How do you choose a tradesman?

[gaelicsheep]

Just wondering what is most important to people, price or a good job? Are you suspicious of someone charging less than the going rate or are you just glad to get it cheap?

A good job. It's worth paying for someone good because it's so stressful to deal with a crap tradesmen.

If I can't get a recommendation I'll have a look on Checkatrade.

Me too but I wonder if we're the norm. Guess it depends. DH is trying to set up a business and currently all he encounters is whinges that he won't, effectively, do the job pretty much for nothing.

Good job.

If they actually turn up to give me a quote that's a great sign too.

Sounds like you've had the same experience with tradesmen as us. Generally the one that bothers to turn up, and then bothers to return a quote is the one that gets the job. I think DH hasn't found the right target audience yet. Those who've contacted him are the ones who really can't afford to get anything done and seem to be hoping for a favour. Don't think they realise that we have bills to pay too!

Our county council trading standards do this "trustmark" thing where you can find a good tradesman, which we have used successfully as we were new to the area and couldn't get personal recommendations.

Certain things I think it is really important not to go for the cheapest (builders for eg.) but simple low risk jobs (maybe a limited amount of decorating for example) I might go for a cheap quote and see how they got on... but only if they seemed trustworthy and professional.

Mellow, This WAS on one of those sites. To top it off, ex was a Sparks so I know full bloody well what tradies need and really did think that at least 1 would have turned up out of the 3 that were booked.

I know the job that needs doing and if I were strong enough I would do it myself, but the sheer fact that I'm not strong enough and dont have ladders big enough (or the confidence to work 3 stories up) means I have to look for outside help.

Personal recommendation is always best. Try to get a look at some work he's done in the house of the person who recommends him, and form an opinion on whether it's any good or not.

If engaging someone without a recommendation, ask if he can put you in touch with other local residents he's recently done similar work for. If not, ask yourself why not. Speak to them and try to form an opinion on whether they're just his mates posing as customers. If you keep your eyes open when driving round locally, look for vans outside people's houses, write down the name and number of the firm, and the address he's working at. If it's outside work, like painting or drives, you may be able to gauge the quality of the job by looking from the pavement. If not, then, a month or so after the job's finished, see if you can speak to the householder - easiest if they're a neighbour.

Don't engage someone who just has a mobile phone no and no address.

From my pov not looking to engage anyone - have hubby - just trying to work out why he's finding it so hard to break into the market. Think the market might be flooded, but also suspect it's flooded with cheap crappy types. I can't understand how they do the work so cheaply but DH does keep getting undercut and he's only charging £90 a day. That's why I was curious about what people look for. Think DH might need to leaflet the more affluent areas! Not enough regulars to guarantee an income stream - certainly not in this climate when no one's getting any signficant work done!

What does he do Gaelic?

Handyman-type stuff - laying flooring, furniture assembly, garden work, simple plumbing, etc. He gave up a career that involved working away to be a SAHD and we need some extra money! It's getting very frustrating. I think it takes a certain type of person to be able to set up a small business - one with a very thick skin!

I keep a good look out at who's doing what around us, and am quite shameless about going in and saying I see you're having x done, are you happy, would you recommend... people are invariably very happy to share/show off their new kitchen/shelves/wall or whatever and say what they think. Also a good way to get to know new neighbours (often are the ones getting work done).

molepom, sorry to hear about that. Maybe we were lucky!

This is a good, realistci guide for finding a tradesperson or builder. It was written by a real tradesperson for us blog.floquote.io/2022/01/12/how-to-find-a-good-tradesmen-the-real-guide-from-a-tradesman/

I would rather pay more for a good job. Maybe your DH is struggling because he doesn't have a specific trade maybe?
We currently have a decorator in who lives in our estate, he is so reliable he rarely has to leave the estate as everyone uses him, we also have a plumber/ gas heating engineer who is the same. Trust is everything,

Local facebook page, and I do not go for the person quoting t he lowest price if it's something important (new kitchen) though I might if it's an odd job (clearing out the gutter). I will actually wait several months for the right person to do an expensive job.

Where are you located, @gaelicsheep?

The thread was started over ten years ago