MyBuilder.com type sites

[Rob_F]

Anyone here used this service, or similar? What was your experience like?

Looking to get some fairly specialised building work done and thinking this might be the way to go?

Traditional "call and hope they back to you" methods do not appear to be yielding much fruit at the moment.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[monaghan]

I wasn't that impressed with the response I got from the builders who contacted me, we asked around and went for recommendation in the end

 

[monaghan]

Agreed, if they can start next week ask why!

 

[Ashton]

If you're down south then checkatrade are good. Otherwise ratedpeople, mybuilder, myhammer etc all seem fairly decent. It does however depend how specialised it is.

If you do post on one of these sites, look for people who have done something similar, have detailed profiles and in-depth feedback.

 

[Rob_F]

Cheers guys.

It is a fairly specialised job – drainage, involves a fair bit of digging and building control/STW approvals.

http://www.fmb.org.uk/ look fairly good too. I don't think builders are rated as such, but they do have to pass a number of checks. Anyone used the "find a builder" service they offer?

Thanks for the tip, Sean, hadn't considered that.

More suggestions/feedback welcome.

Thanks again.

- Rob

 

[dazc]

Cheers guys.

It is a fairly specialised job – drainage, involves a fair bit of digging and building control/STW approvals.

http://www.fmb.org.uk/ look fairly good too. I don't think builders are rated as such, but they do have to pass a number of checks. Anyone used the "find a builder" service they offer?

Thanks for the tip, Sean, hadn't considered that.

More suggestions/feedback welcome.

Thanks again.

- Rob

Some local authorities have an approved contractor scheme which is worth checking. Generally the advice about talking to a local merchant is good - also look for someone local who's been advertising in yellow pages for the past 20 years under his own name - avoid anyone with a keyword domain.

Depending on how big the job is you'll get a wide range of prices and it's always a good idea to have some sort of fixed payment schedule agreed on the outset because one of the biggest problems is that your builder will be chasing cash-flow all the time - that's why they are known for disappearing off to other jobs. If you're the source of regular money you'll always get a good response.

Too many people just look for the lowest price and pay for it in the long run - if your builder under-prices nobody wins.

If you are really worried about someone then a quick call to your building control dept 'might' get an informal nod and wink about whether the guy is known for being good or bad.

 

[Ashton]

avoid anyone with a keyword domain.

Why this?

 

[dazc]

Why this?

My personal opinion

 

[ratboy]

Rob - *always* go from word of mouth, even if this takes 3 months to sort - you really can't be too careful.

 

[Ashton]

My personal opinion

Where's it based on though, I have a builder client who use the exact match and I was wondering if that is costing them clients?

 

[khalid]

And no payment up front; if they're good they'll invoice you at the end.

 

[dazc]

And no payment up front; if they're good they'll invoice you at the end.

Not always true - they may just decide not to risk it. There are bad clients too.

 

[dazc]

Where's it based on though, I have a builder client who use the exact match and I was wondering if that is costing them clients?

If a builder is relying on search results rather than traditional methods I wonder why. There is no shortage of bad publicity around the subject of cowboy builders and given the type of site we are used to seeing behind an exact match it's not surprising that people will be wary?
I worked at the commercial end of the construction industry for 20 years and none of the top end suppliers and trades have gimmicky names because they don't need them.

 

[stellar73]

Go onto Demand Five and watch all the old episodes of Cowboy Builders...great advice on what not to do an pitfalls to watch out for.....

 

[Ashton]

If a builder is relying on search results rather than traditional methods I wonder why. There is no shortage of bad publicity around the subject of cowboy builders and given the type of site we are used to seeing behind an exact match it's not surprising that people will be wary?
I worked at the commercial end of the construction industry for 20 years and none of the top end suppliers and trades have gimmicky names because they don't need them.

Ah gotcha, we use his (very positive) rated people feedback to show him and his team aren't cowboys.