Find reliable building industry professionals via The Right Builder.com

1. What is TheRightBuilder.com?
TheRightBuilder.com is Ireland and the UK’s online service which puts thousands of people in touch with contractors and trades people in the building industry.

It was created to stamp out the many problems customers faced when undertaking home improvement projects, giving them help and advice so they can cut down on issues such as poor workmanship, overcharging, jobs uncompleted.

No Cowboys!!!

TheRightBuilder.com pre-vets every professional and every company that joins, encouraging recommendations and giving both customers and reputable contractors and trades people a better working relationship.

2. How does TheRightBuilder.com work?
We pre-approve everyone who joins us. We screen for approved financial status as well as legal and trading history (businesses must, for instance, have no unsettled or outstanding court judgements against them and have been trading for a minimum of two years). So it’s not surprising that one in two don’t even pass this stage.

That’s why consumers using this site do so knowing that everyone who has joined TheRightBuilder.com is reliable and competitive. They want quality workmanship, for which they are prepared to pay. So, whenever they are considering building or home improvements they come to TheRightBuilder.com first

Contractors who supply references will not only appeal more to prospective customers, they will be ranked in our directory according to the quality of their referrals. The better the references supplies, the higher the company profile and the more business they are likely to get.

And because TheRightBuilder.com is fast becoming the consumer’s first port of call when they are looking for reliable contractors, that business will be of better quality and higher value.

The Consumer Web Site
Customers who use TheRightBuilder.com are better informed and clearer about the work needed, saving time and hassle when it comes to carrying out the work.

This is because TheRightBuilder.com is not simply a list of contractors and trades people. It also gives customers help and advice, taking them through from the very first design ideas to finance, examples of projects and ways in which they can help the project go more smoothly.

You’ll also find legal advice on the website, how to prepare contracts and receive compensation when things don’t go as well as expected. And there’s practical advice finance, where to go for it and how to budget. Everything to ensure that both sides get the most out of each project.

3. How do we screen professionals?
We screen professionals on the following criteria: credit history, legal history, number of years in business, and customer recommendations.

Credit History
Good credit is a sign that the professional is financially healthy. It’s measured by their credit relations with their bank, suppliers and customers. Only those professionals that are independently considered to be of low to medium financial risk will pass TheRightBuilder.com basic screening criteria.
Legal History
A clear legal history means that we have found no unsettled outstanding court judgements (filed or pending) associated with particular professionals within the last five years. The existence of court judgements may be a sign that the customers has had dissatisfied customers. We check for court judgements every two months.
Years in business
TheRightBuilder.com approves only professionals who have been in business for two years or more. Many new businesses go bankrupt within a year or two and do not have an adequate track record to make any judgement on their work. This also filters out professionals who keep changing the name they trade under to cover up sometimes their less than glorious past.
Customer recommendations
Wherever possible we collect recommendations from our customers. We believe this is the best measure of quality. Knowing that someone else has been happy with a contractor is almost as good as getting a recommendation from a friend.

We aim to collect as much possible information about a professional to help you make an informed decision. Wherever possible, TheRightBuilder.com reports that a given company has maintained it’s liability insurance and its affiliation to trade bodies. Please note that the absence of this information only means that we have not yet verified this information for this given company. It does not imply that the company in question does not have proper insurance or is not a member of any trade body.

We sometimes put forward companies of whom we have not been able to collect their credit history. We only do this when they have been strongly recommended by homeowners.

4. Do you offer any guarantees?
All professionals put forward by TheRightBuilder.com have committed to offering a minimum two year guarantee on the completed works. However, you will have to verify the details of this guarantee with the contractors, preferably in writing. TheRightBuilder.com does not underwrite any guarantee contractors may offer you.

5. How long does the process take?
After you have confirmed your project request, it is up to the professionals to respond. This can take anywhere from 5 minutes to several days. At any time a professional expresses interested in your job, we will alert you via your chosen method (telephone,e-mail, etc.). It’s up to you then to follow up the leads, and from there on you set the timescale.

6. But won’t going through TheRightBuilder.com make the job more expensive?
We believe that using our service will actually save you money. When the companies quote for your project, they know that at least two other companies are quoting also, so they have to be competitive to get the work. Our service provides professionals with a cost-effective way to get more work, especially comparing the alternative sources such as the yellow pages and news paper advertising.

7. How does TheRightBuilder.com make it’s money?
TheRightBuilder.com service is free to homeowners. We make our money primarily by charging a very small commission fee to professionals. This works out cheaper for the professional than producing ads or mail shots, so it does not impact the fee for the job. If the professional gives you good value for money, you’ll be more likely to give a good recommendation, leading to more of TheRightBuilder.com opportunities.

8. Which trades do you cover?
We have professionals with general building skills (e.g. To build an extension or a conservatory, convert an attic, redesign a kitchen or bathroom, etc.) and specialist trades people (such as roofers, landscapes, tillers, plasters, etc.)
We have found that a lot of home improvement projects above require
general building contractors, bringing together many different skills.
However, if your project requires specialist skills, we do have many experts in
specialist trades such as gas fitting, electrical work, pebble-dashing, artexing,
underpinning and 25 other specialist areas.

9. How long will the form take to complete?
This can take anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. The form will help professionals to assess your project, and decide if they’d like to quote for it.
These are the type of questions we ask in the form (don’t worry, we also provide a lot of help):

How much do you expect to spend?
A rough guess is ok. It’ll help us narrow down the search and find the right professional for your job.
How far along is your project?
And when would like the work to start? Does your project require planning permission or building regulations? Do you need detailed drawings? Does your project need any design work?
About your property
The professionals will want to know if you are the owner, if the property is listed, if it is located in a conservation area, if it is very old etc.
What does the project involve?
A short description of your project; rough dimensions of the project area (e.g., size of the extension). Who is to supply the materials? Does the job require specialist skills?
Your contact details
This will enable us and the professionals to contact you (name, telephone numbers, email address etc.)

10. Why do contractors need TheRightBuilder.com’s service?
Thousands of customers in the UK and Ireland tell us their home improvement requirements through our website. We pre-qualify these leads and pass them through to the builder.

Our customers trust that our professionals are the best in the business so if the builder meets standards that are outlined in our membership requirements, and want to receive quality improvement projects, they talk to us.

11. I’m very busy (as a contractor), why would I still need your service?
Many of the job requests we receive from our customers have flexible timing so you can quote for these now but only start the work in several months time. Even though you are busy now it has probably not always been the case, and will probably not be the case at some pointing the future.
Joining TheRightBuilder.com is a non-risk insurance policy against future downturns in the market.

12. What geographical areas do you service?
For the moment, our service covers all mainland Britain and Ireland.

13. What size of home improvement projects do you get?
Anything fro €1000/£750 to €2million/£1.5million.

14. How do I sign up to your service?
All you need to do is complete our online application form. Our professional recruitment people will then get in touch with you and take your application forward as soon as possible.