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Stress free guide to hiring a tradie
13-Feb-2018
Finding the right tradie for your home renovation can sometimes be tricky, but making sure they know your exact requirements and exactly what you want can be a stressful experience. Briefing your chosen tradie is key to making sure they are across everything you want done and eliminates confusion leading to jobs completed wrong!
This is about having the right process in place, not just verbalising the job or handing them a piece of paper. When you don’t follow good briefing processes, things can go wrong and the job may take longer and cost you more when things need to be reworked.
That’s why taking the time to brief someone clearly and comprehensively is so important: Not only will your tradies understand exactly what you’re trying to achieve, they will also have all the information they need to provide you with an accurate quote for their services. Communicate clearly and you’ll get that time back down the track.
Create a brief, also known as a ‘scope of work’, for each trade and then spend time making sure you’ve included ALL the things that need to go into it. If you’re briefing an electrician, count the number of downlights needed in each room, then include that exact number in the written brief.
If you’re briefing a plumber, note down whether your new toilet is moving to the other side or staying where it is. If you don’t know the answer to something, go and find out! You need to get into the detail at this stage. The last thing you want is someone guessing what they think you want.
If your reno is on a strict timeline, you must be very clear about that and include those dates in the brief. Everyone who works on your reno should be aware of any time pressures right from the start. That way, they’ll be able to plan their other jobs around yours so they can hit the deadlines you’ve given them.
Don’t just email your brief through to the tradie. Set a time to meet on site and have a conversation about the documents you’ve sent them to make sure they are on the journey with you.
Share your big-picture vision with them so they can see how their work fits into your overall reno. Use your mood board, show them inspo pics on your phone – whatever it takes.
Review the quote to see if anything is missing, then call your tradie to make sure you’ve understood everything properly. It’s so easy for your tradie to leave something out of their quote which you thought was included.
Once you’ve briefed someone properly and have a quote back from them, it’s important to take the following steps:
1. Compare their quote to your scope of work (a.k.a your brief), to ensure the tradie has captured everything, including any important deadlines you talked about.
2.Check that your quotes are comparing apples to apples. If you have multiple quotes from different people, the things you are looking to be consistent are:
- The detailed tasks they will do
- The time they’ve allocated to the job
- Any materials they’ve allocated
- When they are able to do it
- If the price includes GST
3. If there are big differences between quotes and you don’t know why, call to ask. There may have been a misunderstanding somewhere and it’s up to you to find out what it is NOW rather than later.
4. Select your dream tradie and then reconfirm the details of the job with them in writing and sign a contract for anything over $5000.
Our Newton App (available to download here) features a list of our preferred trades which we happily recommend to clients. This list should help you make your decision a little easier!
SOURCE - Article from realestate.com.au
This is about having the right process in place, not just verbalising the job or handing them a piece of paper. When you don’t follow good briefing processes, things can go wrong and the job may take longer and cost you more when things need to be reworked.
That’s why taking the time to brief someone clearly and comprehensively is so important: Not only will your tradies understand exactly what you’re trying to achieve, they will also have all the information they need to provide you with an accurate quote for their services. Communicate clearly and you’ll get that time back down the track.
Create a brief, also known as a ‘scope of work’, for each trade and then spend time making sure you’ve included ALL the things that need to go into it. If you’re briefing an electrician, count the number of downlights needed in each room, then include that exact number in the written brief.
If you’re briefing a plumber, note down whether your new toilet is moving to the other side or staying where it is. If you don’t know the answer to something, go and find out! You need to get into the detail at this stage. The last thing you want is someone guessing what they think you want.
If your reno is on a strict timeline, you must be very clear about that and include those dates in the brief. Everyone who works on your reno should be aware of any time pressures right from the start. That way, they’ll be able to plan their other jobs around yours so they can hit the deadlines you’ve given them.
Don’t just email your brief through to the tradie. Set a time to meet on site and have a conversation about the documents you’ve sent them to make sure they are on the journey with you.
Share your big-picture vision with them so they can see how their work fits into your overall reno. Use your mood board, show them inspo pics on your phone – whatever it takes.
Review the quote to see if anything is missing, then call your tradie to make sure you’ve understood everything properly. It’s so easy for your tradie to leave something out of their quote which you thought was included.
Once you’ve briefed someone properly and have a quote back from them, it’s important to take the following steps:
1. Compare their quote to your scope of work (a.k.a your brief), to ensure the tradie has captured everything, including any important deadlines you talked about.
2.Check that your quotes are comparing apples to apples. If you have multiple quotes from different people, the things you are looking to be consistent are:
- The detailed tasks they will do
- The time they’ve allocated to the job
- Any materials they’ve allocated
- When they are able to do it
- If the price includes GST
3. If there are big differences between quotes and you don’t know why, call to ask. There may have been a misunderstanding somewhere and it’s up to you to find out what it is NOW rather than later.
4. Select your dream tradie and then reconfirm the details of the job with them in writing and sign a contract for anything over $5000.
Our Newton App (available to download here) features a list of our preferred trades which we happily recommend to clients. This list should help you make your decision a little easier!
SOURCE - Article from realestate.com.au