Extension stalled - no one wants to do it. Help!

[Fooferella]

We have been planning this (small, timber) extension for 2 years and finally got our building warrant application in this January. In February I started contacting builders that had been recommended to us. Out of 10 builders only 4 got back to me and of those 4 only 2 came round and offered to quote for it. It is now May and I have yet to hear from either of them despite having sent them very polite email prompts.

While this was going on I contacted a few kitchen places to start getting prices. Unfortunately there are two juts of wall in the plans that I hadn't noticed before that I want to have removed and can't get the kitchen quotes until I ascertain this. I have contacted my structural engineer to ask the question and when he didn't get back to me contacted one who has premises just down the road from us. Neither have responded since early March.

I had wanted to be starting on the build in June or July because I purposely deferred my OU degree this year so I could concentrate on the extension. To add to the complication we've been recommended that we urgently need a full rewire as ours is ancient and dodgy. I wanted quotes for all the work before we started anything so we could engage the electrician and builder to do it all at the same time.

My question is how do I get builders interested? I'm loathe to be too pushy with the ones that I'm waiting on for quotes because I don't want to piss them off before they've even started. Is it because I'm a woman? (The Magnet guy tried to postpone our meeting until DH could attend even after I told him it's my project and DH isn't interested beyond the basics) Anyone got a builder they'd recommend in Edinburgh? Is there any hope I could get this done before October?

Ask friends/colleagues for builder recommendations??

I would look at small building companies that deal with Sips , they will be comfortable working with it , they might be more expensive though.

I would look at doing the re wire separately. Get the existing house re wired then get the extension wiring done when that goes ahead.

Good builders are busy, and have a pile of work stacked up. You're right to be contacting people with a personal recommendation.

Phone them rather than email. If they don't answer the phone, they don't want to talk to you and you are wasting your time. Try about an hour after it gets dark, when they are probably at home. If one tells you he is too busy, ask if he can recommend someone. Try to get on the "wait list" especially if yours is a smallish job that they could do when some other job falls through. It's possible that they have been stacking up outdoor work during the winter and now have a lot of jobs waiting.

Good people only like to associate with other good people, to protect their reputation. Bad people hang around with each other because no-one else will.

Thank you for the replies. Is it really OK to ring them in the evening? I've been ringing them during business hours but obviously they are usually busy and don't have time to talk.

Local scaffolding companies know loads of good builders and also people that have been pulled off jobs for lack of funds etc. I got our amazing builders by asking a scaffolder for recommendation.

if they don't want to talk after work, they will probably just not answer.

You can leave a voicemail but they may not return it unless they want your business.

Builders are occasionally good at business administration; often not.

Have you tried WhatsApping them? It means you can see when they’ve read the message and how often they are online. All the builders we’ve used respond to WhatsApp far quicker than email.