How to Choose a Builder (Without Losing Sleep or Money)
by Sean Hill on May 15, 2025
Hiring a builder is like choosing a climbing partner for a difficult ascent. It’s not just about who’s strongest or cheapest. It’s about who you trust to rope up with you and guide the project safely to the summit - your home, your business, your legacy.
How to Choose a Builder Without Losing Sleep (or Your Budget)
by Sean Hill on Jan 9, 2025
A builder is more than a contractor. They’re your partner in realising a dream. Choose wisely, and you’re building more than bricks and mortar - you’re building trust.
Topics: Contractor
- Architecture (151)
- Sustainable architecture (138)
- Design (67)
- Passivhaus (67)
- Sustainable Design (65)
- Retrofit (57)
- London (51)
- New build (51)
- Renovation (43)
- energy (39)
- interior design (37)
- Building materials (34)
- Planning (33)
- Environment (31)
- climate-change (30)
- Inspirational architects (27)
- Refurbishment (27)
- enerphit (27)
- extensions (27)
- Building elements (22)
- Inspiration (21)
- Rise Projects (16)
- Extension (15)
- Innovative Architecture (14)
- London Architecture (13)
- net zero (13)
- Carbon Zero Homes (12)
- General (12)
- Philosophy (12)
- RIBA (11)
- Working with an architect (11)
- sustainable materials (11)
- architects (10)
- low energy home (10)
- Awards (9)
- Sustainable (9)
- Residential architecture (8)
- architect (8)
- Planning permission (7)
- Airtightness (6)
- Eenergy efficiency (6)
- Passive house (6)
- Uncategorized (6)
- Virtual Reality (6)
- low carbon (6)
- BIM (5)
- Basement Extensions (5)
- Costs (5)
- RISE Sketchbook Chronicles (5)
- Sustainable Architect (5)
- cinema design (5)
- construction (5)
- local materials (5)
- sustainable building (5)
- ARB (4)
- BIMx (4)
- Carbon Positive Buildings (4)
- Feasibility Study (4)
- Home extensions (4)
- House cost (4)
- concrete (4)
- constructioncosts (4)
- insulation (4)
- modular architecture (4)
- mvhr (4)
- natural materials (4)
- structural (4)
- structuralengineer (4)
- working from home (4)
- Backland Development (3)
- Building in the Green Belt (3)
- Chartered architect (3)
- Home improvement (3)
- Overheating (3)
- Paragraph 84 (3)
- Permitted development (3)
- Property (3)
- Spain (3)
- Sustainable Interiors (3)
- Sustainable Tennis Pavilion (3)
- Timber Structures (3)
- backland (3)
- circular economy (3)
- country house (3)
- countryside (3)
- furniture (3)
- listed buildings (3)
- plywood (3)
- sustainability (3)
- sustainable structure (3)
- zero waste (3)
- 3D models (2)
- AECB (2)
- Architects in Spain (2)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) (2)
- BREEAM (2)
- Bespoke lighting (2)
- Bricks (2)
- Building energy (2)
- Chartered Practice (2)
- Commercial Architecture (2)
- Contractor (2)
- Covid-19 (2)
- Ecohouse (2)
- Furniture design (2)
- Garden studio (2)
- Heat Pumps (2)
- Heritage (2)
- Japanese Archiecture (2)
- Loft conversion (2)
- Mews House Retrofit (2)
- Modern Methods of Construction (2)
- Paragraph 79 (2)
- Paragraph 80 (2)
- Period Homes (2)
- Permitted development rights (2)
- Recycling (2)
- Roof extension (2)
- Social Distancing (2)
- Social housing (2)
