If it’s a renovation of your home or construction in NSW, then hiring the right tradespeople could be the difference. You need professionals who are professional, trustworthy and good value for money.

Apart from asking for an employment background check like a police check NSW, there are many other tips to find the best electricians, plumbers, builders and painters for residential works.

Check out these tips to pick the right tradespeople in NSW for you.

Ask Your Mates for Recommendations

For the best tradies in NSW, you can ask around your local neighborhood. Talk to neighbours, footy club buddies, rellies and people you know around.

Ask if they have used any decent builders, plumbers or other handymen to remodel or build recently.

You can get the breakdown on which tradies they hired, what sort of work they did, if everything went according to plan and budget, what the end result looked like and if there was any trouble along the way.

Tip: Word of mouth from people you know is stronger than just random reviews on the internet. There are neighbours who can let you know about tradies from first-hand experience. Before you start looking online or even on Airtasker, have a chat with your friends around town. They will also know from personal experience which tradies are the best who always work well around your parts.

Filter Out Reviews Online

This is important if you want good local tradesmen from your friends and neighbours. But also it’s an escapist impulse to do some research online.

So, hop on Google, Facebook, ProductReview, hipages, and other places to find out what others are saying about different trades in your region. Focus on tradies with several 5-star reviews that say they’re professional, have good work, are on schedule and on budget, are upfront about quotes and communicating with you.

One or two bad reviews here and there are normal these days for any business. But avoid the tradies who have a track record of crappy ratings on multiple sites – it tells you something’s wrong.

And how they’ve been dealt with by the tradie, and how they resolved any issues. The good ones are the ones that will admit error and correct it. Anyone who’s shirty with unhappy clients or will not remediate is someone you should not hire.

Pro-tip: Checking online reviews from several happy clients can tell you if a tradie gets things right the first time, and not only one or two times.

Double Check Their Licences

Any tradie should have the right licences which are legally mandatory for the trade they work in, such as the builder’s licence, plumber’s licence, electrician’s licence etc. So make sure whoever it is you are thinking of getting your tradie from has all his ducks in a row.

You can check if a tradie’s licence is current and suitable for the job using NSW Fair Trading’s online Licence Check service. You might even require the tradespeople for a Police check in NSW in some jobs for added security.

Reminder: NEVER work with a tradie who isn’t willing to give you his licence information or can’t show you their current licence certificate. Lack of licence means no job.

Check They’re Covered under The Right Insurance

This covers you in case they do get damaged, injured or anything else while doing work on your home.

Here are the most frequent insurance policies to be on the lookout for:

• Public Liability Insurance – Pays damages/injuries to others caused by the tradies. In general, preferably at least $5 million minimum.
• Workers’ Comp – Indemnities for lost wages and medical bills in case of tradies or workers getting hurt at work. It’s mandatory for companies with workers.
• Contract Works Insurance – Represents the builder against damage to the work in progress.
• Home Warranty Insurance – Covers structural damage for 6 years from the date of completion. This is the law for structural building construction over $20k.

Tip: Some homeowners will even require tradespeople to have a clear Police check NSW as another safety precaution before the contractor works on your home. Demand that the tradies show you the official “Certificate of Currency” of their insurances prior to hiring. Do not believe them on the phone that they are insured – request written proof!

See Examples of Their Previous Projects

Ask for past projects, and especially a job that is similar to yours, before hiring any contractors.

• Is their sample related to the type of work you need done?
• What were the end results like for previous clients?
• Did the work get completed in the time and on budget that was quoted?

Take the time to actually see what they are working on other houses if you can. The finish and workmanship will give you a better idea of the quality from the first look.

Be sure to examine if it looks well designed with proper attention to form such as clean lines, edges, faulty painting or shoddy tiling. Get pictures or videos of their previous work if they’re not available to see, but judge everything you see.

Tips: If you can show solid work done on other customers demonstrating the tradie has the knowledge to do your project, this is a big win.

Ask About Their Hours and Timings.

