Tips on choosing a Tradie

Your home renovation starts with finding the right tradesmen for the job. The single most important decision you will make here is to choose the trades people who will carry out the work. The bigger the renovation, the more responsibility falls to the builder, who will be accountable for the entire renovation, ensuring the building complies with the development plans, and, in many cases, organizing and co-ordinating other tradesmen such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, plasterers or painters, as well.

Whether you need a builder or individual tradesmen for your home renovation, you should always be looking for evidence of quality work, efficiency, reliability and good character of the person you intend to trust with your home.

Quality – The tradesman must take pride in his work and have a reputation for providing quality.
Efficiency – The tradesman must be able to produce quality result, work to budget, and deliver within a
reasonable time frame.
Reliability – The tradesman must be consistent in his approach to work, reliable and able to solve problems.
Character – The tradesman will be spending a lot of time in your home. Selecting a person with compatible
personality, good manners and good communication skills will ensure your home renovating
experience will be a positive one.

The following list contains the top 10 questions you may like to ask trades people before hiring them:

Insurance & Licenses

You should check that the tradesman is appropriately licensed and is fully insured before you let him start working on your home.

Warranties

The tradesman should be able to provide you with home building warranties, on both the work itself and on the materials used in your home renovation. You should keep good records of any warranted work or materials in case you experience problems later on.

References

You should be able to verify all references and testimonials from previous customers or tradesman associations. You might want to speak with other homeowners for whom the tradesman has worked, as well as consulting BSA about any complaints.

Portfolio

The tradesman may have a portfolio showing images and other relevant information of their previous home renovating projects for you to view, and a list of renovated properties you could drive by to see the quality of his work.

Job supervisor

If applicable, you will have an onsite supervisor with whom you might have to communicate so make sure you know this person, and are aware of his responsibilities and obligations to you.

Project timeframe

Make sure you work out a detailed timetable with your tradesman. This information will be part of your project plan, so you need to ask specific questions about each phase of the job early on, and agree on a realistic plan with your tradesman.

Budget

You will need to calculate the cost of your home renovation as accurately as possible, based on costs of material and labour. Your tradesman should be able to supply you with detailed costs of his expenses, and you will need to know what type of payment plan is required and what sort of deposit is expected. You must keep all receipts.

Subcontractors

If your builder or tradesman uses subcontractors, such as electricians or plumbers, you need to know that they will be appropriately licensed. However, it is the principle contractor who is responsible for the subcontractor.

Appliances and other hardware

The supply of appliances and hardware is something you need to discuss with your chosen tradesman as each tradesman will have their own preferred method regarding this matter. One method may be that they will allow a Prime Cost ( P.C ) amount for your appliances / hardware in the contract. If this is the case it is important you know what the P.C amount is and how the prime cost system works.

Permits

You need to decide who will be responsible for getting the proper building permits and dealing with inspectors. The tradesman's expertise here is essential.

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