Table of Contents
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All homeowners need help with jobs around the house once in a while. Whether it’s a plumbing issue, a new roof, rewiring the electricity, planting trees, or getting rid of pests, there’s usually something we aren’t able to do ourselves. That’s when we turn to help from local tradies. But, before you hire a contractor for any job, be sure you know what to look for so you choose the right person for the job.
License
While you can probably find a tradie to do any home improvement or repair job, not all of them are qualified to do it properly. Make sure the contractor you hire is licensed, which means they have demonstrated that they have the education and skills to install, repair, remove, or upgrade that particular job.
For example, an electrician in Queensland must complete a Certificate III in Electrotechnology to obtain their license. If you need someone to rewire your house or even just install an outlet, you’ll know that a licensed electrician will have the knowledge and skills to do it correctly. As you are aware, it’s absolutely critical that an electrician knows what they’re doing. Otherwise, poorly done electrical work could result in a fire or worse.
Insurance
Insurance isn’t required for all tradies in Australia, but it does depend on the state. In some places, contractors must show their governing body that they have public liability insurance before they can become licensed. In any case, whether it’s required or not, the tradie you hire should have insurance because it protects them and you.
Your homeowner’s insurance will protect the contractor on your property if they are injured due to your negligence. But, if you’re injured on your own property or your property is damaged due to the contractor’s negligence, your homeowner’s insurance may not cover you. This is where public liability insurance comes in. This type of policy ensures your peace of mind while a tradie is working in your home.
Experience
Even though every contractor has to start somewhere, you don’t want an inexperienced tradie doing work at your house. After all, if you wanted someone without experience doing the job, you would have done it yourself and saved some money. Since you’re paying for a professional to complete a project, it should be professionally done. Not only should it look good, but it should work properly as well.
Ask any contractor you’re considering hiring how long their company has been in business, how many jobs they do each month, and how much experience the worker who will be doing your job has. It’s also important to ask for referrals from other customers who had the same type of work done so you can see first-hand what their finished work looks like. Don’t forget to ask the referrals their opinion about the customer service level as well!
Reviews
Another way to narrow down your tradie choices is to check out online reviews. Now, some of these reviews are going to be negative without any real reason because that’s just the nature of the internet. When you read the reviews for a company, don’t worry about one or two bad reviews, especially if they seem to come from hard-to-please customers. Instead, pay more attention to the middling reviews. These are usually more honest and will provide you with both the good and bad points of a tradie.
Turnaround Time
Contractors should be able to tell you about how long it will take to complete your job from start to finish. Be aware that if a contractor’s estimate is much shorter than the average time you’re hearing from all contractors, they might be sacrificing quality for speed. If their estimate is much longer than the average, they might not have the employees to get your project completed on time. As such, make sure you get several quotes from several tradies to have enough information to establish an average turnaround time.
Pricing
Pricing should always be a factor in choosing a contractor, but it should not be the only or even the determining factor. Certainly, you want to spend as little as possible, but you also want to get a high-quality finished product. Contractors with extremely low bids are either not going to do a great job or they’re not including everything they are going to charge you for. Just remember: if a price sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Conclusion
When it’s time to hire a tradie, you might become overwhelmed with all your choices. Use the considerations listed here to help you make the best choice possible to get your job done quickly and correctly.
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