What do you give builders at the end of a project?

[Wantarest]

I'm wondering what the usual protocol is. Did you give (or are you planning to give) your builders something at the end of the project? For example, drinks, a takeaway, etc? Or do you just say thank you and send them on their way?

Wtf? I pay the invoice.

Um never have. Except a thank you and paying their invoice tbh.

Although literally no builders we have ever had been anything but sluggish and disinterested. If they were we might do different. We recently had exceptionally good carpet fitters and gave them £50 to cover a beer on us.

Full payment.

The money they have invoiced for. Our builder is a family friend too so a bottle of something at Christmas, but for finishing a job we've contracted? Payment.

😀they have been here for over 9 months (I reckon they will be here for near a year by the time all of this is finished). They are good builders and we have developed a good rapport. I see them (the team of various trades, etc) every day.

I don't mind at all just saying thank you and goodbye. Just wondered whether there was a normal expectation/practice that I should be aware of.

I pay and give a crate of beer

My DH has had a fair few things at the end of a project ranging from a nice bottle of wine to a £1000 bonus (very unexpected that one) but genuinely the best gifts have been writing a glowing review and just thanking him for the work he’s done. He even had a handwritten thank you note from an elderly chap a few years ago and it’s hung in his office.

We’re rounding up a year long project too OP and tbh it has crossed my mind that it will be weird to just say bye. But would be weirder to give a gift I think 😄 we’ve paid them hundreds of thousands so that should suffice haha. Also there’s probably not going to be a specific grand final end day - it will wind down a bit, they’ll pop back here and there for snags, it will just peter out. They might even pop in for the last time while you’re out.

I gave my last builders a final bonus. They had seriously underestimated the work, gave me a good fixed price, and worked like Trojans. They were so delighted, and really grateful.

The final week I made sure we had something scrumptious each teatime. Toasted teacakes, crumpets, nice cakes, and on the last day I did a cream tea. They had eaten and drunk their way through so much tea, coffee and digestive biscuits in the previous months but an amazing team.

I think it rather depends. There is an extension being built in my road that has been going on that long, but the builders are only on site between 8am and 10am, so I wouldn't be giving them any tip as they should have been finished months ago.

I had building work going on a while back over the course of several months and gave copious cups of tea, sausage rolls etc. during the build, and it turned out to be a shit job that we need to go to court to solve.

Currently, we have builders who appear to be diligent and doing a good job, and bumped into them in the pub last night, so bought them a round.

I don't think there is a 'norm' but if you think they've done a good job and you'd like to use them again, I don't think a slab of beer would be a bad thing. It is the thought that counts, and depending on how many builders there are, you'll have effectively bought them all a drink.

Wow that’s very generous! I have barely made a single tea, I told our PM there’s no way I’m doing that for months on end (half jokily, and he said that’s fine and his team don’t expect it). They have still done a cracking job though! We do have 3 kids inc a 1 year old so even if they were expecting a waitress, it was never going to be me 😄

@KnittedCardi what a wonderful person you are! Well done. I don't think I can be that generous as every penny counts right now.

@BingoMarieHeeler it does feel weird but I agree it will petter out. I might give them a crate of beer one day when the sun glows a bit warmer.

I had a kitchen refurb last year and the fitter was really brilliant - hardworking, polite, did extra work to improve the design etc. At the end, after I had paid the kitchen supplier, I gave him a £50 tip and told him to take his girlfriend out for a meal to make up for his late nights when he was finishing work to be ready for the next stage.

I felt he went beyond his remit and really appreciated his consideration and excellent work. He appeared very surprised so I suspect he does not get many decent tips.

I think there's a difference between hiring a tradesperson to do a one-off job and using a contractor for a total refurb. For, say, a carpet fitter who did a great job and went the extra mile, I think a tip or some beers may be warranted. But with a contractor, the tradespeople are not directly employed by the client, and tipping them individually would feel weird, while tipping the director of the company would be meaningless. As said above, I think the offer of a good review / reference, and possibly allowing their future clients to view the work they have done, or for them to use photos on their website is sufficient.

Said thank you, sent them the snagging list. Paid final invoice once snagging list dealt with.

On the only major building project we have done, the builders were brilliant and so respectful of how it feels to have your house ripped apart around you .When they finished we gave the pm a bottle of his favourite tipple as well as tipping the individual tradies as they left

I gave the last lot we had "the finger".

From behind a curtain obviously.

I guess if you have been happy with the job they probably would like booze of some description.

😂@DrySherry

It sounds weird now but didn't at the time. We gave the tradesmen a cheese hamper each. They said they loved it. The building company owner we just paid. It was several hundred thousand though, so didn't feel anything more than prompt payment and a thank you was needed.

My DH is a builder in a (small) family business. Even though they've worked on projects which have cost the customer a pretty penny, he (and his colleagues) don't see any more than their basic wage.

So people saying they've paid a huge amount and that's enough, the ones doing the back breaking manual work don't tend to see a penny more than their wage (which is often a fraction more than NMW or LW).

Not saying for a second that people should hand out envelopes with cash in for the builders 😂

My DH has got an extra £50, a 6-pack of beer/lager, a bottle of wine etc. He appreciates everything. What he does talk about most is when the customer rewards their work during the job. So maybe some nice pastries for their tea break. Or the time an elderly customer set the table with doilies and a full china tea set.

He also remembers the times when customers speak down to them or ignore them completely.

You're very thoughtful OP, I'm sure anything would be appreciated, even just a card.

We had fabulous builders when my husband was seriously ill in hospital. They took over and managed everything for me, build wise. They finished close to Christmas. Both hands on builders were young men with families so we gave them each a Christmas card, cash bonus and quality street for the kids. Gave the boss a couple of decent bottles of wine.

The snag list?

I thought there was SUCH a shortage of builders, and everyone's going in about going into the trades instead of uni to get paid more...? Or maybe that's just plumbers and electricians.

A phone call from the police and a subsequent court summons, in my case.