Using Friends for Building Work
Some people say “never lend a friend money”, or “sell them a car”.
If things go wrong it can end a friendship!
I think it might be the same with getting them to do building work for you.
Reasons to think twice
- Are they really ‘friends’, ‘friends of friends’ or just people you know?
- Is there a chance they will take advantage of your ‘friendship’ to work at a slower rate because they are doing work for other people at the same time?
- Do you really know how good at their job they are?
- If they are doing it as a ‘friend’ are they insured?
- Do you both agree on what the required quality of workmanship and materials will be? and is it written down?
- How will you resolve things if you are not happy with the result?
Contracts give more certainty
I think that in something as important as building a house you need everything covered by contracts and insurances.
Also if you are a true friend to them you should be happy paying them a fair price for a good quality job.
I have got friends to do small things for me but for a major project I always prefer a fairly written contract.
This has enabled me to become friends of builders through building up a mutual respect.
For similar posts see Choosing a Builder