If you want or need building work carried out on your property, given how much you may need to spend, finding and hiring the right builders in West London is something will want to give serious time and consideration. One of the important keys to picking out the best builder for the work you require is knowing the right questions to ask when getting quotes.
In the following post, that’s what we are going to highlight.
Are They Registered Officially as a Limited Company?
First things first, you may or may not have noticed that many builders now are registering themselves as limited companies. The reason they do this is to help provide a little separation between them as individuals and their businesses. It helps to legitimise them and protects them and any work they do for their clients.
The great news for you is that this also makes it much easier to look into their past work and find out how reputable they are. You should also, while you are asking about whether they are a registered company or not if there have been any claims filed against their company over the past five years.
Do They Have Membership With Any Trade Associations?
Trade associations are essentially groups of people who work in the same professions or trades. Builders and other tradesmen and companies find it to be a useful way to learn and share new information regarding policies, practices, and industry-specific subjects.
Ask them what trade associations, if any, they are a member of and then speak to the trade associations and make sure they confirm their membership.
Who is on Their Team?
It is important to find out who works alongside the specific builder you speak to at the time of getting a quote because you want to know that every individual working on your project will be responsible, reliable, and professional. You should also ask if they have registered electricians and gas engineers on their team in case any of those aspects of the work are involved.
Do They Have a Proper Support Team?
It’s true that, if the builder you are talking to with the prospect of hiring them for your building work is part of a large organisation, it will be hard to know everyone that works for them. It is important, nonetheless, that you try to get a good idea of the size of their workforce, though, especially if they have any support or technical staff.
These are unlikely to be the people you will see on a day to day basis, but as these members of the team will normally work at the office and take care of the administrative side of the work, you will have dealings with them throughout a project.
You want to know that they have a manned office, anyway, so that you can easily contact them for progress updates or any queries and problems.
As well as asking for the main office number, make sure you get a collection of email addresses and phone numbers, so you have several contact options.
How Long Have They Been in Business For?
While there’s nothing really wrong with hiring a new builder, just as there is no real guarantee that a builder who has been in the business for many decades will be much better, experience does give you confidence.
Ask about their experience and skills, so you know they are capable.