How Do You Choose the Right Builder?

The Question

When we decided to renovate our home, one of the first jobs was finding a builder for the initial phase of the work.

Ideally, I wanted to compare three quotations, understand each builder’s experience, know when they could start and how long they expected the work to take before making a balanced decision.

The reality was slightly different.

One builder priced the job so high that I assumed he simply wasn’t interested in a relatively small renovation.

Another couldn’t start for around seven months.

That left one builder who provided a reasonable quotation, could start within a month and estimated the work would take four weeks.

Looking back, I don’t think I spent enough time questioning that timeline.

My Experience

The first phase of our renovation involved removing internal walls, rebuilding others and preparing the existing house before we committed to building the extension.

The builder had been recommended by an engineer, provided a written quotation and had the appropriate insurance in place.

The work itself was carried out to a good standard and the two men on site took real pride in what they were doing.

Around four weeks into the project, the channels for the new plumbing had been cut through the concrete floors.

The house was covered in dust and slurry from the concrete saw. There were channels running through the floors, dirt on the walls and even marks across parts of the ceiling.

Standing in the middle of it all, I remember looking around and thinking there was still a huge amount of work left to do.

That was probably the moment I realised we weren’t close to finishing.

As the weeks went on, the programme became less predictable.

Sometimes the team would arrive later than expected.

Occasionally they’d be away from the project for a day or two before returning.

I later learned they’d sometimes been moved to other jobs that also needed attention.

For me, the biggest challenge wasn’t simply that the project was taking longer than expected.

It was trying to plan everything that depended on it.

I was organising the next trades myself, but without knowing when one stage would finish, it became increasingly difficult to know when the next stage could begin.

What I Learned

Looking back, I don’t think the biggest lesson was about choosing the builder.

It was about understanding the programme.

I accepted that the work would take around four weeks, but I never really explored how that figure had been reached.

I didn’t ask what each stage involved.

I didn’t ask what might realistically cause delays.

I didn’t ask when I’d need to organise the plumber, the electrician or the plasterer.

Those are the questions I’d ask today.

The timeline isn’t simply an estimated completion date.

It’s the framework that every other part of the project depends on.

Common Mistakes

When comparing builders, it’s natural to focus on the quotation.

After all, it’s usually the first thing homeowners compare.

But price is only one part of the decision.

The proposed timeline deserves just as much attention.

Understanding how long the work is expected to take, what each stage involves and how delays might affect the programme can help you plan your project far more effectively.

Practical Advice

If I was choosing a builder again, I’d spend much more time discussing the programme before work started.

Rather than simply asking how long the work will take, I’d ask questions like:

• How have you built this timeline?
• What are the main stages of the work?
• What could realistically delay the programme?
• When will each trade need to be organised?
• How much notice should I expect before the next trade is required?
• If the programme changes, how will we review it together?

No renovation runs perfectly to plan.

But understanding how the project is expected to progress gives you a much better chance of planning ahead and making informed decisions as circumstances change.

Looking Back

Looking back, I still think we made a sensible decision with the information we had at the time.

The builder came recommended, the quotation was reasonable and the work itself was completed to a good standard.

What I’d do differently has less to do with choosing the builder and more to do with understanding the programme.

I’d spend much more time discussing the timeline before work started, not just how long the work was expected to take, but how each stage connected to the next and what that meant for the rest of the project.

That one conversation would have helped me plan more effectively, organise trades with more confidence and understand much earlier when the project was beginning to drift away from its original programme.

It’s one of the biggest lessons I took from our renovation and one that shaped how I planned every stage of the extension that followed.