How to choose your tradies for your home renovation

Before you start searching for tradies, clearly define the scope of your renovation project. Determine which tradespeople you’ll need based on the work involved, whether it’s carpenters, electricians, plumbers, or painters.

Things to consider?

• budget
• your overarching vision
• practical considerations (for example, is your new laundry for a two-person apartment, or does it need to service a large family in a bigger home?)

Finding a tradie that will work with you to meet all these expectations is vital, and the more information you can provide, the easier it is for you both to assess this.

Reach out to friends, family, and neighbours who have recently completed renovation projects for up-to-date recommendations. Local community groups on social media can be a surprisingly good source of local intel as well.

On hipages you can check tradies star ratings, recommendations and Google reviews on their business profile page.

Wattley Group Pty Ltd

Getting a few quotes allows you to compare tradies and have more confidence that you’re choosing the right expert for your job.

And this is easy as with hipages. When you post a job we’ll ask you to answer a few quick questions, and even upload a photo or two. Then, local tradies will get an alert for quotes to get your job done. For a renovation project, a good estimate will outline the entire scope of work including the timetable, payment terms, and warranty for the completed works.

This information allows you to compare apples with apples – for example, does the cheaper quote require you to pick out and pay for your own fixings and fittings, or organise your own demolition and disposal?

Once you’ve created a shortlist, it’s worth doing a detailed check. Check out their hipages profile, website, browse through portfolios, read online recommendations to assess their expertise, reliability, and quality of work.

Visiting a happy client’s completed renovation or speaking to them directly (ask the tradie you are keen to hire if this is possible), is an invaluable way to check out the finer points of their work.

Arrange meetings with your shortlisted tradies to discuss your project in detail. You can tell a lot about a business by your initial contact with them. Did they get in touch promptly? Were they polite? How well you communicate during this initial meeting is a good indicator of how well you’ll work together.

Face-to-face meetings are also a great time to ask the big questions. Aside from costs, you should also ask:

• What similar projects have you done before?
• How busy are you?

Verify that the tradies you’re considering hold valid licences and relevant qualifications for their respective trades.

In Australia, while it varies from state to state, plumbers, gas fitters, air conditioning specialists, electricians, and any sort of construction all need licences. Taking the time to verify your tradie’s will give you peace of mind.

Also ensure your tradies hold adequate insurance for the duration of your job.

Before hiring a tradie, review the contract carefully to ensure it includes all project details, timelines, payment terms, and warranties – note your initial quote is not legally binding. Seek clarification on any ambiguous terms and ensure both parties are in agreement before signing.

Before signing on the dotted line, make sure it includes:

• All details about you and your builder
• The builder’s licence number
• Start and completion dates
• A payment schedule
• Scope of work details
• Price variations
• Exclusions

Pay careful attention to what, if any, exclusions apply to your job – these will incur an additional fee and if you’re unaware of them, may delay the completion of your project.

If you do not understand your contract, ask a solicitor or independent building consultant to review and explain it to you.