Choosing a contractor is the single decision with the largest effect on how your build goes. These seven questions will tell you more in twenty minutes than any brochure.
1. Are you registered, and can I see it?
A registered company has a legal identity you can hold to an agreement. Ask for registration details and check them. This takes minutes and rules out a surprising number of operators.
2. Can I visit a site you are working on right now?
Finished photographs are curated. An active site is not. Look at how materials are stored, whether workers have protective equipment, and whether the place is orderly. That tells you how your site will be run.
3. Who is my point of contact, and will they change?
You want one named site manager, reachable directly. If your only contact is a salesperson who disappears after signing, expect slow answers when something needs a decision.
4. How are variations priced?
You will change your mind about something. The question is whether the rate for that change is agreed now or negotiated later under pressure. Agree the mechanism before you sign.
5. What is the payment schedule tied to?
Payments should be linked to completed stages, not to dates on a calendar. Paying for progress rather than time keeps the incentive pointing the right way.
6. What happens if you run late?
Ask what the contract says about delay. The answer matters less than whether the contractor is willing to discuss it openly. Evasion here is a signal.
7. What is excluded from this quotation?
The most useful question of all. Every quote excludes something. A contractor who can list exclusions immediately has priced the job properly. One who says nothing is excluded has not read their own quotation.
Compare like with like
Once you have answers from two or three contractors, the cheapest quote is often the one with the most exclusions. Read our guide to grey structure versus finishing to understand what should be itemised.
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