How do I know what to look for or value in a word of mouth recommendation?

A word-of-mouth recommendation feels like gold. Someone you trust has done the hard work for you. They lived through a renovation, came out the other side smiling, and pointed you in the right direction. Surely that’s enough?

Not quite. A personal recommendation is a brilliant starting point. But it is just that, a starting point. What it tells you is that one person had a good experience with one builder on one project. It doesn’t tell you whether that builder is right for your project, your timeline, your budget, or your home. To find that out, you need to do a little digging, and most people don’t realise quite how much digging that actually means.

Here’s what Henry, Co-founder of The Page, recommends you do before you commit to anyone, recommended or not.

Go in with a strict agenda

Henry is clear on this: “Don’t let photos of a beautiful past project and a smiley face pull the wool over your eyes.” Charm and a portfolio are not due diligence. You need to be thorough.

Check their recent track record properly

This means three references, and not just names on a page. Call them. Ask real questions. Alongside that, you want to have seen at least two completed projects from the last twelve months. Building is a skill that requires consistent practice, and a builder who hasn’t completed a comparable project recently is a bigger risk than most people appreciate.

Get into the detail of the contract

Before you agree to anything, find out exactly what kind of contract they use and, crucially, how they handle variations and extensions of time. These are the two areas where renovation costs and timelines most commonly spiral. A builder who can explain this clearly and confidently is one who has thought about it. One who can’t, or who brushes past it, hasn’t – and that should tell you something.

You’ll also want to establish who is responsible for procuring client-supplied items (tiles, fixtures & fittings, appliances) and when those things need to be on-site. Delays caused by missing materials are one of the most common and most avoidable sources of project disruption.

Ask about project management specifically

This is the one Henry feels most strongly about. Who will actually be on-site, and when? Who is responsible for quality control day-to-day? How is the project being managed overall? These aren’t difficult questions but the answers are revealing. Any builder worth their salt will answer them confidently and in detail. Vagueness here is a red flag.

Then ask this: how have they managed their way out of a difficult situation in the past? Every builder has faced problems on-site. The ones who are good at their jobs can tell you honestly and exactly what happened, and what they did about it. The answer to this question alone will tell you an enormous amount about who you’re dealing with.

Management is everything!

Henry puts it simply: management equals quality. Not just the quality of the finish, though that matters, but whether the project comes in on time, on budget, and leaves everyone happy at the end of it. Those things don’t happen by accident. They happen because someone is running the job properly from start to finish.

Sounds like a lot of work before the actual renovation has even begun, doesn’t it? It is. But it’s exactly the kind of work that separates a smooth renovation from a stressful one, and it’s everything we do for you at The Page, built into our service from the start, at no cost to you. If you want to see what that looks like in practice, head to Our Projects page: real London renovations, real Pagers, real results.