How do I choose a builder?
Visit a completed project and speak to that client, check the company at Companies House, confirm public liability insurance in writing, and get three quotes on an identical written specification. Be most cautious of the cheapest quote and of any builder wanting a large payment before starting.
The single most useful thing you can do is visit a finished project of similar scope and talk to the client without the builder present. Photographs show finish, not process — they do not tell you whether the programme was kept, whether the site was tidy, or how variations were handled. Any builder confident in their work will arrange this.
Then do the paperwork checks, which take twenty minutes. Look the company up at Companies House for how long it has traded and whether accounts are filed. Ask for the public liability insurance certificate and check the sum insured and the expiry date. Ask whether they are a member of a trade body such as the Federation of Master Builders, and verify it on the body's own register rather than trusting a logo on a website.
When comparing quotes, make sure all three are pricing the same written specification — otherwise you are comparing different projects. Treat the lowest quote with suspicion rather than relief: a price well below the others usually means something has been left out, and the gap reappears later as variations. And never pay a large sum up front. A small deposit for materials is normal; a third of the contract value before work begins is not.
More on this in living through the works, or see all 42 questions.
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