What to ask a potential builder of an extension?

[GeorginaA]

Well, we've got the architect's drawings for a fairly substantial ground-floor extension on our house, got the planning permission... all we need now is a builder.

Unfortunately, the only one we've found a personal recommendation on isn't available at the moment, so it looks like we're going to have to pick carefully via the Yellow Pages and make sure they're properly accredited, etc.

What sort of questions should we be asking on the phone during the initial enquiry/when they come to visit to quote? Has anyone got any advice, things to look out for, etc. Recommendations on how to minimize the impact while it's being done also welcome, but please no horror stories - I'm faint of heart about this already!!!

Thanks.

GeorginaA, we hired a builder years ago and I've found that
everything counts. He has to return calls quickly, do what he says he's going to (show up at the right time, etc) and be approachable. You have to like him, I think.

It's a give and take relationship, I've found. We had some stuff redone and always kept the same builder. I know that I gave him breaks and he was willing to drop everything to help me when I really needed it.

He should do this when you first make contact. You should start judging from your first phone call.

I don't have a horror story and have often wished he'd followed us around. He was great.

Ask if you can phone the last couple of people he's done jobs for. A good builder will be proud of his work and confident that he'll get good references.

Also, drive around your area and look for houses with work in progress. Knock at the door and see what the owners think so far. Ditto any finished work in the area that you like the look of. You've then got some off the cuff opinions to go on as well.

Can your architect recommend anyone? We're at this stage too and ours has recommended two and we are looking at another couple found through the Federation of Master Builders. Their website is pretty good, it has a downloadable contract you can use - when you get to that stage!

Absolutely check references....and lots of them. Talk to all the people he's done work for in the last few years and try to talk to architects that he's done work for. The latter is really important because they will be much more able to be critical of the construction work (and not just how nice he was). Is there some reason your architects are not recommending builders and overseeing the construction? If it's an option, I (I'm an architect) would highly recommend it.
Also, once you've selected a builder, DO NOT pay them all the money you owe them before the work is finished AND make sure you keep enough retainer that if they disappear, or there are defects, you can afford to have someone else finish the work. I think 10% for several months is normal.

Our architect is our nextdoor neighbour who has had an identical extension (so it's been a fairly cheap job just converting the plans as it were). His recommendations for builders are mainly commercial builders (it was a friend of his who did their extension part time as a favour) - none of which are prepared to do a small domestic job unfortunately.

Thank you for all the advice so far... writing them all down religiously, please keep them coming :)

Re how to minimise the impact... we had a ground-floor extension done last year and our builder waited until the very last moment to knock through into the existing living space (ie they did all they could outside - to the point of putting the roof on the extension - before they created chaos on the inside ). Presumably most good builders work this way but it would be worth checking with whoever you are thinking of using.