I would suggest always to go and see existing jobs to see how tidy the site is and how happy the customer is. Furthermore, ask your two preferred builders about a project that didn't go quite to plan, what were the circumstances and how was it resolved. If you haven't already discussed with your builders, discuss what financial retention should be left at the end of the project for snagging and ultimate customer satisfaction. You have to expect that there always will be snags in a project however large or small, so agreeing this in advance is essential. If they put you off on this matter, then they may well be worth re considering. A final point, ask if the builders will be working on your project exclusively and agree a long-stock completion date. Be sure to agree stage payments at key stages of the build.

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!

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When I had my kitchen changed, I ordered the units myself, as well as the worktop, sink, taps and appliances. Things like plasterboard, cement, etc the builder bought it. My builder was my brother, and he called in the trades such as electrician, tiler, plasterer etc. He is a brilliant builder and is a “one man band” with a labourer who works for him. He has all the contacts for the other tradespeople (sub contractors) and he calls them in when required, so although they are self employed, they work as a team as required. I paid each tradesperson direct. It really works well but occasionally someone doesn’t pull his weight and they are replaced. I don’t think you will find contractors who employ their own tradespeople unless it’s a very big company? Even big house building companies tend to use subcontractors for certain jobs. This is just my experience but then I know I am very lucky to have a builder brother. It will be interesting to see what other Houzzers suggest. I’m sure you’ll get lots of advice on here!