5 Tips For Hiring a Trades Company To Do Work on Your House

Looking at hiring a trades company to carry out a job in your home or business can be a daunting task. We’ve all got that friend who paid way too much for a job that took way too long and ended up with something wasn’t what they even wanted in the first place. Well fear no more! We’ve created a checklist of 5 top tips for hiring a trades company to save you unnecessary stress, and so you can be sure the job will be done right.

Qualifications

Gas Safe– By law, all tradesman must be Gas Safe to carry out gas work. There are a couple of ways to check your tradesman is legitimate. All registered gas tradesmen must carry a personal ID card, which will show their license number and expiry date. Ask for this and check it prior to any gas work being carried out. All tradesmen hired for gas work through websites such as CheckATrade.com will have had checks for Gas Safe certification, so you can check for this verification when booking.

Part P- For most electrical work, tradesman need a Part P qualification. You should ask to see proof of their Part P credentials when hiring a trades company for electrical work. This will not only give you peace of mind, but also saves time as you’ll have to contact your local building authority for certification if you don’t get this confirmed by the tradesman themselves.

Reputation

Online sites such as CheckATrade.com give tradesmen ratings for their work, which is a great way of finding out other’s experiences and opinions. Word of mouth can be great too but only if it’s coming from someone you know and trust. Don’t be shy to ask for references when hiring a trades company! You can request written reviews, photos or videos and even contacts of previous clients that you can reach out to to verify your chosen tradesman has carried out the job and their photos aren’t just from google! You’d be surprised…

Pricing

Be sure to ask for a quote and full breakdown of the job specification, price, conditions and a payment schedule and get these documented via invoice once you’ve gone ahead with the booking. Also, understand that a quote isn’t the same as an estimate, which is a rough price and non-binding. Confirm whether VAT is included in the quote and make sure that if you pay a deposit (which should never be more that 20% of the overall price), this is also documented in the invoice.

Time Guarantee

Now, this is the one that often comes back to bite people. A tradesman will guarantee you their workmanship for a certain time-period. Make sure you are clear on confirming and agreeing this and that you have this documented in the relevant way, should you ever need to make a claim.

Have Confidence

Don’t be shy to ask for what you want! Whether you’re getting work done at your home or business, you’re investing money in fixing or improving something, so you have every right to know that they’ve done the job well before. Just remember, when hiring a trades company, if they are good quality they will only be happy to show you evidence that they are great. If you don’t feel confident and have trust in your them, you’ll feel uneasy from the moment they begin, to the moment they’re finished. So be sure to cover of all the above points and you’ll hire the right trade company for the job!