This will be an interesting reply
Ha, Nutty - is You Know Who -watching ?............shhhhhhh
TBH - I got 3 quotes. One of them, was, and my architect agreed - just too cheap to be true. Did not inspire confidence.....that and pics from a site visit put me off.
Which left 2. I from down here, 1 from "Norn Iron". I actually ordered from 'down here', on the proviso that a del date be met - some 10 weeks awary iirc..........however, 4 weeks into the programme, I was advised that they'd be late, and that nothing could be done. Faced with a planning deadline, I had no option but to cancel, and proceed with the 'Norn Iron' guys who, in fairness did deliver on time. There were some problems with on-site work, which, as I mention, my builder had to fix, and which the TF company should have stepped up for. But either way, I wasn't paying to fix, and I didn't.
......and here's where it gets all very interesting..........in the midst of this process, an opportunity came up to change careers and work with a company in the industry..........and that's where I am now.
I Shall Say No More For Fear of Incurring the Wrath of XXXXX - isn't that right, nutty nut?
Mickeyg - naturally, therefore, my answer would be 'biased'.........
August - you can specify anything you like, and I would strongly advise that you specify as much as possible if you have specific requirements. Otherwise the 'extras' bill goes AWOL - and you'd be shocked at what some builders consider 'extras'. In fact, I'd recommend you use a QS to generate your spec, and use that for getting your quotes. That way you'll be comparing like quote with like quote, when you get them.......