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When you decide to carry out major improvement works or building projects in your home, you will want to make sure that you have the very best tradesmen available to do the job. But it can be difficult to find the right people in your area if you do not have any friends or family to offer you recommendations. Whether you are looking for builders to add an extension to your house, or carpenters to install cupboards or even custom make furniture, there are a few simple steps you can take to make sure you find the right person for the job. Finding a good builder can seem like a daunting task and certainly one that you will want to get right given the level of disruption that building work can cause. Before you begin your hunt for a tradesman, it is important that you have a clear idea of the work you want to carry out. After all, it will be difficult for any builder to give you an accurate estimate of cost and time if they do not have all the information they need. Make sure you think carefully about the project you are planning and take into account that you may need to ask a builder to take responsibility for clearing the site and removing all the rubbish once the work is done. When you approach builders to get a quote for a project, you should make sure you know which questions to ask. It is a good idea to start with a chat about previous jobs and if you can, get the builder to show you examples of their work. Another way to give you peace of mind is to find out if they are registered with a trade body such as the National Federation of Builders or the Chartered Institute of Building. It is always worth contacting the relevant organisation to check your builder is a member too. You may also find it useful to know how long the company has been in business and to check what insurance they have against both damage to property and personal liability. Before choosing a builder, you should make sure that you have obtained quotes from at least two professionals in your area. When doing this, you should always be clear about what is and is not included, as well as finding out whether the work will be guaranteed. Make sure that any quotes you get - and the precise details about what they cover - are in writing so you can easily refer back to them. While the cost and standard of work are the most important considerations when looking for a builder, you should also try to find someone that you get on with. You should bear in mind that any builders you hire will be in or around your property for the duration of the project, which could last months depending on what you are having done. Being able to have a friendly chat is likely to make the whole process less stressful. Another tradesman that you might need to make use of is a carpenter. In addition to being able to fit kitchens and cabinets, carpenters can also make custom pieces of furniture to suit your specific requirements. These professionals are highly skilled and you should make sure that you take care when choosing one to work on a project for you, particularly if it involves intricate or complex woodwork. In many ways, finding a good carpenter is similar to searching for a reliable builder. One of the first things to check is whether the carpenters you are asking for quotes from are licensed or registered. This simply means that they have completed a qualification in the trade - there is no official organisation for carpenters as there is with builders. However, asking about qualifications is a good way to gauge experience and if you find someone who has completed an apprenticeship with the National Association of Home Builders, Associated General Contractors or the Associate Builders and Contractors, you can be relatively confident in their abilities. As with builders, you should always ask to see some of their work and it could be in your interest to contact previous customers to find out about their experiences of particular tradesmen. This is especially important if the project you have in mind involves complicated elements or detailed woodwork. Finding out how long the job is likely to take, as well as where the carpenter will be doing most of the work is also important. If you need a carpenter to make a custom piece of furniture, for example, you may find that the majority of the project is carried out at their workshop, while fitting cupboards or a kitchen will require them to be at your home. Another consideration with carpentry is the type of wood being used. You should spend time talking with tradesmen to establish the best type of wood for the job, which not only meets your personal preferences but that will stand the test of time. You should make sure that you get a clear outline of the costs of different materials before making a final decision in this respect. Getting quotes from two or three carpenters is advisable to ensure that you are not paying over the odds for the project you have in mind.
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