Choosing a Trade Contractor: 10 Questions That Sort Them
Every contractor sounds the same on the phone: reliable, insured, quality focused. These ten questions cut through that, because the professionals answer immediately and the rest go vague. We have published our own answers alongside, so hold us to them.
Ask for current insurance certificates, the licence number, exactly what is included and excluded, what happens if site conditions differ, realistic start and finish dates, the warranty in writing, and what you get at handover. Professionals answer all seven immediately.
The credentials questions
One: can you send me your current insurance certificates today? A professional has them on file and sends them without being chased. Two: are you licensed for this work, and what is the licence number? In NSW, residential building work over the relevant threshold requires a licence, and the number belongs on the quote, where you can check it on the Fair Trading register in under a minute. Three: who actually turns up, your employees, regular subcontractors, or whoever is free that week?
Any answer to the third question can be fine. Not being able to answer it is not.
The scope questions
Four: what exactly is included, and what is excluded? On concrete that means thickness, reinforcement, base preparation and finish, in writing. On barriers it means the fixing detail. Vague scope is where variations come from. Five: what happens if you hit rock, or the substrate is not what you assumed? A professional has a stated rate and a process, and the alternative is an argument halfway through the job. Six: who is responsible for the design, you, my engineer, or nobody?
If the answer to the sixth question is nobody, stop there.
The delivery questions
Seven: when can you realistically start and finish? A contractor honest enough to tell you they are three weeks out will be honest about the rest. Someone who promises Monday in order to win the job will disappoint you on Monday.
Eight: what do I get at handover? On any job worth documenting, the answer should include a written record of what was installed and where, plus the product documentation for anything specified. If the answer is an invoice, then the evidence you may need later, for a certifier, an insurer or a future buyer, will not exist.
The accountability questions
Nine: what warranty applies, and is it written on the quote? Warranties live on paper rather than in conversations. Ten: what don't you do? That last one is the most revealing question on the list. Professionals defend their scope boundary because their reputation sits inside it, and 'we do everything' usually means nothing in particular is their specialty.
You are not really scoring ten answers. You are reading a pattern. Contractors who answer the credentials and scope questions quickly do so because they have systems behind them, and evasion on any one of the ten reliably predicts the rest.
Related questions
Tell us what you need built.
Send drawings, photos or just a description. Straightforward jobs get priced from what you send. Anything structural gets looked at first. You get a written quote with the scope stated either way.