Building work-Hiring an individual contractor vs larger firm

[PlywoodPascal]

Getting a bit of minor building work done, building up a boundary wall (so bricklaying).
Have had quotes from a few people, but one was a guy who said he works by having customer order materials then shows up and does the work. I trust him and he was professional and seemed knowledgeable and conscientious. ‘ get the materials delivered here and I’ll come on these two days and do it for xxx’.
But just wondering, what are the potential pitfalls or things to look out having work done like this, vs contracting a larger firm with more people etc. am I missing out on anything?
Cheers.

[J6542]

If there is no cash up front, and you pay him when you’re happy. Then the only problem could be you end up with a badly built wall that you have payed the materials for without labour. If your happy he is capable of a good job then crack on

[ClaphamGT3]

PlywoodPascal said:

Getting a bit of minor building work done, building up a boundary wall (so bricklaying).
Have had quotes from a few people, but one was a guy who said he works by having customer order materials then shows up and does the work. I trust him and he was professional and seemed knowledgeable and conscientious. ‘ get the materials delivered here and I’ll come on these two days and do it for xxx’.
But just wondering, what are the potential pitfalls or things to look out having work done like this, vs contracting a larger firm with more people etc. am I missing out on anything?
Cheers.

This is quite common for minor building works. The upsides are that you don't pay a contractor's mark-up on the materials (but then you don't get the benefit of any trade discount) and that you know that you have the materials that you want, not a cheap alternative

Downsides are that if you get the wrong materials it's your risk not the tradesman, you'll need to deal with any shortfalls or last minute "oh, actually, I need x" situations and the tradesman has less skin in the game so you're more vulnerable to him not turning up because he's had a better offer.

Overall, it's down to how much you trust him

[blueg33]

If you are hiring a jobbing bricklayer and you will be looking at the final wall, go and see as many of his past jobs as possible. Too many brickies seem to give zero fks whether they do a decent job. Good ones are becoming a rare beast.

[PlywoodPascal]

I’ll not only be looking at it, I’ll be hoping it doesn’t fall down.
Thanks all.

[LooneyTunes]

ClaphamGT3 said:

PlywoodPascal said:

Getting a bit of minor building work done, building up a boundary wall (so bricklaying).
Have had quotes from a few people, but one was a guy who said he works by having customer order materials then shows up and does the work. I trust him and he was professional and seemed knowledgeable and conscientious. ‘ get the materials delivered here and I’ll come on these two days and do it for xxx’.
But just wondering, what are the potential pitfalls or things to look out having work done like this, vs contracting a larger firm with more people etc. am I missing out on anything?
Cheers.

This is quite common for minor building works. The upsides are that you don't pay a contractor's mark-up on the materials (but then you don't get the benefit of any trade discount) and that you know that you have the materials that you want, not a cheap alternative

Downsides are that if you get the wrong materials it's your risk not the tradesman, you'll need to deal with any shortfalls or last minute "oh, actually, I need x" situations and the tradesman has less skin in the game so you're more vulnerable to him not turning up because he's had a better offer.

Overall, it's down to how much you trust him

If it’s a decent sized small job, if that makes sense, you’ll still get the trade discounts if you set up accounts.

Whilst the builder has less skin in the game, you’ve not got to worry about who owns the materials if there’s a falling out, so it cuts both ways.