9 Questions to Ask a Builder Before Hiring Them for a House Refurbishment
Choosing a contractor for a house refurbishment involves more than comparing prices. The builder will be coordinating access to your home, ordering materials, supervising trades and making decisions that affect the quality and cost of the finished property. A low quotation can become expensive if essential work is omitted; a convincing conversation does not prove project-management ability.
Older London buildings, restricted access and hidden defects make contractor selection particularly important. Before committing, ask the same practical questions of each shortlisted company and record the answers.
The aim is to understand exactly who will deliver the work, how it will be controlled and what happens when the original plan changes.
1. Have you completed projects similar to mine?
A contractor who installs excellent kitchens may not have experience coordinating a whole-house refurbishment with structural alterations, new services and several specialist trades. Ask for recent examples with a similar value, building type and level of complexity. Photographs rarely explain how difficult decisions were managed.
Request permission to speak with previous clients and, where practical, see completed work. Ask whether variations were explained and defects resolved. Relevant experience is more useful than a large portfolio of unrelated projects.
2. Who will actually manage my project?
The person who visits to price the work may not be the person supervising it. Establish who will be responsible for day-to-day coordination, how often they will attend site and who has authority to approve changes or resolve technical questions.
A clear management arrangement should identify:
- The main point of contact for the homeowner
- The person responsible for site supervision
- Who coordinates subcontractors and deliveries
- How progress and problems will be reported
- Who signs off completed stages
For a substantial refurbishment, an agreed reporting routine can prevent small uncertainties becoming expensive delays. It also avoids conflicting instructions to trades.
3. What exactly is included in your price?
A quotation is only meaningful when it can be compared against a defined scope. Two builders may have priced very different assumptions even when both describe the job as a complete refurbishment. Check whether demolition, waste disposal, protection, plastering, decorating, electrical testing and making good are included.
Ask for exclusions and allowances to be stated openly. A provisional sum is an allowance for work that cannot yet be sufficiently defined; it is not necessarily the final cost. Product allowances should state whether they cover supply alone or supply and installation.
The most useful documents are often a written scope, drawings, specifications and an itemised pricing breakdown. Where the design is incomplete, treat the figure as an estimate rather than assuming it is a fully fixed quotation.
4. What insurance and trade credentials can you demonstrate?
Ask to see current insurance documents appropriate to the work, including public liability cover and, where applicable, employers' liability and contract works insurance. Check policy dates, relevant limits and any exclusions. You should also tell your own buildings insurer about the planned works, as major refurbishment may affect cover.
There is no single general builder's licence covering all UK building work. However, specialist activities can require particular competence, registration or certification. Gas work must be carried out by a suitably qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. Electrical work must comply with applicable requirements, including notification and certification where relevant.
Ask who will undertake regulated work and how the necessary records will be supplied at handover.
5. How will you plan safety and obtain approvals?
A refurbishment may involve Building Regulations procedures, structural design, planning restrictions, freeholder permission or party-wall matters. Do not assume the builder is responsible for every application unless the contract says so. Agree which consultant or party will prepare documents, submit applications and arrange inspections.
Construction health and safety responsibilities also need to be allocated. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, domestic-client duties generally pass to the contractor or principal contractor, subject to the applicable arrangements; larger multi-contractor projects need coordinated dutyholders. Ask how the construction phase will be planned and who is responsible for site safety.
6. What programme can you realistically commit to?
A promised completion date is not enough. Ask for a programme showing the order of works and the decisions or deliveries that could affect progress. Structural work, first-fix services, inspections, drying times, kitchens and bespoke joinery all create dependencies.
A useful programme should show:
- Expected mobilisation and site setup
- Key construction stages and inspections
- Client selection deadlines
- Long-lead materials and delivery dates
- Testing, snagging and handover time
Ask how the contractor will report delays and revise the programme. An honest explanation beats an unsupported completion date.
7. How will changes and unforeseen work be priced?
Renovations frequently reveal conditions that could not be seen before opening up. A concealed leak, damaged joist or unsuitable substrate may require extra work. Homeowners can also introduce changes by selecting different fittings or moving electrical points.
Agree a written variation procedure before starting. Each proposed change should explain the work, price, any effect on the programme and who has authority to approve it. Where urgent safety work is necessary, the contract should provide a clear method for notification and instruction.
Otherwise, disagreements can arise over original inclusions.
8. How do payments, contracts and disputes work?
A written building contract should identify the parties, scope, price basis, payment stages, programme arrangements, variations and the process for dealing with problems. For more complex projects, consider professional advice on a suitable form of contract and contract administration.
Ask whether payments relate to completed work, agreed milestones or another clearly defined mechanism. Understand what deposit, if any, is required for materials and how ownership or protection of those materials is addressed.
Before signing, check:
- The contracting company's full legal details
- What triggers each payment
- How additional work is authorised
- How defects and disputes are handled
- What happens if work is suspended or terminated
Avoid relying on informal messages to settle matters that should be covered by the contract.
9. What happens at completion and after handover?
A refurbishment is not complete merely because the rooms look finished. Final testing, adjustments, cleaning, snagging and relevant certification need time in the programme. Ask who checks workmanship and how outstanding items will be recorded and closed out.
Agree what information will be handed over, including applicable electrical certificates, gas documentation, building control records, product instructions and guarantees. The precise documents will depend on the work undertaken.
Choosing a contractor should ultimately be about confidence in the whole delivery process, not just the headline price.
Bayocorp provides renovation estimating, scope development, refurbishment works and project management across London and the South East. If you are planning a substantial house or flat refurbishment, we can review the available information, identify areas requiring further specification and help establish a practical route from initial budget to completed works.
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