Choosing the right builder for your conversion project
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Whether you need more space, or are simply trying to maximise the space you already have, a conversion project can have a huge impact on the feel of your home - and its value.
But whether you’re knocking down walls to create a single kitchen-diner, or renovating a garage to be an extra bedroom, it’s essential that you find the right世界杯2022赛程时间表最新 to perform the work. We spoke to some of the experienced tradespeople recommended on MyBuilder to find out the key things you should know in order to make the right choice:
- Find out if they’ve done similar conversion projects to yours
- Make sure you are comfortable with them
- Look out for experience as much as accreditations
- Get like-for-like quotes and make sure everything is included
- Establish a payment plan
- Check their familiarity with planning permission and building regulations
- Ensure the tradesperson will check for snags before the job is finished
Keeping these points in mind can help you focus on what to look for when you’re meeting with tradespeople and getting quotes for the work. Carry on reading for more details on how to go about finding the right tradesperson for your job.
Find out if they’ve done similar conversions to yours
Conversions are not a simple, off-the-shelf purchase. Each one will be a different job, whether it involves turning a box room into an en-suite, or turning an unloved basement space into a high-end home cinema room.
When looking for a tradesperson for your conversion, it’s sensible to speak to ones who have performed similar builds to the one you have planned - if you are hoping to convert your garage, for example, find tradesperson who have performed plenty of similar jobs.
有很多方法可以确定他们的技能是否适合你的工作。除了能够在MyBuilder这样的网站上阅读以前客户的反馈外，当你遇到潜在的商人时，你也可以要求查看他们以前的工作例子。他们可以给你看他们过去工作的照片，或者，更好的是，你可以安排通过建造者参观他们以前的工作——他们应该很高兴让你接触他们以前工作过的客户。Lewis Sage of Romford’s UPS Home Improvements, a business with more than 160 pieces of positive feedback on MyBuilder, said:
任何对自己的工作感到自豪的优秀建筑工人都应该很乐意帮你联系老客户。当我做得很好，客户对我的工作很满意的时候，我会对他们说，我能请你帮个忙吗，将来我能把你当作推荐人吗，这并不麻烦。我想对客户说，走出去，看看商人在你当地做了什么——没有什么比亲眼看到更好的了。
As well as seeing the finished product, seeing a work in progress can also be invaluable, as Lewis explains:
The other good thing to do is ask if they have a build currently on the go, and go along and see that. That way, you don’t just see a nice, tidy job, you can make sure everything behind the scenes is being done properly. It also shows you that they’re a well-thought of, active company - not a firm appearing out of nowhere with no history.
Make sure you are comfortable with them
除了了解他们是否熟悉你的工作之外，你还应该简单地评估一下你与潜在的商人相处的舒适程度。你可以从第一次接触他们开始就这样做;他们在电话里礼貌吗?他们在预定的时间到达会议现场吗?他们会问很多关于项目的问题吗?
Conversion projects can be expensive and time consuming - some projects may only take a few days, but others can take several weeks from start to finish - and being able to maintain good communication throughout the build is essential. You don’t have to become best friends with them, but you should be able to have a professional relationship - you must feel comfortable speaking openly about any concerns that may arise, and dealing with any issues.Paul Coulson of KDBS in Newcastle, which has more than 350 pieces of positive feedback on MyBuilder, said:
Getting on with a tradesperson is really important for a homeowner. If you’re going to be in their home for weeks at a time, you have to get on with them. All it takes is one miscommunication for things to turn sour, and the whole job can be an issue. If you can sit down together and have a proper chat, then everything will go more smoothly.
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如果你觉得合适，你可以开始考虑他们是否适合这个项目。
Look out for experience as much as accreditations
除了阅读反馈，看看他们以前的工作，看看你和他们相处得如何，你也不应该害怕问他们问题——你应该自由地问他们所拥有的资格，他们在这个行业的时间，以及他们将如何处理你的特定工作。
你亦可在此查阅有关人士是否参加任何行业协会或认可计划。从事转换项目的构建者可能属于各种各样的组织。Some you may encounter include:
- Federation of Master Builders (FMB): The UK’s largest trade association for the construction industry, all members are inspected by the body and expected to uphold standards and follow a code of conduct. There are different levels of membership, with the highest, Build Assure, offering the option of an insurance-backed building work guarantee.
