While attempting, for the past three months, to refurbish my bathroom, I have
sacked two lots of builders. The first, a misogynistic Pole whose team spoke
no English, didn’t think to earth the wiring, while the second never seemed
to turn up for work. Lovely Fred, the British builder I called in to clear
up the mess, is doing the job in the evenings and at weekends, between
stints on a total house overhaul he’s trying to complete down the road. I
haven’t had a shower for more than two months (don’t worry – I have had
baths), and the plastic sheeting in my hallway is starting to get me down.
Mine is not an unusual situation: a good, reliable builder can be hard to
find. But it’s not so easy for those good, reliable builders to find
clients, either – as Ryan Notz, 42, a roofer and stonemason from
Pennsylvania, found when he settled over here in 2001 after marrying his
British wife, Charlotte. By 2005, he was based in Bristol, and was finding
it hard to get work, even taking on jobs that required two hours of driving
each way for a wage of £12 an hour.
“I thought, there have to be people interested in my skills,” says Notz, who
has since moved to London. “So I came up with this idea of something on the
web – a matchmaking thing where people could meet each other and have the
option of feedback. It was something I would have used, so I decided to
build it.”
The result was Buildersite.co.uk, which brings together homeowners and
tradesmen in a sort of online construction-work version of Blind Date. Those
in need of a builder can search for the nearest trustworthy, available
worker to do the job – and those in need of work can source jobs local to
them.
Homeowners type in their postcode and requirements, then pick from a selection
of local tradesmen, using their feedback rating. Details are texted
automatically to the builders they have selected, who come round to provide
a quote for the work.
The builder has an implicit incentive to do the job well, as the homeowner
will provide feedback on the website. The formula is clearly appealing: more
than 3,000 tradesmen have signed up since it launched last year, and Notz
has received £35,000 worth of investment after being a successful finalist
at Seedcamp, an annual week of workshops and peer support for fledgling
high-tech entrepreneurs.
He recently redesigned the site, and plans to have all available jobs up on
the tradesmen’s home page, so they can see what’s on offer – and bid for the
job. They will also have to start paying 5% of the proceeds of any job they
get through the site as commission. So far, it has been free, and Notz has
financed the site himself with a bank loan, credit cards and money borrowed
from family and friends.
Mike Breen, 42, an area manager for a retail company, stumbled across the site
on Google last year. He was looking for someone to replaster and redecorate
his 1,100 sq ft flat in Willesden Green, in northwest London, and was
beginning to despair. Builders who gave him quotes were “cagey” about
providing details of previous jobs as references, and he was reluctant to
employ anyone without checking out their work. On Buildersite, he found Sami
Mehmeti, a plasterer, who gave him a reasonable quote and was able to do the
job swiftly.
“He did it quickly and did a great job – so much so that I’ve recommended him
to friends, who’ve used him,” Breen says. “He’s now back doing more work,
for me and one of my neighbours.”
Mehmeti, 32, who hails from Kosovo and has been working in Britain for 11
years, is equally enthusiastic about the site – and says he will continue to
advertise on it even after the charge is introduced. “I’ve had quite a lot
of jobs through recommendation,” Mehmeti says. “If I have to pay, I will.”
So, what is there to stop rogue tradesmen slipping through the net? And how
can you be sure that the glowing endorsement of this or that plumber or
electrician hasn’t been written by the man himself?
Notz has thought about that, too. He and his mother-in-law, Margaret Adlam,
call all the people who have posted references to establish that everything
is above board. He also suggests looking up as many entries on the site as
possible.
“Read the profiles and see what people say about themselves,” he says. “You
can get a real feel for someone’s personality, and there’s a lot to be
gleaned from the profiles.”
On the website, I discover Brick1425. He describes himself as a trained
bricklayer who has worked as a plumber’s assistant – but he doesn’t have any
feedback, so he won’t be getting a call from me. Chip1125 looks more
promising: he has five positive feedback posts and includes his recent work
history and availability, as well as promising “lots of ideas on how to
improve the value of a property”.
Chip1125 (real name Slawomir Szaraszewicz), a Pole who has been working in
Britain for four years, is happy to hear from me – but his success on
Buildersite means that, unfortunately for me, he is fully booked at the
moment.
“I’m not using the site any more,” Szaraszewicz adds. “I’ve had so many
recommendations that I don’t need to.”
www.buildersite.co.uk
Trusty tradesmen
Choose someone who has previous experience of the type of job you want doing
Ask for contact details of previous clients and call them for feedback.
Better still, ask to go round and take a look
Get more than one quote (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors advises
three). If a builder can’t start the job immediately, make sure the quote
will still be valid when he can
Ask for a breakdown, so you know exactly what you are paying for, and compare
it with the amount friends have paid for similar jobs Find out who will
actually be doing the work: your contact might seem experienced, but he
could send a novice to do the job
Factor in a contingency sum for hidden extras – about 10%
Draw up a contract that makes clear in writing what work is being done, and
when it is due to be completed
Don’t pay too much upfront: you will find yourself in a much more powerful
position when it comes to the inevitable disputes if you have held back some
money
