How to choose a builder in Teesside

A quote and an estimate are not the same document

An estimate is an educated guess that can move. A quote is a fixed offer to do a defined scope for a stated sum, and it should say so on the page. If a figure arrives with no scope schedule, no exclusions and no reference to drawings, it is an estimate whatever the heading says. On a £40,000 project that distinction is worth thousands, so ask directly: is this a fixed quote for the drawings issued, and what is excluded?

Compare like with like

• Issue every firm the same drawings, the same specification and the same list of what you are supplying yourself.
• Ask for the same breakdown of stages, so the quotes line up row by row.
• Read the exclusions first. Missing steelwork, drainage diversions, making good, decoration or scaffolding is how a cheap quote becomes an expensive job.
• Check the allowances. A £2,000 "kitchen allowance" or a "provisional sum for foundations" is a placeholder, not a price.
• Three quotes is enough. Beyond that you tend to be comparing sales technique rather than substance.

Paperwork that protects you

A written contract need not be intimidating. The plain-language JCT Home Owner contract or a similar short-form agreement covers what most domestic projects need: the scope and drawings, the price, the payment schedule, the start window and expected duration, how variations are priced and agreed, insurance obligations, and what happens if either side wants to stop. Alongside it you want evidence of public liability insurance, contract works or all-risks cover for the works in progress while they are unfinished, and confirmation of who is submitting the building regulations application and paying the fee. Where the project involves more than one contractor, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 place duties on you as the client, though in practice the principal contractor takes on the day-to-day site safety role. A firm that talks fluently about site safety, a written construction phase plan and how they will protect your household during the work is telling you a lot about how they operate.

Money: stages, not lump sums

Payment should follow completed, visible work. A typical schedule for an extension: a modest sum on commencement for materials, then payments at foundations complete and inspected, structure to plate level, roof watertight, first fix complete, plaster complete, and a final payment on completion with a retention of around five per cent held for a defect period of a few weeks while the snag list is closed. Never pay for a stage that has not been built, never pay cash without a receipt, and be wary of any request to fund a large materials order in advance of delivery. Bank transfer to the company account, invoices with the company name and, where applicable, a VAT number, and a running record of what has been paid against what stage.

Checks worth ten minutes each

• Look the company up at Companies House: how long trading, whether accounts are filed, whether the name on the quote matches the entity you would be paying.
• Ask to see two recent local jobs of the same type, and speak to those clients about how variations and delays were handled rather than whether they liked the finish.
• Ask who does the structural design, who the electrician and gas engineer are, and whether they hold their own qualifications and registrations.
• Confirm insurance by certificate, and check the cover is current and appropriate for the value of your project.
• Ask how they handle building control inspections and who will hand you the completion certificate.

Red flags

A large deposit demanded before any work. Cash-only pricing or a discount for paying cash. A price that undercuts the others by a distance with no explanation. Pressure to sign this week. No written scope. No fixed address or a company registered a fortnight ago. Reluctance to involve a structural engineer or building control. A door-knock approach that starts with something they noticed about your roof. And the subtle one: a builder who agrees to everything without questioning the drawings, because someone who will build a bad detail without comment will also build your mistakes at your expense.

Good signs

Questions about your budget and your priorities before pricing. A site visit that includes looking in the loft, under a floorboard and at where the drains run. An honest programme with weather-dependent stages flagged. Willingness to say a part of the brief is a bad idea. A clear single point of contact. And a quote that reads like it was written for your house rather than pasted from a template. When you are ready to start, the cost guide gives you the benchmark figures to check a quote against, and the planning guide covers approvals. If you know the scope, the quote form takes a couple of minutes, or use the contact page for anything else.