- Guild of Builders and Contractors:成为“受信任会员”的会员，必须证明已与客户及财务顾问进行了三年的交易，并须遵守某些标准，例如提供书面合约及清晰的付款计划。
- Guild of Master Craftsmen: Covering a variety of trades, each full member is assessed in person by the Guild to ensure they are reaching high standards of work. The Guild also provides a conciliation service for disputes between homeowners and member tradespeople.
- National Federation of Builders: Members must provide business and financial references, have public liability insurance and adhere to a code of conduct. Although it does not offer a guarantee against work, it operates a complaint procedure.
- FairTrades Association: Established in 1983, the FairTrades Association covers multiple trades and works to ensure standards, encouraging its members to offer insurance-backed guarantees on their work.
Membership of a body such as this is a good indication that a tradesperson is competent and working up to certain standards, however, there are many experienced tradespeople who do not belong to these bodies - there is no obligation to be signed up, unlike membership of the Gas Safe Register, a legal requirement for tradespeople who work with gas in the home. Use your own judgement to assess a tradesperson experience, and see accreditation as a healthy recommendation or extra seal of approval. Paul said:
There are some membership bodies which offer practical benefits to homeowners who hire their tradespeople, such as offering an insurance-backed guarantee, so some people like the peace of mind that brings. Others are good for tradespeople when it comes to things like advertising their business or finding leads, so are less important for homeowners. If I was a homeowner looking for a tradeperson, it’s the experience I’d look for over any particular memberships.
Get like-for-like quotes and make sure everything is included
It’s advisable to meet with, and get quotations from at least three tradespeople. The detail and scope of their quotation can tell you a lot about their process. It’s important to make sure that all the quotations are like-for-like - do they include materials and labour, as well as any subcontracting the tradesperson may do, and VAT? The only way to accurately compare quotations is if you are comparing like-for-like. Make sure they cover the whole scope of the job as well - if you want the conversion to have everything done, including things like skirting boards and door architraves, then the quotation should make that clear; both you and the tradesperson need an accurate vision of what the finished job looks like.
拿出至少三份报价的样本，可以帮助你发现任何看似不合理的低报价——如果是这样的话，这可能是一个商人想要赢得这份工作的迹象，但他会通过在建造过程中增加额外成本来弥补真正的价值，或者使用可能不符合标准的廉价材料。Paul said:
获得一个好的报价是非常重要的。我把报价里的所有东西都列了出来，一一分类——我用的是什么材料，劳动力成本是多少。当一切都完成后，这就是你要支付的最终数字——不会有很多额外的费用。我看到过有人从其他商人那里得到的报价比我的低很多，也有人问我是否会降低我的报价，但我只是说“不”。我知道它们是低的，因为它们不会使用正确的材料，或者它们会尝试添加一些东西。
As Paul points out, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Establish a payment plan
在通过一份准确的书面报价同意一个价格后，确保你有一个让你感到舒服的付款计划。
A reputable tradesperson will generally not expect, or ask for, the total value of an expensive conversion job up front. However, depending on the size of the job, a small deposit is not uncommon. While many builders buy materials on account from trade suppliers, and will not request money up front to cover these costs, if it’s a small firm working on a large build with high costs involved, this may be worked into the plan. Lewis said:
A deposit is normal, but I do advise to wait until a few days in before handing it over. See what the timekeeping is like, if they come on time and don’t leave early, if the skip comes and the scaffolding starts going up. When you’re happy everything is kicked off, then you can do the deposit.
Some builders may defer payment until after the build is completed, but the most common method of payment is an installment plan that sees you paying certain percentages of the total bill after various stages of the job are completed, after Building Control has inspected the work to ensure that it has been completed to standard. Other tradespeople may prefer to be paid on either a monthly or weekly basis, especially over a longer timeframe, in order to cover their material costs and paying subcontractors and employees.
Some builders will also leave a retention payment - a sum of money (typically between about 2% and 5% of the overall cost of the build), which you as the homeowner keep until final sign-off on the project, to ensure the tradesperson finishes the job to standard.
