These are our golden rules to help you find a tradesman that you can rely on and to help you get the job done.

If you follow these tips when choosing a tradesman you will maximise your chances of getting a quality job carried out.

1. Understand the job you want doing and have a clear brief on the work you require doing. Being clear in your requirements removes any misunderstandings. Understanding your job and having a clear brief saves lots of waisted time, including your own.

2. Obtain an appropriate number of written and detailed quotes. Generally 3 quotes is considered an acceptable number to get a broad range of prices. Check to see if the quote is prepared professionally and has all the tradesman's contact details and so on.

3. Use our website to research the background and feedback from other customers on the tradesmen. This will allow you to see exactly how they have worked with other customers which is a very good indicator to how your job will be carried out.

4. Carry out additional due diligence on the tradesman. Are they members of any governing bodies, do they carry any client testimonials, do they have landline/email/website points of contents, do they have public liability insurance and so on. Check with your local trading standards to see if any complaints have been registered. All these items can be checked quite easily nowadays.

5. Select your tradesman based on all factors and not just price. As we tell all customers the price is only one factor and whilst important it should not be the sole deciding reason for selecting a tradesperson. Remember to let any unsuccessful people who have quoted know they have been unsuccessful also.

6. Always try and use a written contract which ensures their is no ambuiguity between tradesman and customer. This should include everything from timescales, payment terms and so on. If neccessary get the contract checked by an independant legal advisor before entering in to it. Understand your cancellation rights as a consumer also.

7. If their are any changes or extras to the work during the course of the job ensure they are put in writing and the time/payment costs incurred due to these changes are agreed by both parties.

If you are instructing a contractor to carry out work and they are not able to provide details of things you ask such as insurance documents or contracts then you should ask yourself the question why. Keeping open and easy communication always helps too when undertaking a project, if you spot something you are unhappy with you should mention it as soon as you notice it.

If you follow these useful tips when choosing a tradesman then this will minimise your chances of encountering poor workmanship.

If in doubt do not hesitate to contact us for free impartial advice.