One stop builder or individual trades?

[Kai1981]

I'm about to move into a flat and need to:

Redo bathroom (new tiles, shower etc)

Redo kitchen (full refit, paint etc and new appliances)

Add a brand new ensuite cloakroom (toilet and basin only) in the main bedroom

Finding a builder who can do it fairly soon is proving tricky. Would it be crazy for me to project manage and get individual trades in (in particular things like plasterer, electrician and plumber)?

Is it best just to wait if needed?

I would suggest hiring separate trades the best. But I at the moments trades are hard to get hold of, often booked up for months in advance. There are also shortages in building supplies, which is putting up prices and reducing availability. If you can wait it may be wise to do so. Good luck.

Depends on your building experience... if you know what needs to be done when and how long each part takes then single trades. If you have no building sequencing experience it is probably better getting someone in who knows what they are doing.

The other advantage of a single builder is they can give you a collateral warranty for all the works so there is no argument about who's work caused the issue if it goes wrong.

I always get individual trades. You can still get building materials and I haven’t found they are going up as fast as somebody are claiming.

It takes time to project manage. You need to be on top of the tradespeople and make sure materials are delivered in time, and that things are done in the right order. A kitchen company may do the whole fit - including the electrics and plumbing, but you need to organise the flooring and redecorating separately. A plumber can probably do the fitting and tiling refit of existing bathroom, but you'll need a builder and plumber and electrician to add a new bathroom.
If you are confident, know exactly what you want, have time to organise, order, and supervise, then project manage it yourself.
I've only once employed a builder to handle it all, and was massively disappointed. It just wasn't done to my standards.

Thank you. I actually thought most people hired one builder, hadn't realised separate trades are also quite common.

I've had this kind of work done before on a larger scale (by a single builder) in an old home and my Dad's a retired electrician and plumber so he's quite savvy (though wouldn't do actual work).

I'm working from home so can be there anytime (will need to make myself scarce for noisy/difficult parts I know).

That said, the collateral warranty would be reassuring.

@mayblossominapril google shortages in building supplies, I thank you will be surprised travis Perkins, construction news, all warning of shortages in supply & price increases. We have just had a garden office built, the suppliers have had difficulty buying timber, cost rise of 23%!, undercoat has also been in short supply. So as a result builders are buying up stock when available.

Not sure about 'collateral warantee' unless you are going with a big name - and that will cost you for sure. An all in one builder is only as good as his subcontractors, and you are relying on him to make sure the work is quality, and that can be subjective. I'd rather vet the individual tradespeople myself, then they are directly employed by me, so no other person to hide behind if the work isn't good enough, and I control the materials used (so they can't get away with inferior products for example that the main contractor might buy).
It does come down to trust though. If you can get a personal recommendation (I don't believe checkatrade or similar) you at get lucky. I'm sorry to tar a whole industry, but there are too many poor quality tradespeople and this isn't a toaster you are buying, but improvements to your home. My last all in one builder (hired due to distance), just wasn't up to the job, and walked away without his final payment as he just couldn't rectify the issues due to bad workmanship. I still had to fix it though!

Thank you. This is really helpful! I am veering towards individual trades now but will speak to some different people and see what's possible.

I've done 3 big renovations and I used 1 main contractor each time. Because the trade teams had worked together so often, scheduling was easier and they worked around each other well (last house was a tricky site). I paid more for the main company but their discounts with traders and suppliers left us at least as well financially as if I'd got people in individually. It also meant there was only one point of call for me for updates or if anything went wrong.

@LittleOverWhelmed

All of those are really quite self contained.

You sometimes get good fitters who do bathrooms and kitchens. They can work with an electricians (and May recommend one).

I am getting towards the end of a sizeable extension / renovation project and we used a one stop design and build service, but I would be unlikely to again. The trades were excellent (fortunately), the design was good, but the contract / supplier management has been bad and we have paid through the nose for it. If I did a big project again, I would look for an independent project manager to run things (would save money and do a better job!)

In your case, though, the work sounds straight forward: you won’t gain by getting a builder in: it will just cost more, probably take longer and still cause a lot of stress (probably more!!!).

Little has put their finger on the nub of it. If you go with 1 contractor and have a good one, happy days. But of course if they let you down, it can be a right pain.

We have just done what you’re planning and used individual trades - the total came to about £60,000 instead of £100k that a builder would have charged. When that finished we started an extension and we employed a builder to get it to plastering and plumbing with us getting all the other trades in - again it’s probably coming to about £80,000 instead of the next lowest quote from a builder of £120,000. The extension doesn’t included the kitchen cabinets or appliances.

You do get hiccups along the way but it was worth it for the saving,