保罗主张，商人和房主一起坐下来起草一份合同，双方都要签署，其中详细说明了如何付款，以确保双方都对这个过程感到满意。He said:
你们必须一起坐下来，想出一个对你们双方都有效的办法。如果这是一个工作，只需要一个星期，我很高兴采取全额付款后的工作完成，所有的工作是完成。如果某项工作需要更长的时间，我喜欢在每一步工作完成后进行定期付款，并得到建筑控制部门的批准。有一份书面合同是最好的运作方式，这意味着每个人都知道自己的立场，不会有任何误解。
For larger payments, it is common for tradespeople to accept cheques and bank transfers.
Check their familiarity with planning permission and building regulations
The majority of conversion projects will not require planning permission. The exceptions to this are generally if the conversion involves altering the external structure of the building, or if your home is a listed property or within a conservation area. It is always worth a phone call to your local authority’s planning office to check if your work is permitted.
While planning permission will typically not be needed, your conversion will need to comply with building regulations, as assessed by Building Control. Planning permission deals with the development of buildings and its impact on the wider community, for example, how an extension effects the street scene, or if an office block can be converted into flats. Building Control on the other hand, sets standards for the design and build quality of any development, ensuring the health and safety of those who will use the building, as well as providing standards on energy efficiency and requirements like disabled access.
Regardless of whether or not you need planning permission, you will need Building Control to sign off the work as it happens, with inspectors coming to monitor the progress of the build and ensure it is being done in line with legal regulations.
Building regulations are likely to apply to several parts of any conversion project - if you are knocking through walls they will have to sign off on the structural soundness of the new layout, while if you are making living space from a garage, they will inspect the flooring, damp proofing, insulation and other aspects. Your local authority’s Building Control office will send inspectors to view the project as it happens to sign stages off, a process that can cause delays - you can also pay for private inspection firms to sign off work, which speeds up the process, but will cost extra. Building Control should be notified before any work begins, and you should arrange with the tradesperson as to who will contact the council. During the work, builders should take pictures of their progress which can act as evidence for Building Control, to show that the work has been done to standard.
It also pays to be aware that if you are planning on removing load-bearing walls, you will need a structural engineer’s report, which can lay out what work needs to be carried out, such as installing an appropriate RSJ (a weight-bearing metal beam). As with notifying Building Control, you should be comfortable liaising with your tradespeople over who will organise a report.
Make sure the tradesperson you choose is familiar with the planning situation in your area. Experienced builders will be knowledgeable about all the latest requirements and and how they apply to your project, and how they will be dealt with by the planning departments of local authorities - they may even know planning officers to ask for advice. Beware of any tradesperson who is casual about the need for planning permission or Building Control inspections - breaching regulations can lead to costly fines, and being forced to undo any work. Lewis said:
I’m very familiar with local planning offices and all the Building Control staff. When they come on site, they say hello and shake my hand, because they know I do a good job. The whole process is easier with that experience. The only issue is if there are delays. With a lot of people choosing not to move house and instead improve their property, there are a lot of renovations and extensions happening, so inspectors can be booked up for a week - you don’t want to wait around for days to begin the next stage. That’s where private inspectors can be useful.
Ensure the tradesperson will check for snags before the job is finished
With conversion projects, especially larger ones, there is a chance that there will be complications along the way. Often, these issues may not manifest themselves until after the work is notionally complete, and the tradesperson has moved on to other jobs. That being so, it is sensible to hire a tradesperson who is happy to return to the build to follow-up on their work and make right anything that may have happened since the work finished.
Some builders will put something to this effect in their initial contracts with the homeowners, while others will offer a more informal arrangement. Lewis said:
我的政策是在所有的问题解决之前，把总费用的5%留给客户。总会有一些事情——房主有权发现任何问题并指出来——他们应该让我们承担责任。即使是世界上最好的商人也会错过一些东西。所以我让他们在这里住了一段时间，然后列出所有的问题，包括未完成的问题、油漆问题等等。然后我回来，他们带我走一圈，我们把他们都说了一遍，看我要完成什么。完成后，我会拿到最后的付款。
See if any tradesperson you are considering hiring is willing to offer an option like this. If the tradesperson is willing to put you in touch with previous clients to see their work, then it is a good sign that they have maintained good relationships, taken pride in their work, and ensured that they have followed-up on any issues that have arisen.
Some tradespeople may offer a guarantee on their work, covering it for a period of time such as five or ten years. If they do, make sure this is part of a written contract. An insurance-backed guarantee will offer more protection than a general kind, which is often little more than the tradesperson giving his word - but if they are an established company with a long track record of happy customers, it can be nice to have.
