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We have a house renovation project about to get underway, but have been struggling with builders returning quotes, getting out to site visits etc.
We've had one builder, who worked on a similar extension on our in laws house, and who we know is good, reliable, quality workmanship etc, return a quote. Common sense says minimum 3 quotes, but if you know the guys previous work and standards, would it still be madness to pull the trigger and sign him up? I guess i'm trying to balance out delaying the project further, with just getting someone in the diary to begin work!
I would rather a reliable builder than a cheap one so if you trust them and don’t think you’re getting rinsed I’d be inclined to do it
As kilo said.
If you had three quotes which one would you go for? The cheapest? The most expensive? The one you trust?
+1 I'd always rather use someone I know and trust rather than save a few hundred quid and end up with a shonky job. If the quote seems reasonable to you, then go for it imho.
For all the work I’ve had done I’ve not got more than one quote for each work area. I’ve got people who many people I know have recommended which is always the best policy.
Agreed with ^^
WE've had major extensions done on our place.. The loft conversion was a guy/company I knew I could trust.. their figure was kind of what I was expecting, so was happy.
Same again for the brick extension we had done; liked the builder, liked his prev work. Happy with his quote.
If it was an 'unknown builder situation' then i'd have researched more. But recommendations are worth £000's in my mind...
DrP
As long as his quote was in the ball-park you were expecting then I'd be fine going with that. I also don't mind paying a premium for someone you know can be trusted to do a good job (although there are never any guarantees I guess). For my recent bathroom renovation I ended up going with the most expensive one (had already used the guy for a boiler replacement and was happy with it), it didn't help that one of the other 3 people I got quotes from turned up to measure-up without a tape measure and I had to chase him twice for his quote.
As above - but when you get a quote from the guy, make it clear you have some other prices (even if you haven't) just so he keeps his pencil sharp...
If it was an ‘unknown builder situation’ then i’d have researched more. But recommendations are worth £000’s in my mind…
This is what I was thinking. His price seems reasonable, and he doesn't have the 'unknown risk' factor associated with him. He also has a fair lead in time due to a rapidly filling up book, which is always a good sign.
I think I have my answer; good job hive mind!
We've worked for the same client building anything up to 8million pound sheds. He uses us because he trusts us and we never walk away from a problem. Counts for a lot in my book.
A cycling buddy of mine is a builder and from what I see, his life consists of one stressful round of juggling blokes and jobs. I'd much rather get a builder who is committed to my job and gets it finished and if that means paying a little more, I'm happy.
We’ve worked for the same client building anything up to 8million pound sheds
Footflap's shed was JUST shy of this budget, IIRC....
😉
DrP