The moment before you sign is the cheapest point in the whole project to find a problem. Once work starts, every correction costs money, time and goodwill. These are the checks we make for homeowners in Kent before they commit.
1. Confirm who you are actually contracting with
Get the full legal entity name and company number, and check it exists and is trading. A trading name on a quote tells you very little about who carries the liability.
2. See the insurance certificates
Public liability as a minimum, employers' liability if they have employees, and the certificate must be current and in the name of the entity on your quote. Ask for the schedule, not a screenshot of a logo.
3. Test competence against your job
Not "25 years in the trade" — have they done this specific thing? A loft conversion in a 1930s semi is not the same job as a new-build garage. Ask for two recent, comparable projects and speak to those clients.
4. Read the exclusions before the price
This is where quotes diverge. Structural calculations, building control fees, steels, drainage diversion, scaffolding, skips, making good, decoration, VAT — each of these appears in some quotes and not others. The cheapest quote is often the one with the most exclusions.
5. Interrogate the provisional sums
A provisional sum is a placeholder, not a price. Ask what it is based on and what happens if the actual cost lands above it. Unexamined provisional sums are the single most common source of overruns on domestic work.
6. Fix the programme and the payment schedule together
Payments should follow completed, verifiable stages — never a calendar. Avoid large up-front deposits; if materials genuinely need pre-ordering, ask for the supplier invoice.
- Stage payments tied to defined, inspectable milestones
- A retention held until snagging is closed out
- A written variation procedure with prices agreed before work proceeds
- A clear start and completion date, with what happens if they slip
7. Establish who is managing safety
On domestic projects, client duties under CDM 2015 normally pass to the contractor — but only where the arrangements are genuinely in place. With multiple contractors and no one coordinating them, you can find yourself holding duties you did not know existed.
8. Agree the handover pack up front
Building control completion certificate, structural calculations, electrical and gas certification, guarantees and warranties, as-built information. Agreed at the start, this arrives naturally. Requested at the end, it takes months and sometimes never arrives — and your buyer, lender or insurer will ask for it.
9. Get one independent opinion
Your builder, their subcontractors and often your designer share a commercial interest in the job proceeding. An independent review costs a fraction of a single variation and is the only advice in the process with nothing riding on the outcome.
We review quotes, verify contractors and inspect works in progress for homeowners and landlords across Kent — fixed fee, plain English, written report.
This article draws on reputable published sources and public enforcement reporting. It has not been fully verified case by case, so no individuals, companies or addresses are identified.
This article is general guidance, not advice about your particular site or premises. If you want it applied to your own job, the first call is free.