10 questions to ask your contractor before they start

Getting on the same page with your contractor is crucial before committing to a renovation project. By considering and asking the questions below, you give your project the best chance of success and reduce the possibility of unmet expectations.

1. Can I have a line by line breakdown of quoted costs?

When you start getting quotes back sometimes contractors will give you one lump sum cost as opposed to detailing line by line. This always made us scratch our heads and say "is that reasonable?" We found that going back to them and asking for a breakdown of the cost beside each item allowed us to be more creative and discover ways we could save costs on some lines. For example, their quote may detail waste removal for £500 for a skip hire – knowing the ballpark figure may allow you to seek a cheaper solution elsewhere but still hire the contractor for the main work. 

2. How do payments work?

All contractors work a little differently, many will require a deposit to start, some like top-ups throughout the renovation, some ask you to pay individual people involved separately. Some will require payment for materials upfront. You have to be a little flexible and expect any type of payment scenario to crop up. In our experience, contractors are not usually shy about money and whereas your experience with other non-renovation services may have been quite reserved about money in the past, trades will not tip-toe around the subject - it caught us a little off guard before - nothing to worry about but just be aware.

3. What happens if issues are uncovered or requirements change?

It’s really worth getting to the bottom of this one. You are going to be fielding questions and changes with your contractors left, right and centre throughout the renovation, and when you are in the thick of it, it can be confusing what is an ‘included’ change and what is extra. We were lucky in our kitchen renovation because the contractor was a trusted family friend and they made mental notes about what was considered extra (not quoted).

If we did it again or did a bigger job, we might propose getting a written list on the go so that the contractor can work out the changes. It’s also worth remembering that not every change is an extra cost, it could actually turn out easier for the contractor - make sure to highlight to the contractor when something like this occurs so that they can discount it from your final bill.

4. Is commission added onto supplies?

Some suppliers deal directly with trades only and this gives the builder the opportunity to make a cut on the supplies. This means that you could end up paying more than with another supplier/contractor. Before you book a contractor to start work, ask them whether they do charge commission on certain supplies. This will give you the opportunity to negotiate or find a contractor who deals on a non-commission basis.

5. What does your insurance cover?

Firstly you should know that your home insurance is possibly not going to cover your renovation so your first port of call is your insurance company who can advise. Structural changes aren’t usually covered but some smaller projects might be. Some trades can cover the entire renovation with their insurance but some only have Public Liability Insurance. Therefore it is important to ask your contractor what their insurance covers so you can work out exactly what you need. You can also purchase specialist home renovation insurance to cover your renovation project.

6. What does the quote include and NOT include

Our Reno Club members Helle and Kaya said to check what the quote specifically does not include. Some builders end up charging for items that might be unexpected like wear and tear on tools - although this might raise a few eyebrows, it regularly happens. You might find that you get a nasty shock when the final bill came in like Kaya did:

7. Do I get a schedule/timeline of works?

Laura in our Reno Club said to ask for a schedule or timeline of works which is absolutely the correct thing to do especially for larger projects. It’s not uncommon however for smaller one-man-band style building firms to not work to modern day project planning standards in terms of provision of a formal timeline. However by asking this question before you even give the green light to start, you’ll be able to get a feel for the level of sophistication you’re going to be getting in this area and either be comfortable with a bit of madness OR indeed find a contractor who can provide more certainty for you. For smaller projects, at the very least you should expect some sort of rough timeline for your project.

8. Can I have contact details of satisfied customers?

Asking for details of satisfied customers before you start is a great idea as Gill in our Reno Club did recently. Contacting previous customers and asking about their job might seem like an awkward thing to do but when you’re spending tens of thousands it’s a great shout.

On a personal note, when we hired a carpenter recently we took a look through a number of the jobs they had recently completed and were very satisfied by the finish of their work. Reviews might be difficult to come across for many trades so you have to get a bit creative to understand someone’s worth.

9. What is your preferred method to communicate during the work? 

It makes sense to establish a communication method before you go into your renovation. Is it phone/email/text/Whatsapp? Zoe in our Reno Club found that by using Whatsapp you can keep tabs on when the contractor has seen your messages! Take it from us though, many contractors are not so tech savvy and so by keeping digital written communications to a minimum and having face to face chats/phone calls, it makes things easier - just follow up with a text/Whatsapp to confirm everything spoken about so that they don’t forget!

10. Who is going to be working on the job?

There are many different types of contractors out there and all have differing abilities. Of course you need to make sure that you are getting the very best people on your job. A tradesman that specialises in building works may not be the best person to help you with detailed carpentry and vice versa. There may be some tradespeople who can lend their hand to multiple different trades and are very talented, equally there may be some tradespeople who try to do ‘secondary’ trades and do not do them well.

With one man band style outfits, there is a temptation to reduce the outsourcing of work to specialists as this decreases the cost, but it may be better to encourage outsourcing if you are particular about getting a high quality finish. If you are particular, make sure you state how perfectionist you are regularly and ask for photograph examples of their own work.

Next steps for your renovation

If you’re interested in joining our course and renovation community please visit our renovation course page and be sure to grab our free Survivor’s Guide to Renovating for more contractor tips.