- Store Design (2)
- Sustainable Affordable Homes (2)
- Sustainable Extensions (2)
- Tennis Pavilion (2)
- Timber Construction (2)
- Welbeing (2)
- ashp (2)
- barcelona (2)
- building information modelling (2)
- building regulations (2)
- co-working (2)
- design&build (2)
- epc (2)
- glazed-extensions (2)
- green architecture (2)
- greenbelt (2)
- health and wellbeing (2)
- historic architecture (2)
- house extension (2)
- interiorfinishes (2)
- light (2)
- living space (2)
- london landmarks (2)
- londoncinemas (2)
- openingupworks (2)
- peter zumthor (2)
- project management (2)
- rammed earth (2)
- renewable energy (2)
- self build (2)
- traditional (2)
- trialpits (2)
- waste (2)
- wooden furniture (2)
- #NLANetZero (1)
- 3D Printing (1)
- 3D Walkthroughs (1)
- Adobe (1)
- Alvar (1)
- Architect Barcelona (1)
- Architecture Interior Design (1)
- Architraves (1)
- Area (1)
- Art (1)
- Audio Visual (1)
- Balconies (1)
- Biodiversity (1)
- Biophilic Design (1)
- Birmingham Selfridges (1)
- Boat building (1)
- Boats (1)
- Brass (1)
- Brexit (1)
- Brownfield Development (1)
- Brutalist Architecture (1)
- Carpentry (1)
- Casting (1)
- Chailey Brick (1)
- Community Architecture (1)
- Concrete Architecture (1)
- Copper (1)
- Cornices (1)
- Cowboy Builders (1)
- Czech Republic, (1)
- Data Centers (1)
- David Lea (1)
- Designing with Stone (1)
- Dormer extension (1)
- EnvironmentalArchitecture (1)
- Fees (1)
- Flooding (1)
- Future of Housing (1)
- Gandhi memorial museum (1)
- Georgian Extension (1)
- Green Register (1)
- Green infrastructure (1)
- GreenDesign (1)
- History (1)
- India (1)
- Jan Kaplický (1)
- Japandi (1)
- Joinery (1)
- Kitchen Design (1)
- L-shaped dormer (1)
- Land value (1)
- Lord's Media Centre (1)
- Mapping (1)
- Marseilles (1)
- Mary Portas (1)
- Metal (1)
- Micro Generation (1)
- Mid Century Retrofit (1)
- Monuments (1)
- Mouldings (1)
- Mycelium Architecture (1)
- NPPF (1)
- Nature (1)
- New Build House (1)
- Office to Homes (1)
- Office to Hotel Conversion (1)
- Offsite manufacturing (1)
- Padel Court (1)
- Party Wall Surveyor (1)
- PeopleFirstDesign (1)
- Place (1)
- Podcast (1)
- Porch (1)
- Prefab (1)
- Procurement (1)
- RISE Team (1)
- Rebuild (1)
- Replacement Dwelling (1)
- ResilientFuture (1)
- Richard Rogers (1)
- Rural New Build (1)
- Sand (1)
- Scandinavian architecture (1)
- Selfbuild (1)
- Skirting (1)
- Small Sites Development (1)
- Solar Shading (1)
- Steel (1)
- Stone Architecture (1)
- Surveying (1)
- Sustainable Basement Extension (1)
- Sustainable Lighting (1)
- Sustainable Mews House (1)
- Sustainable Padel Court (1)
- Sverre fehn (1)
- VR (1)
- West london (1)
- Wildlife (1)
- Wood (1)
- architect fees (1)
- architectural details (1)
- arne jacobsen (1)
- avant garde (1)
- basements (1)
- brentdesignawards (1)
- building design (1)
- built environment (1)
- carbonpositive (1)
- cement (1)
- charles correa (1)
- charles eames (1)
- charlie warde (1)
- charteredarchitect (1)
- climate (1)
- climate action (1)
- codes of practice (1)
- collaboration (1)
- covid (1)
- dezeenawards (1)
- drone (1)
- eco-living (1)
- emissions (1)
- finnish architecture (1)
- foundations (1)
- futuristic (1)
