10 Questions to ask Your Potential Renovation Builder?

When considering a home renovation, one of the most important things to consider is….

Who will you choose as your builder?

You will be spending a large amount of your hard earned savings with your builder and they will be working in your home A LOT, so you need to make sure that when you are interviewing builders that you ask the below questions at least as a starting point…..

1. What is your builder registration number?

• Now check this number against the register for builders in your state: This is ever so important, you don’t want to build with an unregistered “dodgy builder”
• https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/building-and-energy/find-registered-builder

2. Is your insurance up to date for construction works insurance, public liability, and workers compensation? 

• The last thing you want is a law suit your builder cannot cover due to his insurances being out of date and not paid up, not a good sign!

 3. What is your background before coming a builder? 

• Builders don’t just become a builder by paying a lot of money, there is a quote a process to follow to become a builder, some may have only gone down the road of academia and others may have a bit of both as a supervisor and them some other training in TAFE or university. While other builders such as Dean at Distinct Renovations, may have lived and breathed construction their whole life as a trade qualified carpenter building homes and renovations from the first day they step into their working life. Then one day decided that he wanted to be a builder so therefore undertook the required exams and paperwork/ academia study to become a builder.
• It is up to you to decide which is the preferred option, but all the same you should know where they have come from so you get an understanding of their experience.

 4.  Can I live in my home while I renovate? 

• This answer will depend on what you are renovating and or extending, but you should understand this initially so you can pre plan. Some builders do not like to accommodate for this whereas other will be open to creating a solution that allows you to stay put in your home while it is renovated.
• Although also be mindful that in some instance this is just not possible.

 5. How many jobs do you currently have under way? 

• It is important to understand their current work agreements to get an idea of how long yours may take and idea of how much attention the builder will pay to you

6. How many jobs can you take on at one go?  

• This relates to the above questions and should be asked together to ensure you know the builder’s capacity, a builder that takes on several jobs just means you will miss out on the personal touch in most cases. 

7. Who will be supervising my job? 

• This is important as some companies,  will have more than one supervisor on your job, this is red flag for miscommunications and delays.
• Also check if it is the actual builder supervising or if it is an employee “supervisor”
• The actual builder supervising allows for much better-quality control and timeliness

8. Do you have systems and procedure in place for your jobs work flow? 

• If they ask what you do mean? Then you should run away..... fast! 
• A home renovation is a huge job and requires a lot of communication between trades and suppliers and the back office. In order for your renovation to run smoothly it is best to ensure that the builder you decide to build with has back office procedures to follow to ensure there are no delays or miscommunications on site or between yourself and the builder.

9. What measures will you take to protect my existing home throughout the renovation? 

• To ensure the existing part of your home does not get ruined in the renovations, it is important to understand what steps your builder will take to protect your home.
• Each renovation will be different to the rest and you need to ensure that yours will be looked after when the sub-contractors are on site.

10. Will I be signing a build contract before you start the home renovation? 

• As discussed initially, you are spending a large amount of money on your home renovations you need to ensure that you have a legal agreement signed between both yourself and your home renovation builder. This will protect you from any legal battles if they occur, which god forbid they do! 

 This is a starting point; I suggest you prepare a list of questions to ask your renovation builder before you contact them.  The initial conversation with your builder should be used as an opportunity to interview them and possibly screen and cancel them out before you waste any more time. Considering a renovation reach out to us for your initial interview now....