Find out how busy the tradie is and how many days they are available before you commit. Someone who is busy all the time won’t take your project seriously and monitor it properly.

Set realistic goals for when you should start and when you should finish. Plan a little cushion for the weather delays, council approvals or materials not being in stock.

Always schedule in who will be working the primary supervisor every day. When it’s a larger project with more than one tradie and trades, figure out the time commitments and collaboration between the crews.

Tip: Get a tradie who seems truly into the work and can assure you it will be their priority project and be monitored from go to whoa.

Get Quotes in Writing

Don’t ever hire a tradie on a handshake – get quotes written down!

You want the details of scope of work, a breakdown of price, etc. Check every speck of fine print to see if there are any unexpected fees or nebulous nuggets.

Cheap quotes are never that good – you end up with poor quality work or shortcuts. And avoid lick-pocket mucky men asking for 100% payment before starting work – red flag!

Tipp: If you do a job in NSW that is above $5k, there should be a contract in writing indicating the terms, amount, responsibility etc. For added security — some builders even tie progress payments to completion for all labourers present on site before a project starts. Don’t sign anything until you know exactly what’s covered, when to pay, how to clean up the site, how it will be handled etc.

Check Their Approach to Any Issues

Even if you do all the research on the best tradie, sometimes a curveball comes along during construction. Check with the tradie, before you sign on, what are their customer service procedures, repairs to work, time delays, etc. if any problems crop up.

Do they have processes in place? When they go wrong, how quickly do they get back to you? Are they open about stuff-ups and they clean it up? Or do they skirt around responsibility, or do it by cutting corners?

And that they will not be hesitant to stand behind what they are doing and correct mistakes shows sacrificialness. Scratch traders who are hypersensitive to this kind of question, or don’t reply are ones to look out for.

Pro tip: Hire a tradie who promises you will be responsible for any genuine problems you have later on during your job.

Check Out Industry Trade Associations

Trades associations and trade associations such as the Master Builders Association or the electricians’ institutes maintain lists of approved companies. Visit their websites to check a pre-screened tradie near you.

There are membership requirements for these associations, rules of conduct and complaints procedures for bad actors in their ranks. And so their listings will take out some of the research of how to choose a good trader.

Don’t believe that if they’re listed then they’re necessarily a tradie for you though – still research them yourself with these tips, though. Look at the industry associations as a guide.

Recommendation: Ensure you contact any tradies you’re thinking about with the industry organisation of their trade to get extra assurance they’re legitimate.

Search on Established Online Directories

There are swarms of websites now such as Airtasker, hipages and Houzz, linking tradies with those in need of work. These can be a handy option for some reference to local tradies.

Remember that these platforms do only extremely basic due diligence – still follow the advice in this article to vet all you shortlist yourself.

Check out tradies on these sites who have lots of good reviews for jobs similar to yours. Call a few of the best ones to get to know them better and compare prices.

Pro tip: Avoid airtasker and other directory to find your tradie solely. Research it yourself in great detail too.

Watch Out for TV Advertisements

As well as the radio and newspaper adverts, check the TV schedules or catch up TV apps to find TV adverts by your local carpenters.

The good guys who’ve been in business donkey’s years, they also advertise on TV so they can be seen further out in your region.

But don’t discount the good work just because they get to put some cute advertisements in and a little jingle in. Use the tips in this post to cut through the sales hype and screen them.

Pro-Aide: Save any local business running tradie TV ads that interest you as a shortlist to follow up with.

Ask Your Architect or Builder for Referrals

If you already have an architect, design studio or home builder you know well to do the work for you, call them up for tradie suggestions too.

Older builders have a list of favourite subcontractors like sparkies, chippies, plumbers and so on with whom they do a lot of work.

These are carpenters that know the project manager’s personality and standards because they have collaborated on other projects before. And that way your architect/builder can recommend quality tradespeople for your project.

But still request proof of the tradie’s work and read reviews. Never rely on the referrer alone.

Tips: Getting the inside scoop on who will be a good fit for your construction crew by asking professionals you already have on your project team.