How to Choose a Renovation Contractor: 8 Questions to Ask

Bad renovation jobs aren't usually catastrophic disasters — they're slow-motion frustration. Missed deadlines, surprise extras, sloppy finishing, materials you didn't agree to, and the constant nagging feeling that they're cutting corners. A 30-minute conversation up front filters out 90% of the duds.

Public liability (minimum £1m, ideally £2m+) and employer's liability if they have anyone working with them. Ask to see the certificate. If they hedge or change the subject, walk away.

Photos are easy to fake. Real referees aren't. Ask to speak to two customers from the last six months. Any honest contractor will be happy to set it up.

This is the most important question and the one cowboys hate. Genuine quotes are explicit about what's excluded — skip hire, making good after, certain finishes, etc. If everything is 'all in' with no caveats, you're either going to get surprise extras later or a corner-cutting job.

Workmanship guarantees should be in writing, on the quote or contract — typically 12 months for cosmetic work, longer for structural. Anything verbal isn't worth the breath it took to say it.

Some contractors quote, then sub the whole job to a different team. That's not always bad, but you should know who's coming and check their reputation too. We do almost everything in-house — only specialist trades like gas engineers and roofers are subbed, and we work with the same people every time.

If something goes wrong, how does it get resolved? A professional contractor has a process. A cowboy gets defensive.

Variations happen. The question is whether they're handled properly — written quote for the extra, your sign-off before work starts — or whether they just appear on the final invoice. Get this clarified up front.

Realistic timelines beat optimistic ones. Anyone promising to start tomorrow and finish in a week probably isn't busy enough — and there's usually a reason for that.