Avoiding Home Improvement Hazards

When you're planning home improvements, make sure you choose the right person for the job.

The start of a new year is often the time when one's thoughts turn to home improvements. It's certainly the case in my house anyway and, as one of my bathrooms is in a parlous state, I've already been trawling around in search of bathroom catalogues to see what's on offer.

I have to say that while I know the work will be worth it in the end, I have had enough experience of escalating budgets, piles of debris and disappearing builders to last me a lifetime! So what have I learned?

For a start, while there are bodgers in all trades all over the world, there are some decent honest builders out there too. To find them, the best place to start is with your friends and neighbours to see if they can recommend anyone. Ask to see any work they've had done to you can judge the quality of it for yourself.

Try to think through every possible aspect of the work that you want done so your builder has a fighting chance of giving you an accurate quote. There are two main reasons why costs escalate while home improvement work is being carried out - one is that the householder hasn't fully made up his mind about what he wants, and the other is because he changes his mind half way through!

Spell out in writing to whoever you take on precisely what you want done so that there can be no misunderstandings about the work involved. Set specific dates for starting and finishing - workmen have an amazing knack of starting a job and then disappearing to do some work elsewhere!

Be very careful about handing over large sums before the job is started but be prepared to make staged payments. Don't hand over the final payment (which should be large enough to encourage completion) until the job is actually finished and you are happy with the work.

If you're having a big job done such as an extension you might want to try and agree some form of penalty clause stating that for each day the job runs over the pre-arranged completion date then you'll deduct, say, £100 from the final settlement. Builders don't, however, like penalty clauses so a better bet might be to offer to pay an agreed sum if they finish the job sooner than expected.

It's also important to remember that where gas central heating boilers, cookers and hobs are concerned you must any changes must be made by a CORGI accredited gas installer.

For electrical work, under the terms of the Part P Building Regulations you are now only allowed to carry out specific work such as fitting extra power or lighting points unless they are in a kitchen, bathroom or outside. Otherwise you need to use a qualified certified electrician or if you want to do the work yourself or use an electrician who is not certified, then you will have to pay your local authority a fee to inspect it and issue a certificate.

And, finally, don't forget your neighbours. If you are planning anything that affects them it's the polite thing to do to keep them in the picture!