Builders

With house prices so high that many people are adding to their existing property or buying and renovating, times are good for the small jobbing builder.

However, not everything is as rosy as it seems. With all the recent bad publicity about cowboy builders and rogue traders, good builders have to sell themselves to the customer by countering their fears. We've given you some ideas on improving your image here.

With the construction industries health and safety record still as abysmal as ever, the HSE (health & Safety Executive) is planning a major clamp down this summer. The HSE's research has shown that sites of 10 or less workers account for 45% of fatalities in the trade. 

This presumably means that while improved legislation, publicity, more site visits etc. is reaching the large sites, the small builder adding the extension to the house down the road is either not getting the message or is not listening! Expect a visit this summer.

Health and Safety has its own section within this site. It is not heavy going and is written with the small builder in mind. It is not meant as a comprehensive document stating what you should and shouldn't be doing but rather its purpose is to explain the basics and hopefully convince you to start using good working practices.

The health safety section starts here