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In this current economic climate, with the housing market in the UK on a seemingly downward spiral, many people are putting off moving house and are considering renovating their home either to help improve the asking price or to accommodate a growing family. When this is the case, and especially when money is tight, it’s important to only consider recommended tradesmen in order to find a tradesman you can trust to carry out those improvements. That way you will get the best out of your home improvements and the most from your money. This is where UKTradeStreet can help.

If you’re going to let someone into your home to carry out repairs, decorate a room or fix a leaky pipe you’ll want to know that not only will they do a good job on time and for a reasonable charge, but that they can be trusted around your personal possessions. Take the worry out of having a stranger in your home and find a tradesman you can trust by doing your homework on the handyman, or even better, let a company like UKTradeStreet do it for you.

It goes without saying that you want to find a builder or handyman that knows what they’re doing, are trustworthy and reliable and can be left alone to finish the job without supervision. But what can you do at the very outset to ensure you’ve picked the right person for the job? The secret is to be prepared. Outline exactly what you need doing, what the problems are and what the desired outcome is; if in doubt, state the obvious and go into lots of detail. If you’ve fully briefed your handyman about everything you need, and indeed expect, then there’s no room for them to claim misunderstanding. Write everything out so that you and the tradesman are clear about what is expected.

Consider the general skill set of the person needed for the job. It’s obvious that if you want to find a carpenter that you find someone nifty with a hammer and nails, but it’s a little more complicated with a general handyman (or handywoman as is increasingly the case). They tend to be proficient across a number of areas, but don’t have a specialist field so wouldn’t be right for complicated plumbing or electrical work, for example. For more in-depth projects you’ll need to find a tradesman experienced and highly skilled in their field.

It’s important to ask the right questions when you’re considering hiring a handyman or tradesman, especially for larger and more complex projects. Do they have liability insurance and the proper licences to carry out the work? How long have they been in business and how many times have they carried out similar projects before? Don’t be bullied - if they are not willing and


happy to answer your questions at the outset then you are more than likely to run into more issues as the work progresses.

There are ways to cut down this process; you can choose to only deal with recommended tradesmen from the outset by using UKTradeStreet. This online service provider takes the headache out of the homework by only registering tradesmen who come recommended, are highly skilled and experienced in their field. The site helps you to find quality tradesmen and handymen (and women) in your area that have already been vetted and have found to be reliable, trustworthy and capable.

Of course it still pays to keep these tips in mind and do some groundwork when you first take someone on, but when you use www.uktradestreet.com to source the help you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll be using an approved tradesman who comes recommended, removing half of the homework you have to do.

Editor’s Note: UKTradeStreet is represented by online advertising consultancy, Top Position. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: Louise@topposition.co.uk or call: 0800 094 9001.

When you find a builder you want to hire, many things may be on your mind: how much will the project cost, how long it will take, etc.? One thing you will probably take for granted, however, is that they are fully trained in building! But a recent rash of “fast-track” training courses for tradesmen of all types have been churning out tradespeople lacking industry-recognised skill levels. So what do you do if you want to find a carpenter or electrician without fear of being electrocuted or crushed by wonky shelves? UKTradeStreet has the answer.

Recent reports from a number of industry governing bodies such as the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) and SummitSkills, the skills council for the building engineering industry, have warned of a growing number of tradesmen in the market who are poorly skilled having completed speedy training courses that simply don’t go far enough.

Some of these short courses are sold with the ‘promise’ of being able to earn high salaries post-qualification, yet fail to provide enough real work experience or skilled teaching to meet the basic industry expectations. While the builders, plumbers and carpenters falling for these under-par courses need to be wary, consumers also need to ensure that their work is going to be carried out by a truly skilled practitioner.

UKTradeStreet can help those looking for an approved tradesman who really does have the skills to back up their qualifications with their online ‘find a tradesman’ service. They register only recommended tradesmen who have proved that they meet all the necessary skill sets. They list tradesmen of all types who come highly recommended, are fully approved and certified and have carried out rigorous training in their field.

The UKTradeStreet service, which is open to the public and the private sector, also allows potential customers to register projects that need to be undertaken. These projects are then matched to reliable and professional local tradesmen who provide non-obligation quotes.

If you’re looking for a reliable and skilled tradesman, or if you are that tradesman and want to differentiate yourself from the rogue element, go to www.uktradestreet.com to find out more.

Editor’s Note: UKTradeStreet is represented by online advertising consultancy, Top Position. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: Louise@topposition.co.uk or call: 0800 094 9001.

If you want to find a tradesman that you can trust, you now have more protection following the news that the Government is cracking down on rogue tradespeople. The new laws introduce a blanket ban on unfair trading and will help those who want to find a builder, find a carpenter or other tradesman, but who are wary of falling prey to a cowboy. Consumers are starting to wise up to this rogue element, as evidenced by the rising popularity of websites such as www.uktradestreet.com, who register recommended tradesmen.

Services such as the one offered by UKTradeStreet bring together skilled tradespeople of repute and those customers who want to find a builder, plumber, etc. who will not rip them off. The demand for these websites comes from consumers who are worried by the proliferation of rogue tradespeople and want a reliable way of finding only those labourers and handymen who are skilled and trustworthy. Approved tradesmen leave their details on the websites, as do potential customers with an outline of their projects, and both parties know that being registered on the site offers them protection.

Acknowledging that there is a growing problem with a rogue element within the largely dependable tradespeople industry (as well as with rogue traders and other aggressive salespeople), the Government has created the Consumer Protection Regulations which bring together 23 existing laws, but with increased powers to enforce them and the possibility of levying unlimited fines or even issuing prison sentences. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has stated that approximately 750,000 businesses will be affected by the new legislation.

The Government was prompted to further increase consumer protection after surveys revealed that approximately six out of ten people fear that they are likely to be treated unfairly by tradesmen in some way. It is this distrust that has led to the inception of companies such as


UKTradeStreet, who recognised the need for a service where people could find recommended tradesmen in their area - tradesmen that were skilled, reliable and certified. Before services such as this existed, people who wanted to find a carpenter, for instance, would either blindly secure services from a classified ad, or else rely on a word-of-mouth recommendation.

Having a one-stop-shop service like UKTradeStreet’s means that finding an approved tradesman in any field is easy, and with the added protection that this new Government legislation affords, cowboy builders could become a thing of the past.

To see the full range of services offered by UKTradeStreet, go to www.uktradestreet.com

Editor’s Note: UKTradeStreet is represented by online advertising consultancy, Top Position. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: Louise@topposition.co.uk or call: 0800 094 9001.