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Homeowners award more than half of their jobs to well-known tradespeople. But what do you do when you need a facade contractor, an air conditioning technician or a solar installer for the first time? Our five tips will help you find the right tradespeople quickly and easily, we promise.
Ask for recommendations in your personal environment. Do you like the brick fireplace with a natural stone bench that you discovered at the barbecue party of your friends from the tennis club? I'm sure they'll tell you who built it. Ask the painter who is currently painting your bedroom and knows many local craftsmen for advice. Or talk to your neighbor who recently renovated the facade of her house to make it more energy-efficient and replaced all the windows.
One in four homeowners in Switzerland asks their friends, acquaintances or neighbors for a recommendation when it comes to finding a floor layer, roofer, mason, carpenter or tinsmith. This is what Houzy found out in the current Homeowners Study 2023. Ask other homeowners who they recommend - and why. Important points are the work and the price, but also the appearance, the punctuality and the reliability of the craftsmen.
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If those around you can't help you, look online. According to our Homeowners Study 2023, one sixth of homeowners found the experts for their conversion or renovation projects on the Internet in 2022. Trend: fast and strongly increasing. More and more homeowners - and of course also tenants - are looking for electricians, gardeners or carpenters on tradesmen platforms and are satisfied with the work of the tradesmen: According to the Homeowners Study 2023, the services are rated with a score of 8.1 (out of 10).
The larger the order, the more detailed the offer should be: costs for working time, material and travel, hourly rate of the craftsmen and their availability should be listed. Make sure that all quotes are complete and include all services so that you can compare apples with apples instead of pears. Read each quote thoroughly and pay attention to the details. This is especially important when it comes to price:
The cheapest offer is not always the best offer. Also pay attention to how the craftsman or craftswoman appears and communicates. For smaller jobs, you should ask around you who has already had experience with the recommended professionals. For larger jobs, you should ask the craftsman or craftswoman for references. You can round off the picture with a short Internet search: How is the craftsman or craftswoman rated on online platforms or Google? If everything fits, listen to your gut and sign the contract. Important: Record the completion date for the work in writing in the contract.
Craftsmen are liable for damage they cause during their work and are usually (voluntarily) covered by public liability insurance. If something happens, the craftsman would have to prove that he was not at fault, because the reverse burden of proof applies in contract law. The client or customer only has to prove non-compliance with the contractual agreements. If you cannot clarify beyond doubt who is liable, the insurance company could refuse to pay for the damage. Then you are liable for property damage or personal injury because of the landowner's liability (regulated in the ZGB) and the works owner's liability (regulated in the OR).
Sometimes personal liability or building insurance is not enough to cover major damage during remodeling or renovation projects. All private liability insurances limit their coverage with the sum insured. Buildings insurance is not mandatory in every canton and covers fire and natural hazards as well as water and glass damage. Clarify your insurance situation before starting work. For smaller renovations or conversions, private liability coverage should be sufficient. If the construction sum limit is not sufficient, there are alternatives. With the Baloise easyConstruct insurance from our partner Baloise, for example, you combine construction insurance with builder's liability. In this way, you protect yourself against the financial consequences of damage to your house or apartment, to other people and to other people's property.
You will find the best professionals from your region in our strong partner network. Each craftswoman and craftsman is thoroughly examined before admission. We accept a maximum of three craftswomen or craftsmen per region and industry. This is in line with the results of the Homeowners Study 2023: For many homeowners, quality and regionality are more important for the choice of craftsmen than the comparison of offers. In addition, Houzy - unlike other tradesman platforms - validates and verifies each individual request before it is forwarded and clarifies open questions. This has advantages for everyone:
