Usual for builders to not quote?

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We bought a house in '21 that has turned out to need a lot more work than we thought.

Ideally we now need the kitchen doing, including having the floor leveled, a new front door, the bay window needs work, and we'd like the attic room converted to a dormer.

We've had three builders round to quote... one cancelled an hour before. One higher-end builders spent four hours talking to us, but then emailed two weeks later to say they couldn't quote anymore as they'd got a bigger project, but would estimate the costs at £80k... Another lower-end builder has just done the same thing, quoted at £30k but said they wouldn't do the work as they've had another project come in.

Is this usual? I'm finding the whole thing really tough. DH has done a renovation type project before but I haven't, and all I can see is mess and placeholder furniture etc. Two of the cupboard doors have fallen off and are unfixable... DH is currently replastering a bit of wall to repaint it.

I don't need perfect, but I'm struggling with the lack of progress.

Finding similar at the moment OP , tbh we’ve had builders who don’t even show up to quote

Yes.

Whenever you ask trades to do work their will be some who turn up, look at the job and refuse to quote. Often they will keep their options open by acting as if they are interested when they survey the job, but then show zero interest afterwards.

In some ways these builders are being good as they are being honest with you. The problem ones would just say yes, then not turn up for 6 months.

The bottom line is a lot of trades are busy and in demand atm.

They are refusing to quote because it is binding. They should give you an estimate though as it isn't binding, and say they will get back to you in a few months when they have space. A good builder should have a waiting list.

Do any of your neighbours have a dormer extension that was done in the last few years they are happy with? As you should have a look round - don't bother if you can't have a look round - and try to contact their builder.

Yes.

Good builders have a queue.

They will also choose projects that they prefer - either fits their specific skills etc.

Ask for estimates not quotes, they have to stick to quotes and so put a lot of time into working them out.

From the trades perspective, quoting takes up a lot of time and it isn't often productive time (ie the project isn't suitable for you and or they've asked several people to quote and you don't get the job)

You’re asking for a mixed bag of work. That won’t be appealing tbh.

Can you do a bit at a time?

Yes, it's usual.

i can never face getting stuff done. Also I have the issue of living in a flat - bigger jobs available elsewhere make it a rarity to find someone willing to look at stuff.

Yep, i think the best thing to do is find neighbours who are having work done (and are happy with it!) and speak to their builders.

Seems someone is always having work done in the neighbourhood and builders seem happy to pop around for 5 mins to check out jobs.

Get a recommendation from a trusted source and then be prepared to wait... no decent builder is going to be free quickly. We waited 8 months for ours to start and that was after it took a fair while to find them...Everyone we asked who had had an extension/loft conversion wouldn't recommend their builders for various reasons and I didn't want to risk using them.

We finally found ours through my son's friend! I'd picked DS up from his house, saw they'd had an extension, asked to have a look and then asked if their builder was good. I also made it clear when we rang that builder that we were serious about getting the work, had planning in place and had architect drawings ready to show them. When they came round I ensured they knew that we'd wait for them. So there was an understanding from the start.

My neighbours have paid a dreadful price for not vetting their builders properly. They have been left with appalling, shoddy work. It really is worth living with however your house is now and ensuring you get decent people in, no matter how long that takes. Good luck.

That and the fact that a lot of builders cannot be bothered with any sort of paperwork. Which is why it is like hell on earth getting any building regulations/installation certificates out of them.

Yes. Perfectly normal. Had three builders round to quote for some work, only one of them submitted a quote, we never heard from the other two again.

You're more likely to get a response if you ask for an estimate rather than a quote, and the wait time will be a minimum of 3 months for anyone half decent.

Having exactly this. Far from being able to choose a builder I’ve been left feeling grateful if someone provided a quote. Contacted 7, got 3 back with only one providing a breakdown of costs. Quotes varied wildly between 30-80k.

I've used handymen and builders and contractors overlapping over last 25 years. It seems to be that different projects require different sorts of workmen. So an attic conversion is really only of interest to a loft specialist semi contractor as they line up all the trades and know exactly how long it will take, building regs/architect/engineer coordination, what to charge. Front door/doors get done by v skilled jack of all trades (old fashioned)handymen who don't want to work flat out for big projects do paperwork. Then some tradesmen relish fitting kitchens and will do whole thing as a package including floor, finding electrician, plumber. They are booked up and schedule you in for the two weeks that job will take wo be tide the tiles arriving broken etc or delays in materials that a handyman will find it much easier to work around.

You seldom get a combination of all three types in one building firm unless it is a big renovation. They actively dislike "bits and pieces" because they have to keep changing tack, and it's a lot of project management which the client doesnt necessarily understand he will pay extra for/refuses to pay extra for.