Aibu to ask builder to ask for references and see his work

[Purplepoodle]

The guy I had out thinks I am.

He gave me a quote for job - great I thought, seems about right. Showed me lots of pictures of work they had done, had business card. So asked him today if I could see any decking he had previously completed - ours is a large job and quite a bit of money.

So got an incredibly aggressive text saying if the portfolio and references on my builder and rated people weren't enough then to go with someone else. I tried to get onto rated people to see references but ended up posting a job in which I cancelled straight away.

He sends another text saying he had seen me readvertised, that it's costs him x amount to be short listed and that I had no intention of going ahead with job unless for nothing'

Sad thing is I was going to hire him until his aggressive text when I asked to see his previous work.

So aibu

Usually you pay in instalments as the work progresses.

I paid monthly for the work completed less an agreed percentage retention which was paid 6 months post completion to allow for snagging. What snagging? Well, quite a bit of filling in and touch up painting of settling in cracks of new plaster of the house. Nor did I have to pay for a deposit upfront. I did select a reputable local award winning builder though who actually built my architect's own house a few years previously. I also used an architect that one of my neighbours had used so I would say that 'word of mouth' recommendations are definitely worth their weight in gold. One of my kitchen ceiling Led down lights blew within 24 mths and they still came back and replaced it for free (hard wired in so not simple to replace!). Builder had folders with photos and references of past projects/clients when we met for his initial walk through/quote/pitch which was particularly organised.

YANBU, not even a little bit. A good builder will not blow up at you over a perfectly simple and common request. I speak as someone who's had a lot of renos done with various builders and tradespeople (we bought a fixer-upper. Never again! Our next house will be move-in ready, but I digress).

You dodged a bullet. If he was this flippant now, imagine how he would be if you asked him to fix something or tweak your deck.

And in terms of risk, it is harder to sort out crappy work, or work that deviates from the agreed spec, than it is for a builder to pursue a claim for an unpaid invoice.