call, some may even be willing to let you visit to see the work. Bear in mind how you may feel about the builder bring prospective clients to your home to look at his work in six months time. How often will you be prepared to give people you don't know a guided tour?

Many companies are members of trade organisations. Always bear in mind that the builder pays his subscription, not you. Some organisations are more driven by subscription revenue than controlling the quality of people who are effectively their "customers"

Beware of requests for money up front, some builders may ask for deposits to cover the costs incurred should you cancel work at short notice.

HOW TO RUN YOUR PROJECT

If you have comprehensive drawings and specifications, you should expect quotations to be free. However if you have little in the way of specifications and drawings, expect to be charged (you should have paid an architect to do this work before calling a builder unless you are looking for a design and build package) your builder will have to spend a lot of time with you suggesting and agreeing a specification and producing working drawings. Normally these are more detailed than those sent to building control. Don't expect this work for free, attention to detail early on will save you money in the long run. So you don't want to cut corners in the planning of the project.

Make sure that any stage payments are agreed before the start of the work. Beware of a schedule of payment that is weighted to the early phases of the contract. In the last four years I have seen two large extensions where the "builders" managed to get paid about 75% of the price having only completed about 40% of the work and then disappeared.

Make sure that you and your builder understand what elements within his estimate may vary. For example, few builders will give you a fixed price for digging foundations. Why? Because until they start to dig they do not know what is under the ground. Nor do they know how deep they will have to dig. In Birmingham more often than not one metre is acceptable for a two story extension, however if the building control inspector is not happy with the ground at that depth he will make the builder continue to dig until he is.

Keep written records, make and save notes of site meetings preferably make sure you both have copies of the same set listing any action either party has undertaken to perform.

Try to avoid adding to or altering the job once work has started and if you do make sure you are aware of the implications on time scale and cost. Give the builder a written variation order and get a written quote for the alteration.

If this all seems too much for you consider paying an architect or a surveyor to manage the project for you.

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