Builders

What to put in your job description

• What you want built or repaired, and roughly how big it is.
• Whether you have drawings, planning permission or building regulations approval already.
• What is there now: walls, foundations, drains, trees close by.
• How a builder can get to the site, and where materials and a skip could go.
• When you want it started, and whether you'll live there during the work.

Don't put your name, phone number or address in the description: every trade who covers your area reads it. Your name, phone, email and address go only to the trades who take the job (3 at most).

Questions to ask before you hire

• Can I have a written quote that lists the stages and what each one costs?
• How will payments be staged? (Paying a large amount before work starts is a risk.)
• Who deals with building control, and with planning if it is needed?
• Who takes the waste away, and are they a registered waste carrier?
• Do you have public liability insurance?

Registers and schemes to check

There is no legal register for builders. Larger work usually needs Building Regulations approval, and some needs planning permission: ask your council or look at the Planning Portal. Work on a wall you share with a neighbour may come under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Trade bodies include the Federation of Master Builders and TrustMark. We don't check this for you yet.

What the job usually involves

• Extensions, conversions and structural changes, such as knocking through a wall that holds weight.
• Repairs: brickwork, pointing, walls, chimneys, damp, drains.
• Groundwork: foundations, drainage and paths, usually first and least visible.
• Bringing in other trades: electricians, plumbers, plasterers, roofers.
• Building control inspections at set stages, and planning permission where it is needed.

How quotes and visits work

For anything larger than a repair, a builder needs to visit, and for an extension they work from drawings. Ask for a written quote broken into stages, with what is not included (such as kitchens, flooring or decorating). Comparing quotes is easier when every builder prices the same drawings and the same list.

Ask for a written quote (a fixed price) rather than an estimate (a guess that can change), and for what it includes. If you agree a job in your home, you usually have 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations; if you want work to start sooner, you may have to pay for what has been done.

Safety

• Don't take out a wall until someone qualified has said whether it holds weight. A structural engineer can work out what support is needed.
• Older homes can contain asbestos, for example in ceilings, floor tiles or boards. Ask the builder how they will find and deal with it.

Insurance and TrustMark

Ask for public liability insurance before work starts. It covers damage or injury caused by the trade to you, your home or someone else. Ask for the insurer's name and the cover's end date; you can ask to see the certificate.

TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home. Its registered businesses agree to its code of practice, and you can look them up on trustmark.org.uk.

Guides for homeowners

• How to get three roof repair quotes you can compare
• Planning permission and Building Regulations: the difference
• How to compare quotes from local trades

We take jobs from anywhere in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trades choose the postcode districts they cover.

Builders by town and city

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland