Builders - why are they so hard to find!!

[Kitchencomposter]

After a few quotes last year we settled on a builder to do a single storey toilet/cloakroom extension and had him around recently to requote. We agreed to proceed. He sent across a General Service Agreement (one of these online legal templates) which we reviewed but went back and asked him to put in a start/completion date (which hadn't actually been discussed with us.. just some time in July), the process in event of a dispute, guarantees and warrantees etc., termination of contract etc. and then we'd be happy to sign.

Today he cancelled the contract, no email to say 'no probs, here's some dates in July to choose from, and then I'll include the additional items' - he just cancelled the online agreement and no further communication from him. (He may come back in a few days but to be honest, I would have thought settling upon a start date to be the priority!)

Do you think we've been saved from a disaster?

It's so hard to find a builder, and one that wants to do our small extension.

Because of Tony Blair’s education, education, education, and a target of 50% of children going to university.

It may not have been his intention but the result was lots of young people getting degrees rather than training in the trades.

DH’s BF is a careers advisor in the local high school. My DH regularly sends him extracts from trade journals showing average pay of £35-40k for plumbers / electricians etc. a few years after qualifying vs £30k for graduates - if they can get a job. But the DC weren’t interested.

A scary 0.5 million tradespeople are predicted to retire in the next 5 years so it will get worse.

i know this is controversial but I honestly think so many trades people are self employed because they would really struggle in the world of employment. We have had 2 lots of building work done at home and NEVER AGAIN. It was all so chaotic - poor timekeeping (when they show up), lack of communication a big issue, no money management and then the inability to fully finish the job OMG - just would not be tolerated by any employer. Around here the most successful trades have some kind of office staff /admin staff and for that they are twice the price!

Well if we can't get our toilet extension done, it'll have to be a bucket in the porch for those emergency pees!! 😂

Tbh if the builder is recommended by someone else and they have signed a contract or given you a written quote and you have accepted it in writing(which is a form of contract between you in my understanding) I have never come across a builder that wanted to sign warranties and guarantees!! They would have run a mile. An electrical cert and a gas cert yes and checks by building control but nothing else. I had my loft done 25 years ago and we signed a contract we had building control and electric cert, gas cert heating extension but no guarantees and warranties. It's stood up because an architect and engineer specified the building details.

I'm not suggesting an architect or engineer needs to draw up plans for you (obviously necessary for a loft) - I'm just pointing out that it seems overkill to have more than a straightforward contract,which is all we had, for our entire 45m3 loft.
Have you thought of getting your simple extension drawn up by an architectural technician so the building work is clearly specified which might leave less room for it be built badly?

@Kitchencomposter “asked him to put in a start/completion date (which hadn't actually been discussed with us.. just some time in July), the process in event of a dispute, guarantees and warrantees etc., termination of contract etc.”

There’s your problem. Small builders don’t want to get involved with all that. Sometime in July is all he can predict. He guessed how long it will take, then there is weather. He’s not going to give exact dates, he cannot.
He’s obviously got plenty of work and has decided you’re more trouble than the job is worth.

It's so hard to get good tradespeople.

My next door neighbour gets loads of work done on his house and I've started just nicking his people.

I see their vans when I walk the dog in the morning and try to have a chat if any of them are around - they generally want to say Hi to the dog anyway - and then I ask if they would kindly give me a quote. It's turning out to be a much better method than leaving messages on mobiles etc!

We knock on the doors of the houses we've seen having work done locally and ask them for recommendations.

We tackled a few renovation projects in our last house, and before long, we’ll be on the lookout for new ones in our next property —once we’ve got the keys in hand, of course. I must admit, dealing with builders can be a bit of a minefield, especially when the job calls for a mix of trades.
One bit of advice? I would steer clear of websites like checkatrade, trustatrader, or mybuilder. While they might seem helpful, those platforms are paid by the builders to generate leads, so you’re not always getting the full picture.
In our case, we were lucky. We found our builders through a recommendation on our local WhatsApp group—lovely neighbours, all very honest —and honestly, we couldn’t have been happier. In fact, they’ve worked on quite a few homes up and down our street, and everyone’s sung their praises.
Always ask for a proper written estimate, get a copy of their public liability insurance, and do have a peek at reviews on sites like trustpilot or google itself. From my experience, those tend to give the most reliable insight into what you’re really signing up for. All the best!

There are fewer builders than there are jobs, so they can be picky. If they think someone is going to be difficult, they are less likely to want the work.

We used to get a lot of builders from Europe, particularly Poland. They mostly don’t want to come here any more. Combine that with fewer young people going into the trades, and you have a shortage of the skills needed.

It's Brexit. The builders round here all used to be Polish/Slovakian/Bulgarian etc. Now they're British and rare as hen's teeth. One bathroom fitter near me is booked up for a year!

I agree it also sounds a bit overkill for a toilet/cloakroom extension and a general builder probably has larger and more lucrative options . Might be more cost effective to self manage with individual trades - ground workers, brickie, plumber etc and would be cheaper too

There is lots of builders, google around your area and you will spot good ones with good reviews. Yes you will need to call / text them to arrange site visit