Driveways and Paths
Between reviews, licence checks, availability, pricing and insurance - it definitely pays to do your homework first.
Hiring a tradie isn’t as straight-forward as you may think, especially with a big-budget renovation on the line.
You want to ensure you find someone who can not only perform the work you need done, but who understands your specific requirements and can do the job at the right time, for the right price and to your expectations.
So between reviews, licence checks, availability, pricing and insurance – it definitely pays to do your homework first.
Licence checks
Check the qualifications of your builder. A licence indicates your builder has the skills, qualification and experience to do your job. And if you’re dealing with a licensed tradesperson and the building starts to give you concerns, Fair Trading can help you.
In NSW, you can easily check your tradies licence online at https://www.onegov.nsw.gov.au/publicregister/#/publicregister/search/Trades
Victoria https://consumer.etoolbox.buildingcommission.com.au/Pages/Search.aspx
SA https://secure.cbs.sa.gov.au/OccLicPubReg/LicenceSearch.php
Queensland http://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/
WA http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/building-commission
Reviews
Reviews are a really great way of assessing if a tradie is right for you. Especially if you’re under time constraints, reading the reviews of potential businesses will give you an idea of their quality of work, reliability and trustworthiness. On ServiceSeeking.com.au, you can easily see positive and negative reviews, which will help you make a decision on who to hire.
If you’ve enjoyed an experience with a business, leaving them a positive and informative review can be really helpful for future customers like yourself. If your experience wasn’t up to scratch, you can leave the business a constructive and helpful response. However, it’s always good to have a chat with the business before leaving a scathing review – often they’re more than happy to fix any issues that crop up. Communication is key.
Insurance
Does your home insurance cover the work of your builder? Always let your home and contents insurer know about any planned renovation work. In Australia, there’s no definitive policy regarding insurance of home renovations, so it’s definitely best to speak to your insurer and ask all the necessary questions.
Does your tradie have their own insurance? If you’re not sure, then it’s wise to ask before you embark on any work. Your tradie has a few options for insurance, such as Public Liability Insurance, Home Warranty Insurance, Tools of Trade Insurance and Personal Accident & Sickness Insurance. Ask your tradie what they have so you can adequately prepare for any work that is being completed in your home.
Pricing
What’s a fair price for the job? With ServiceSeeking.com.au, you can easily compare quotes to better understand the appropriate cost for your job. Businesses can choose to quote you in four different ways:
Approximate price: This is what the business thinks the total job is roughly worth.
Fixed Price: This is the set total price for the job.
Price range: The business will give you a minimum and maximum cost of the job and will be able to give you a more accurate quote with further inspection.
Rate: The business will give you a rate (eg hourly) for the job, rather than an estimate cost for the final product.
Site visit required: The business needs to assess the property before they are able to quote. This is generally for more complex jobs.
When selecting a business, check to see if the pricing already includes GST. Also take a look at their comments and if they’ve indicated they would like to inspect the job before confirming costs.
It’s a good idea to ask further questions if the quote is too low or too high compared to the others.