Building Contractors

The term Building Contractors can conjure up different responses based on whether you have had a positive or negative experience with the builder who carried out your last building project.

In Ireland the media often report a negative image about building companies who have abused the trust their customers have placed in them. With that said and commonly acknowledged, how can homeowners assess whether a firm professing to be a professional building contractor is a suitable candidate for their project?

For most homeowners the term project really means a bigger job with upheaval, expense and if gotten wrong will cause them a lot of financial and emotional pain. So what is considered a bigger job in homeowner terms?

In Ireland they usually fall into the following categories:

1. New house builds
2. Attic conversions
3. Property extensions
4. Complete property refurbishment.

If a company is being employed to carry out work in any of the above categories, aside from the required materials, a broad range of skills are going to be required and employed at different stages of the project. These requirements create more risk and increase the possibility of things going wrong.

So, how should you prepare to be able to confidently assess Building Contractors pitching for your project?

A good place to start is to be honest about your own experience in assessing exactly what your project will entail. For major jobs such as a new house build, attic conversion or property extension an architect should be consulted and if required, a structural engineer. Getting professional advice will create a sound foundation in terms of setting realistic expectations for what is possible and what it will entail in terms of upheaval and cost.

Once you have a firm idea of what you are getting into, you will need to consider the following:

Now go ahead and make contact with potential firms that match the profile of your requirements. You can do this in a number of ways, such as:

• Talking to family, friends and associates who have had major building work successfully completed
• Searching online for local firms
• Contact local Building Inspector
• Search for accredited members of recognised trade associations
• Yellow Pages.

Make sure that you write out your questions before contacting the firms that match your profile. When contacting, carry out a brief Telephone interview to assess whether they are polite, friendly and patient. Thereafter, invite 3-4 companies you felt most comfortable with for a formal meeting where you can discuss your requirement in depth and present professional documents/drawing prepared by your architect or structural engineer.

From this meeting you should aim to:

1. Request a formal written itemised quotation

2. Understand their payment terms

3. Answers to all your questions.

Yes, building companies do come in many varieties and unfortunately sometimes not always a pleasant experience. By following the advice in this article, it will hopefully go some way to helping you locate and employing the right firm of Building Contractors that meet your profile and the requirements of your project. When you achieve that it will be a blessing!

You can source all the contractors you need here at www.dublincontractors.com where you can compare quotes and make a desicion on the contractor that best meets your needs and budget. SImply fill in the form below to get started.