Finding the right builder to carry out any kind of work on your home can be an incredibly tricky business. Checking references and establishing trust is vitally important, but until you’ve built a relationship with a tradesperson you’ll always be wondering. At Frank Key, we know how important it is to find the best builder for your project. We hope our short guide below serves as a useful tool for you to find a tradesperson or persons that get the job done the way you want. If you need any advice, call our team who are always happy to help.


Creating a brief

The first stage of the search doesn’t actually require any searching at all as it involves creating a short brief that outlines exactly what you are after. Not only will this help when looking through potential builders, but you can also review your plans and ideas to decide whether your prospective builders can meet your requirements. Creating a brief allows you to easily discuss any plans you may have when receiving quotes.


Do your research

First, create an initial list.

We know this sounds like work but trust us. It’s always worth doing

Whether you choose to do your search on Google, newspaper/articles, or word of mouth, be sure to create a list of the company's name, number, prices and the services they provide. Now you can do an initial filter through all the noise and narrow it down to the top 5-7 and move on to the next step.

This is the big one check for licenses and certificates. These can be good indicators for the company's accountability and reliability, but most of all how qualified they are for the job. Eliminate all traders who fail to have public liability insurance along with the suitable credentials to perform the job.

This second part of the step is optional but is just as important as the others. Check their previous work. Whether it's a website, their social channels or word of mouth from speaking to previous clients, try to find out if they meet your expectations.


Narrowing it down

Now you have your background information, it is time to narrow down your list. Take into consideration all of your requirements, such as time and budget. (Sometimes this may mean going back to a builder you originally were not considering)

Discuss your plans with your shortlist, asking for suggestions. This is a great way to assess their expertise in that field. A trustworthy and reliable builder will be able to provide you with realistic and practical suggestions.

After your initial discussion, ask for a detailed job quote. In this quote, you should check to see that everything you would like done is included and is set to be completed on time. Be sure to ask whether the company supplies the removal of rubbish and site waste.

Unfortunately, most of us know someone who has been affected by a cowboy builder. We hope this short guide provides you with the information and support to make you feel confident in hiring a builder and getting your home improvement underway.


If you are starting a large-scale building project make sure that you ask for a quote on the phone or in-store. However, if your doing a smaller order you can just order your building supplies on our builder's merchant website

If you require any advice about home improvements, hiring tradespeople or any of our products or hire services we’re always available to help.