Choosing a contractor: five questions that actually matter

Forget the glossy website and the certifications wall. These are the five things you should be asking on every shortlist call — and what good answers sound like.

By Build Hub Editorial · 6 May 2026

Beyond the brochure

Every contractor has a website. Most have testimonials. A surprising number have framed certificates in the office. None of that tells you whether they will finish your job on time, on budget and without leaving you in tears.

These five questions do.

1. "Can I speak to two clients whose projects ended badly?"

Good contractors have these references. Great ones offer them before you ask. The way they describe what went wrong tells you everything about how they handle pressure.

2. "Show me the last three programmes you delivered, with actuals against plan."

Not the marketing ones. The real ones, with the slippage. If they can't produce them in 48 hours, they don't track them — which means they don't manage them.

3. "Who will actually be on my site, and who employs them?"

Direct labour, ticketed sub-contractors, and supply-only — these are three very different risk profiles. You want clarity, not a pitch.

4. "What's your retention policy and how do you handle defects after PC?"

3-5% retention for 12 months is normal. Anyone who flinches at this conversation is telling you something.

5. "Walk me through the last time you killed a project for a client."

This sounds harsh. It isn't. Contractors who are willing to walk away from work that isn't right for them are the ones who don't over-promise to win it in the first place.

What good answers sound like

• Specific. Numbers, dates, names.
• Self-aware. They know what they're not good at.
• Curious. They ask you as much as you ask them.

If you only get marketing-speak back, you're not talking to the principal — you're talking to a salesperson. Ask to talk to the principal.