Every trade decides differently.

• FencingMetres, materials and boundary lines. An estimator that turns “about thirty metres of closeboard” into a number is worth more than a gallery.Read the piece →
• LandscapingLong decisions with seasons in them. Before-and-after work and a clear split between design, build and maintenance.Read the piece →
• RoofingHalf the visitors have a leak right now. Emergency contact above everything, storm and insurance pages underneath it.Read the piece →
• PlumbingUrgency and trust in the same breath. Call-out cost stated plainly beats every trust badge ever made — and the Gas Safe number belongs where it is read, not in the footer.Read the piece →
• ElectricalCertification is the product. Part P, the installation certificate and the EICR a buyer's surveyor will ask for.Read the piece →
• Heating & gasSeasonal, and split between panic and planning. Separate paths for “the boiler has stopped” and “it needs replacing before winter”, with the Gas Safe registration stated on both.Read the piece →
• Painting & decoratingSold on preparation, judged on the finish. Colour help and a plain account of what happens to the furniture.Read the piece →
• GroundworksSquare metres, cure times and access. People want to know how many days their drive is unusable.
• Carpentry & joineryBespoke joinery needs proof of range. Project pages that show the thinking, not just the result.
• BricklayingMaterials and matching. Repair work sells on “you will not see where the old brick stops”.
• FlooringComparison is the whole decision. Material against material, per square metre, with the subfloor honestly priced.
• TilingDetail work photographs well and sells itself, if the photographs are big enough to see the grout lines.
• DeckingDreamed about in winter, built in spring. Material comparison and a realistic lead time.
• Windows & glazingEfficiency ratings, grants and noise. FENSA or CERTASS registration answers the question a solicitor will raise at sale.
• Cladding & renderingWhole-house decisions with a large number attached. Render and cladding pages, and finance-free honesty about the range.
• GutteringSmall jobs, fast decisions, high volume. Booking has to be almost frictionless or they call the next one.
• Garage doorsHalf repair, half replacement, often urgent. Make and model matter more than style.
• Tree surgerySafety and liability first. Insurance, certification, TPO and conservation-area checks, and what happens to the stump.
• Jet washingThe most visual trade there is. Before-and-after does the entire job if it is shown properly.
• PoolsLong, expensive, seasonal. Maintenance contracts are the real business and belong on their own page.
• Pest controlFast and slightly embarrassing. Discreet, immediate, and clear about what happens in the house.
• CleaningRecurring revenue. The site's job is to make a schedule easy to start, not to sell a one-off.
• LocksmithsEmergency-led and often at night. One number, enormous, above everything else.
• Solar & renewablesNumbers-heavy and full of claims. Honest payback arithmetic beats every stock photograph of a smiling roof.
• HandymanThe breadth is the problem. The list has to be specific or nobody believes any of it.
• Driveways & pavingArea, base and drainage. In England a new front drive of more than five square metres in an impermeable surface has needed planning permission since October 2008 — the page that explains that, and what to lay instead, is the page that gets the call.

Trades we have also written about

• “Just a few things from the basement.”

Not on the list? It almost certainly still works — the list is what we have built most often, not a limit. Ask and we will tell you straight whether your trade suits this.