- georgian architecture (1)
- glazed envelope (1)
- good working relationships (1)
- green building (1)
- hampstead (1)
- happiness (1)
- home extension (1)
- homesurveys (1)
- imperfection (1)
- independentcinemas (1)
- innovation (1)
- inspirational (1)
- internal windows (1)
- jean prouve (1)
- kindness economy (1)
- kintsugi (1)
- landscape architecture (1)
- lime (1)
- local (1)
- lockdown (1)
- mansard (1)
- manufacturing (1)
- materiality (1)
- modern architecture (1)
- moderninst (1)
- modernism (1)
- moulded furniture (1)
- natural (1)
- natural cooling (1)
- natural light (1)
- nordic pavilion (1)
- northern ireland (1)
- palazzo (1)
- placemaking (1)
- planningpermission (1)
- plywood kitchen (1)
- post-Covid (1)
- poverty (1)
- powerhouse (1)
- preapp (1)
- preapplication (1)
- ray eames (1)
- reclaimed bricks (1)
- recycle (1)
- reuse (1)
- ricardo bofill (1)
- risedesignstudio (1)
- rooflights (1)
- room reconfiguration (1)
- rural (1)
- satellite imagery (1)
- selfbuildhouse (1)
- shared spaces (1)
- site-progress (1)
- solarpvs (1)
- space (1)
- stone (1)
- structuralsurvey (1)
- sun tunnel (1)
- terraces (1)
- thegreenregister (1)
- totality (1)
- wabi-sabi (1)
- August 2025 (8)
- July 2025 (23)
- June 2025 (9)
- May 2025 (22)
- April 2025 (16)
- March 2025 (8)
- February 2025 (12)
- January 2025 (6)
- December 2024 (6)
- November 2024 (8)
- October 2024 (5)
- September 2024 (3)
- August 2024 (2)
- July 2024 (2)
- June 2024 (2)
- May 2024 (1)
- April 2024 (1)
- March 2024 (1)
- February 2024 (1)
- January 2024 (3)
- November 2023 (1)
- October 2023 (5)
- September 2023 (7)
- August 2023 (7)
- July 2023 (6)
- June 2023 (8)
- May 2023 (14)
- April 2023 (11)
- March 2023 (8)
- February 2023 (6)
- January 2023 (5)
- December 2022 (3)
- November 2022 (3)
- October 2022 (3)
- September 2022 (3)
- July 2022 (2)
- June 2022 (1)
- May 2022 (1)
- April 2022 (1)
- March 2022 (1)
- February 2022 (2)
- January 2022 (1)
- November 2021 (1)
- October 2021 (2)
- July 2021 (1)
- June 2021 (1)
- May 2021 (1)
- April 2021 (1)
- March 2021 (1)
- February 2021 (1)
- January 2021 (2)
- December 2020 (1)
- November 2020 (1)
- October 2020 (1)
- September 2020 (2)
- August 2020 (1)
- June 2020 (3)
- April 2020 (3)
- March 2020 (2)
- February 2020 (3)
- January 2020 (1)
- December 2019 (1)
- November 2019 (2)
- September 2019 (1)
- June 2019 (1)
- April 2019 (2)
- January 2019 (2)
- October 2018 (1)
- September 2018 (1)
- August 2018 (2)
- July 2018 (1)
- March 2018 (1)
- February 2018 (2)
- December 2017 (1)
- September 2017 (1)
- May 2017 (1)
- January 2017 (1)
- December 2016 (1)
- November 2016 (1)
- September 2016 (1)
- August 2016 (2)
- June 2016 (2)
- May 2016 (1)
- April 2016 (1)
- December 2015 (1)
- October 2015 (1)
- September 2015 (1)
- August 2015 (1)
- June 2015 (1)
- January 2015 (1)
- September 2014 (2)
- August 2014 (1)
- July 2014 (4)
- June 2014 (9)
- May 2014 (2)
- April 2014 (1)
- March 2014 (1)
- February 2014 (1)
- December 2013 (1)
- November 2013 (5)
- October 2013 (5)
- September 2013 (5)
- August 2013 (5)
- July 2013 (5)
- June 2013 (2)
- May 2013 (2)
- April 2013 (4)
- March 2013 (5)
- February 2013 (2)
- January 2013 (3)
