In recent years, the number of home improvement companies advertising that they can complete any type of home improvement has increased dramatically. Often, companies that claim to offer every service possible advertise heavily online and on social media. But are companies like this able to provide the same level of finish as specialist professionals, and can they be trusted?

Many companies offer an ‘all trades’ service, but can an expert in window fitting also plaster well and fix plumbing issues? If you are looking to improve your home, it is crucial to ensure that professionals complete the work to a high standard.

So how do they do it? Subcontracting. Businesses that offer to complete all home improvements are effectively a sales company. They promise to complete all the work for you and take your money but don’t actually do the work themselves. Instead, they subcontract the work to various other tradespeople.

Larger construction firms often use subcontractors to complete their major projects and have tried and tested, experienced tradespeople that they frequently use. However, if the company is not a large-scale business and you haven’t heard from them before, take this as a warning sign as you do not know what you are getting. There is no guarantee of the standard of work or chain of responsibility, leading to you not being satisfied with the result.

Often you will be communicating with a company about details of a job and receive emails from a second company about the same work. This is because the first company has effectively sold your details to the second. The first company receives the payment but has nothing to do with the actual work you require. This can lead to issues that can cost you time, hassle, and money to rectify the job if you are unhappy with it.

Therefore, it is advised to contact companies that only offer a few expert services, as they are more likely to complete the work themselves and be professionally trained to finish it to the highest standard.