FINDING good, reliable trades people can be something of a lottery.
But no longer.
A new home improvement website – www.decision2day.com – has been set up in South Yorkshire to help homeowners find tradespeople they can trust.
The idea came from Barnsley-based property developer and entrepreneur Antony Green, who has a long association with the construction industry and the housing market.
He said: "I have spent most of my working life involved in the building industry and have been aware for a while of the need for a service of this kind.
"By listing tradespeople who other customers are willing to recommend, we will end the risk of people employing rogues and significantly reduce the uncertainty and potential unhappiness involved in employing someone you've not used before.
"We want people to make us their first port of call when they need to know anything about home improvements. Decision2Day is all about making home improvement decisions easy."
Decision2Day lists 35 trades, including builders, plumbers, electricians, landscape gardeners, decorators and interior designers.
Anyone searching for, say, a plumber, will, after inputting their postcode, be given a list of plumbers closest to where they live.
Each tradesman or woman will have a star rating, based on their customers' judgement of the quality of their work, value for money and reliability.
All tradespeople who sign up to be listed on the website will have adequate insurance and consumers will also be able to see feedback on work previously done.
The website was launched this week in Yorkshire with tradespeople from 17 towns and cities in the county but, once established, the plan is to roll out the concept across the country.
The site also includes information such as DIY tips and advice on planning and building regulations, energy efficiency, money-saving ideas and availability of grants.
Antony formed his own construction company in 1988, working for blue-chip companies such as The National Grid plc and ICI Zeneca and operating as a main contractor for large organisations such as Taylor Woodrow Plc.
Since then he has worked in design and manufacture and software development and, always looking for new ventures, is also a qualified pilot.
Joining Antony are accountant and company secretary Ian McKellar and non-executive directors Jonathan Hick, David Robinson and Simon Mountford.
READ MOREMain news indexYour lettersFeaturesSouth Yorkshire's environmental newsKids ZoneMore business newsMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsLatest sport.The full article contains 416 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
