Hire separate trades eg kitchen fitter or get builders to do the lot?

6 years ago

We are renovating kitchen which will require some build work, beams, velux, sliding doors and new kitchen, flooring....

Would you get a building company to do the lot? Or use a separate kitchen fitter/tiler/wooden flooring company fitter? We are having sliding doors installed too - would builders fit them?

Thanks, all new to this!

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Comments (5)

Daisy England
6 years ago
A lot of builders do a lot of different connected trades. For instance we used to do general building as well as joinery so if a customer such as yourself wanted that particular work done we could see the contract through from start to finish. Where certification was needed e.g. Gas or electrical work we had a database of people who we used and trusted.

I would ask the builder who you are getting your quote from if this is something he can do. It's better as the work can flow on more easily as opposed to you looking separately for door installers, roofers, kitchen fitter, tiler etc.
JesmondDene
6 years ago
We have just started a project to move our kitchen, convert the attic, etc. We have contracted a builder to carry out the whole job either himself or by bringing in tradesmen as needed. The cost is for the whole job, all works, paid to the one builder. He will manage and pay the other tradesmen

I think we are probably paying more to do it this way, but we chose this way based on our availability. We both work full time in professional and demanding jobs. We simply don't have the time to organize all of the individual trades ourselves and lack the knowledge to coordinate the work correctly. Think about your own circumstances. How available are you, what project management skills do you have?

Two days in the builder has already spent his days here, but also an evening meeting with the structural engineer as some of the walls aren't quite what they seemed in the planning stage. Some redesigning needed.

Tbh I have worried about this project enough without the added pressure of project managing too.

I hope our personal experience helps!
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kwg kwg
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hello

It's best to get the building company to do the lot otherwise you will have to project manage the whole rennovation and also find your own tradesmen. Some companies have their own tradesmen and others have self employed contractors that work for their company. As all the tradesmen work together all the time, the flow of the work will probably be much better than if you employed someone from each trade yourself. If there is an issue, the building company can resolve it quickly and probably at no extra cost if it was their fault e.g. if your electrician does all the wiring for the electrical points, then the next tradesmen maybe putting in the plasterboard ready for plastering but if he plasterboards over the electrical points without cutting out the holes out or marking where the sockets should be then you will have to ask the electrician to come and you may be charged for it as you are asking him to come out again to fix it.

Another reason to go with the building company is because if you employ separate tradesmen, they will also have other jobs on the go, so you might be ready for the next stage but your plumber might not be free for another 2 weeks. When going with a company, they will do your rennovation as a project so they will organise and rotate the tradesmen for each project they have on their books.

For kitchen fitter - it depends on what kitchen you go for, if it is a wickes, howdens type kitchen, the builder probably has a kitchen fitter that does these day in day out so would have no problem in fitting these to a good standard. If you are going with a more pricey kitchen eg. german true handless kitchen as an example, I would go with the kitchen fitter that is recommended by the kitchen company because they specialise in fitting these kitchens so would have a better finish. It might cost more but at least you will be happy with the end result. As they say, a kitchen fitter can make or break your kitchen.

Some wise advice I received for sliding doors or bifold doors - always get the window company to install them as they will usually offer a 10 year guarantee and the Fensa certificate. That's what all the builders told me for my extension when I asked them for quotes, they said if a builder says they can fit bifolds, sliding doors - run a mile :-). Always go for a reputable company too and go and visit the shop to see the product. You can get cheap products on the internet but I heard the quality is not good and become faulty quickly.

Good luck!
PRO
Pineapple Interiors
6 years ago
Kitchens are all about the fitter, a bad fitter can make a 50k kitchen look average and similarly a good fitter can life the finish of an average kitchen. It largely depends what kitchen you have opted for, style (in frame or lay on?) whether the doors are pre hung, whether the carcasses are assembled and delivered fully built etc. I would ask to see some examples of previous work before letting someone loose on your nice new kitchen. I agree with the above comment in terms of bifold doors, leave this to the professionals and get a FENSA approved installer (which unless you have a full building control submission, you will require anyway). Hope this helps. Louise
PRO
Tim Wood Limited
6 years ago
We prefer dealing directly with the client or work through interior designers, who normally introduce us to the customer, or sometimes the interior designers will commission us. We hardly ever work directly for builders.

What has been said above is fine if your putting in a run of the mill kitchen, bathroom or other work. But if your putting in very fine bespoke furniture, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms they normally go in towards the end of the project when all the wet and messy trades have finished.

Where like us you are designing work for a customer from scratch and handmaking it for them there is a significant amount of detail that needs to be gone through to be individual to that client and project. Also, there is the matter of payment, if you pay your builder a significant sum for a high-end kitchen or fine furniture, we would not recommend it. We work well with lots of builders but are paid and contracted by the client or interior designers.

There are instances where the builder is in a hurry to finish due to perhaps being on a time penalty or wishes to start a lucrative new project. Fine furniture should only be installed in a dry environment, the wood is kiln dried to between 6 and 8% moisture content. If it goes in a wet environment then it will be ruined and will warp and joints will fail.

Most general things yes get your builder to do, un-usual or fine bespoke work get them and the supplier to coordinate but commission from that supplier directly.

Hire separate trades eg kitchen fitter or get builders to do the lot?

Comments (5)

Daisy England

JesmondDene

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