How to Find a Good Builder in Nottingham: Checks and Quotes

What to check before you hire a builder

Checkatrade’s quick checks before hiring a builder are experience with similar projects, a written quote or estimate, valid public liability insurance, recent reviews or references, timelines explained and open communication about costs.

Structural work, extensions and major renovations usually need an experienced builder, Checkatrade says, because poor work can lead to structural problems, building regulation issues, delays, extra costs and insurance complications. Work through the checks in this order.

Check FMB, Which? and Trading Standards registers

Membership of a trade scheme is not always essential, but it gives extra reassurance on a larger project, Checkatrade says. Its examples are the Federation of Master Builders and TrustMark, which it describes as a government-endorsed quality scheme covering home improvement trades.

A builder that names a scheme on its website should appear on that scheme’s own register, so look it up before you meet.

Scheme	How to look a builder up	What a listing means
Federation of Master Builders	Search by town or postcode, or by name, then open the member profile	Members “have to pass a professional vetting and inspection process before joining”
Which? Trusted Traders	Browse the endorsed traders by trade and town	The trader is endorsed by Which?
Buy With Confidence	Search by business name, or by trade and full postcode	Profiles say “Vetted and approved by Trading Standards”

Among the ten Nottingham builders compared for extensions, renovations and new builds, O’Keeffe Building Services, D&M Building Services and Traditional Build are on the FMB register. Trent Valley Plumbing & Building has been a Buy With Confidence member since April 2008, and Constructive Choice is endorsed by Which? Trusted Traders.

Look for experience with projects like yours

Some builders specialise, while others manage larger jobs involving several trades, Checkatrade says. A job may need specialist experience if it involves a listed building, a period property, structural alterations, a large extension, or groundworks or drainage issues.

The skills Checkatrade says to look for are experience with similar projects, clear communication and realistic timelines, knowledge of building regulations, organisation and project management, and a reliable network of subcontractors. Traditional Build in Toton, for example, project manages every build, including the plumbing and electrics, and has used the same electrician and plumber for over 20 years.

Building regulations knowledge matters to you too, because without building regulations approval you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you sell your home, GOV.UK says.

Self-employed builder or building company

Checkatrade compares the two like this.

On Checkatrade’s figures	Self-employed builder	Building company
Typical rate	Around £40 an hour	Around £400 a day
Best suited to	Smaller jobs, repairs and straightforward projects	Larger projects, renovations and jobs needing several trades
What to check	Insurance, availability, what is included and whether extra trades are needed	Project management, the payment schedule, who will be on site and exclusions

A building company’s rate might include project management, admin support, insurance, equipment and a wider team, so a lower hourly rate is not automatically the cheapest overall, Checkatrade says. Buon Construction in St Ann’s, for example, keeps architects, designers, builders, plasterers, plumbers and electricians in-house and gives fixed-price quotes.

Questions to ask a builder

Ask every builder the same questions Checkatrade suggests and note the answers side by side.

Question	A good answer includes
Have you done projects like mine?	Recent photos, projects you can visit and previous customers you can speak to
Who manages the project day to day?	Who runs the job, who will be on site and how many people
Do you use subcontractors?	Which trades come in, and whether they are in the quote
What does the quote include?	Itemised written prices, with the exclusions listed
How long will the work take?	A start date, a realistic timescale and the next steps
How do you handle delays or unexpected issues?	Whether extras or unforeseen work are allowed for, and open communication about costs
What are your payment terms?	The deposit amount and payment stages, agreed in writing before work starts
Do you offer a warranty or guarantee?	A guarantee you can check in writing, and valid public liability insurance

Smaller jobs take days or weeks and extensions or renovations several months, Checkatrade says.

How to compare builder quotes

Get at least three quotes for a larger project, Checkatrade advises, because the cheapest is not always the best value. Its list of common mistakes is hiring on price alone, no written quote, unchecked references or reviews, no relevant experience, rushed decisions and payment stages not agreed upfront.

Ask for itemised written quotes that show the items below, Checkatrade advises. D&M Building Services in Long Eaton, for example, works to detailed quotations with a defined scope and staged payments.

Builder deposits and payment stages

Deposits are common on larger projects, particularly where materials are ordered in advance, and payment stages are best agreed in writing before work begins, Checkatrade says. Write the deposit amount into the quote or written contract, and be extra cautious of paying anything over 10% of the project value, Checkatrade advises.

Checkatrade also says never to pay a deposit in cash, and to keep all quotes, invoices and paperwork.

Quotes, estimates and your rights if work goes wrong

A quote is a promise to do the work at an agreed price, while an estimate is the trader’s best guess, Citizens Advice explains. A builder cannot charge more than a quote without a good reason, such as extra work you agreed to pay for or an obvious mistake, and a rise in its own costs does not count. Under an estimate, the final price should be reasonable.

Once you give the go-ahead you have a contract, even if nothing is written down, and you take any problem up with the builder who arranged the work, even if it was subcontracted, Citizens Advice says.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the work must be done with reasonable care and skill. If the builder supplied materials as well as the work, you can ask it to fix a problem; if it supplied only the work, you can get a refund and stop it doing more. If it cannot or will not fix the problem, ask for a partial or full refund, which should arrive within 14 days of agreeing the amount, Citizens Advice says.

You should give a builder who runs late a second chance to finish, unless you made clear the work had to be finished by a certain date, Citizens Advice says.