Looking for a ‘rated-excellent’ tradesperson near you?

 

Over a third of UK homeowners (35%) are planning to start a major home renovation by the end of the year

 

With many of us spending more time in our homes than ever before over the last 18 months, it seems that many homeowners have spotted home improvements they want to put in place in 2021.

 

We recently ran a survey of 2,000 British homeowners and found that over a third of UK homeowners (35%) are planning a major renovation at some point in 2021.

 

Utilising the latest figures provided by the government on home ownership, we can expect as many as 5 million homes in the UK to undergo a major renovation by the end of the year.

 

When asked how much they were looking to spend on their home renovations, the data indicates that people are going big with their plans after so long being stuck at home.

 

Respondents stated they would be spending an average of £15,461 each on their home improvements, which when combined with the government figures on the current number of homeowners means that over £78 billion (£78,328,518,200) will be spent on renovations during 2021.

 

 

With so many British homeowners planning a makeover to their property, the most popular renovation in 2021 is replacing their kitchen (40%), followed closely by those renovating their bathrooms (38%), and living rooms (31%). 

 

Over half of the homeowners we surveyed (51%) said that they prioritised ‘highly-rated’ workers with positive reviews, meaning that the British public will need to fight it out to secure the small pool of ‘rated-excellent’ tradespeople.

 

We conducted a search of sites like CheckaTrader, RatedPeople and TrustATrader, with the hope of finding the area in the UK with the most highly-rated tradespeople.

 

It turns out that those in Islington (5.2%) have the best chance of getting a high-rated tradesperson – that is over four times as likely as the next-best area, Reading (1.15%).

 

Though Islington scored highly, London as a whole scored poorly (0.08%), meaning many in the capital will struggle to find a rated-excellent tradesperson.

 

City  Chance of Getting a High Rated Tradesperson 
Islington  5.20% 
Reading  1.15% 
Southend-on-Sea  0.96% 
Newport  0.83% 
Bradford  0.76% 
Manchester  0.74% 
Coventry  0.74% 
Kingston upon Hull  0.69% 
Preston  0.66% 
Birkenhead  0.63% 
Swansea  0.63% 
Sunderland  0.63% 
Stoke-on-Trent  0.60% 
Leeds  0.60% 
Leicester  0.54% 
Cardiff  0.48% 
Edinburgh  0.40% 
Bristol  0.38% 
Sheffield  0.36% 
Nottingham  0.32% 
Birmingham  0.30% 
Liverpool  0.28% 
Glasgow  0.17% 
London  0.08% 

 


 

Chances of being able to hire a ‘rated excellent’ builder

 

Islington is the place to be when looking for a highly rated builder, with an almost one in ten chance (8.5%) of snaring a ‘rated excellent’ builder.

 

 

Chances of being able to hire a ‘rated excellent’ carpenter

 

When it comes to securing a highly rated carpenter, Islington (3.55%) and Reading (0.86%) again have the highest chance, with towns and cities like Coventry (0.63%), Preston (0.62%), and Swansea (0.61%) also scoring highly.

 

 

Chances of being able to hire a ‘rated excellent’ gardener

 

Highly rated gardeners are apparently plentiful across the UK, with homeowners in towns and cities like Bradford (0.7%), Newport (0.68%), and Kingston Upon Hull (0.67%) having a decent chance of securing a ‘rated excellent’ gardener.

 

 

Other tradespeople

 

 

 

 

 

 

When booking a tradesperson to do some work on your home, it’s important to do your homework and ensure you’re finding someone trustworthy to do a job that will meet your standards and requirements.

 

When shortlisting a tradesperson to do work on your home, we recommend following the below steps before confirming.

 

Tips on securing a highly-rated tradesperson

 

  1. Check out their online reviews

 

Check out what other people are saying about them! This isn’t an invitation to panic at the sight of a single bad review, but if a tradesperson is consistently receiving a wave of bad reviews, it might be a potential red flag.

 

  1. Ask for recommendations

 

Asking friends and family for recommendations can be a great way to vet a potential tradesperson. The best way to hear about how a tradesperson works is from someone who has experienced their work first-hand.

 

  1. Speak to a number of tradespeople before deciding

 

It makes sense to source a number of different quotes before deciding on a tradesperson. This is beneficial in two ways; receiving different quotes gives a good idea of what a competitive price for the job is likely to be and also gives a chance to gauge whether each tradesperson sounds trustworthy and credible before continuing.

 

Whether you’re looking to renovate your kitchen or change up your garden, taking the time to properly research any tradespeople you book to work on your home will ensure you limit the chance of a nasty surprise down the road.