Kitchens are often described as being the heart of the home, the warm and cosy space where many of us cook, eat and socialise. Whether you’re simply updating a tired galley kitchen, or looking to install a top-of-the-range space that would make a celebrity chef jealous, with such an important room, it’s vital that you find the right kitchen fitter Colwyn Bay to perform the work.
Make sure you are comfortable with them
As well as knowing if they are experienced with your kind of job, you should simply assess how comfortable you feel with the potential tradesmen. You can do that from your first contact with them; are they polite on the phone, do they arrive for meetings at the scheduled time, do they ask lots of questions about the project?
Kitchen fittings aren’t completed in a couple of hours – depending on the size of the job, it can last for as little as a few days, or up to several weeks. Much of that time, if your kitchen is out of action, with little in the way of cooking facilities outside of a microwave in another room, you may need to vacate your home while your tradesman works on it. Being able to maintain good communication throughout the project is essential. You don’t have to become best friends with them, but you should be able to have a professional relationship – you must feel comfortable speaking openly about any concerns that may arise, and dealing with any issues.
Get quotes that cover everything
With many larger jobs, it’s advisable to meet with, and get quotations, from at least three tradesman. The detail and scope of their quotation can tell you a lot about their process. It’s important to make sure that all the quotations are like-for-like – do they include materials and labour, as well as any subcontracting the tradesman may do, and VAT? If the tradesman will be removing and disposing of the previous kitchen features, is that included? The only way to accurately compare quotations is if you are comparing like-for-like, and to get them from people who have seen the job in person.
Taking a sample of at least three quotations can help you spot any that seem unreasonably low – if this is the case, it could be the sign of a tradesman who wants to win the job, but will make up the true value by adding on extra costs during the course of the build.
Ensure there are follow-ups after the build
With a project like kitchen fitting, there is chance that there will be complications along the way. Often, these issues may not manifest themselves until after the work is notionally complete, and the tradesman has moved on to other jobs. That being so, it is sensible to hire a tradesman who is happy to return to the build to follow-up on their work and make right anything that may have happened since the work finished.
Some builders will put something to this effect in their initial contracts with the homeowners, while others will offer a more informal arrangement.