How do I choose a builder?

Choose a builder by sending the same written scope to three firms, meeting each one on site, and then weighing organisation and trust as heavily as price. Most people compare quotes that were never comparable in the first place. If one builder priced for plywood under the tiles and another did not, the cheaper number is not a saving, it is a gap you will pay for mid-job. Write down exactly what you want, room by room, and make every quote answer the same document.

Then walk the job with each of them. Ask what could go wrong. On a Victorian terrace the honest answer involves floor joists, drains and what is behind the plaster, and a builder who says 'we will open up and check before we commit to that price' is telling you how they handle surprises. One who promises nothing ever goes wrong is telling you something too.

On price against trust, I will say it plainly: a good share of the jobs we take over started as the lowest of three quotes. If a firm turns up when they said, answers questions without flannel and shows you a payment schedule tied to completed work, that discipline is worth paying for. Our own habit is to survey first and then give a fixed written quote, and the price we quote is the price you pay. Judge any builder, us included, on whether they will commit to that in writing.