Finding a reliable builder for your renovation project

Start with the paperwork, not the price

In a city where demand for good tradespeople comfortably outstrips supply, it can be tempting to go with the lowest number on the page and worry about the rest later. Resist that. A quote that undercuts everyone else by a third usually means something has been left out — scaffolding, waste removal, making good, VAT, or the extra time needed to work carefully around a listed façade. Renovating a Georgian flat in the New Town or a stone-built villa in Morningside is not the same as a new-build. The right builder for your project is the one who has done this kind of work before, not simply the one who replied first.

Check references — and go and see the work

Every builder can produce a list of happy customers. The trick is to speak to people whose projects resembled yours: same age of property, similar scale, comparable complications. Ask for three recent references and actually phone them.

• Ask how the builder handled problems, not just whether they were pleasant to deal with.
• Ask whether the final bill matched the quotation and whether the job finished when promised.
• Where you can, visit a completed project. Look at skirtings, tiling, pointing, silicone lines and joinery — the details you will live with for years.
• Confirm the firm has a fixed business address and has traded under the same name for a reasonable stretch of time.
• Ask whether any current projects could be viewed at the end of a working day, with the owner's permission.

A confident, well-organised builder will welcome these questions. Hesitation is an answer in itself.

Insurance, accreditation and who is actually on site

Before anyone lifts a hammer, ask to see certificates — and check the dates and the figures rather than accepting a photocopy at face value.

• Public liability insurance should cover a sensible sum, ideally £2 million or more, in case of damage to your property or a neighbour's.
• Employer's liability insurance is a legal requirement for any firm employing staff. If it isn't in place, you could be exposed if someone is injured on your job.
• Membership of a recognised trade association or a competent-person scheme is a good sign, particularly for electrical, gas and glazing work. Ask for registration numbers and verify them.
• Who will actually be on site? Some firms subcontract most of the work. Ask who manages the job day to day and whether the same squad will see it through.

Get it in writing: what a proper quotation contains

A verbal estimate is not a quotation, and a one-line text message is not a contract. Ask for a written quotation that sets out the following clearly:

• A room-by-room description of the work, with quantities where relevant.
• Materials specified by brand or type, or a stated allowance so you know what you are getting.
• What is excluded — scaffolding, skip hire, plastering, decoration, VAT. This is where most disputes begin.
• A VAT registration number if the firm is registered.
• Start date, likely duration and any lead times for materials or glazing.
• Who is responsible for securing a building warrant or listed building consent, and whether their fee is included.
• How variations will be priced and agreed — always in writing, before the extra work starts.
• Arrangements for snagging once the job is substantially complete.

Agree a payment schedule before work starts

Never hand over a large deposit upfront. A modest sum to cover initial materials is reasonable; several thousand pounds before a single board is lifted is not. Structure payments against completed stages — demolition and first fix, plastering, second fix, decoration, handover — and pay only for work already done.

• Hold back a retention, typically 5 per cent, until all snagging is finished and signed off.
• Pay by bank transfer so there is a clear record, and ask for a receipt each time.
• Confirm every change in writing, even a small one, with the cost agreed in advance.
• Keep a written record of conversations on site — a shared notebook or email thread works well.

Edinburgh and the Lothians: local details that catch people out

Tenement life adds complications that a builder from elsewhere may not anticipate. Common stairs need protecting, neighbours need notice, and anything affecting shared walls, roofs or drainage may require the agreement of other owners or their factor. For structural alterations, extensions or changes to drainage, you will need a building warrant from the local authority before work begins. In the Old Town, New Town and other conservation areas, listed building consent may also be required, and that process takes time.

Outdoors, scaffolding over a public pavement needs a permit, and parking suspensions in controlled zones cost money and take weeks to arrange — worth confirming early, because it affects both the programme and the price. Add in wind-driven rain, short drying windows in winter and the hidden surprises that older Scottish properties love to produce: lath and plaster, damp behind panelling, rot under a bathroom floor.

Budget a contingency of 10 to 15 per cent, keep everything in writing, and choose the builder who answers your questions thoroughly rather than the one who answers fastest. Do that, and your renovation is far more likely to finish on time, on budget and to a standard you will be glad of for decades.