Self build project management specialist, Mark Stevenson, shares his expertise on finding the right builders for your project

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Finding a good builder is a bit like dating and if you’ve got a good-looking project, you’ll soon find there’s lots of interest. However, throw in a few complications (a tight budget or build complexities) and your options quickly slim. When you’re spending your life savings or pondering the prospect of getting stuck with a bad builder, it’s quite right that you should worry. Fortunately, most builders are good, and if you follow the guidance in this article, you’ll soon find your perfect build partner.

Clear & attractive plans

The best place to start when looking for a builder is you and your project. Good builders are picky and busy, so it’s essential your project is packaged to make it look as attractive as possible. This starts with having complete, coherent and well thought-through designs that fully detail how the project should be built.

The drawings must include the essentials such as elevations, dimensioned plans, and construction details. The design must also address the difficult bits, where money leaks and where builders will price the risk. Don’t attempt to gloss over this information, highlight the potential risk factors to demonstrate to your builder that you understand the project fully, and have a realistic outlook. You should also explain clearly what it is you want and define the specification of the finished project. As the client, you are a key part of the project and builders will ‘size you up’ when you first meet. If you come across as complicated, indecisive and hard to work with, they’ll bump up the price for the hassle factor, or worse still, you may put them off entirely! It’s essential that you can confidently demonstrate from the outset that you’re trustworthy, organised, decisive and above all know what you want with a realistic timeline and build budget.