If you are building a home or looking to build a house extension, there is a critical question you need to ask yourself – how can I make sure I hire a reliable builder with experience over a cowboy builder? Ideally you need to have a list of several builders to meet with, but you always to make sure that each one has the relevant experience and qualifications to do the job. The quicker you can select a builder you are happy with, the faster you can get on with your project!
Before choosing a home builder, there are a few things to think about:
1. Before start the job, if you have adjoining or shared walls, give your neighbors a Party Wall Notice.
2. If your home is listed or you live in a conservation area, check if there are any restrictions on what changes you can make.
3. Make a detailed list of everything you would like to have included for your building project. This will help when you ask for quotations – but don’t worry if you don’t know all the details, the builders can provide these as part of their building quote.
4. Your aim is to find at least three qualified builders to quote, so you need to visit the builders section of Onlinetradesmen.ie. There you can enter your project details and get lots of builders quotes back by email.
5. Ask for an itemized quote so you can compare builders quotes item by item and not just by the overall cost of the job.
6. Set aside some money as a contingency fund for unexpected problems (they always arise).
7. Check that VAT is included in the final cost.
8. Always use a defined contract between both parties before the work starts. This outlines all building deliverable, inclusions and payments. You can download a building contract template here from Onlinetradesmen.ie.
9. When purchasing building materials, fixings and white goods do shop around and check online.
10. Agree who will purchase items and be responsible for making sure they arrive on time.
11. Make sure you have a proper contact for your builder, not just a mobile phone number.
12. If you take out a loan or another form of credit to pay for the work, check the requirements of the agreement.
