When a Builder Stops Responding: What to Do
A builder going quiet is common and often has an ordinary explanation. Here is how to get a reply, and what to do if one doesn't come.
The short version
A builder who has gone quiet is usually busy, not gone. A clear written message with a date on it is the fastest way to a reply.
Builders spend their days on roofs, in trenches and on other people's jobs, often somewhere they can't take a call. Messages pile up, and the one about a small snag or a start date slips. Silence is frustrating, but on its own it rarely means the worst.
The answer is a calm order of steps. Try the obvious routes, then put your request in writing with a reasonable date for a reply, then check where the business stands, and only then start treating the job as stalled. This page explains each step and what to do if the silence carries on. It sits within our wider guide to what to do when building work goes wrong.
Why it happens
The usual reasons a builder goes quiet
Knowing the likely reasons helps you pitch your message. Usually, the reason has nothing to do with you.
On the tools
Working on another job all day, with no chance to answer until the evening, and a long list of calls to return by then.
No office behind them
Many small businesses have nobody answering the phone while the builder is working. Admin happens late at night, if at all.
A problem they would rather not discuss
A delay, a supply issue or a price question the builder is putting off. Silence is sometimes a sign of an awkward conversation waiting to happen.
A message that was missed
A text to an old number, an email in a junk folder or a voicemail never listened to. Worth ruling out early.
Illness or personal circumstances
Small businesses often depend on one person. An illness or family emergency can stop everything for a while.
Business difficulties
Less often, the business is in trouble. That is why checking its status is part of the process if the silence goes on.
What to do
Getting a reply, in a sensible order
Each step takes little time. Give each one a few days before moving to the next.
Try every contact route you have
Call at the start or end of the working day, when builders are more likely to pick up. Send a text and an email. Check that the number and address you are using match the ones on the quote.
Put your request in writing with a date
Say what you need, whether a start date, a return visit or an answer, and ask for a reply by a specific, reasonable date. Keep it short and polite.
Check what was agreed
Look at the quote and any messages about dates. If a start or finish date was agreed, note it. If none was, the law generally expects the work to be done within a reasonable time.
Check the business's status
For a limited company, look it up on the free Companies House register. Check for any change in status or any insolvency notice. Checking a company on Companies House shows how.
Try another route to the business
If there is a trading address, an office or a colleague you have dealt with, try them. If the builder belongs to a trade scheme, the scheme may be able to contact them.
Send a formal letter
If there is still no reply, write formally: what was agreed, what has happened, the dates you tried to make contact, what you now need and a final date to respond. Send it by a method that shows it was delivered.
Writing it down
What to put in your message
A good message is easy to answer. Open with the job and the address, so the builder knows straight away which customer you are. Then say, in a sentence or two, what you need: "Please can you confirm the start date we discussed" or "Please can you arrange a visit to look at the leak by the rooflight." Finish with a date by which you would like a reply.
Keep the tone neutral. It is tempting to write in frustration after a week of unanswered calls, but a calm message gets answered sooner, and if the silence continues, it reads better to anyone who later sees it. State facts, not conclusions: "I have called on 3, 5 and 8 March and left messages" is more useful than "You never answer your phone".
Keep a log as you go: each call, text and email, with the date and time. It takes a minute and it is exactly what you will need if the job has to be treated as abandoned or if you need advice later. Keeping evidence and records explains what else to keep, and what do I do if my builder stops answering? gives the short version.
While you wait
What to do, and what to hold off on
A few things are worth doing straight away. A few are worth holding back on until you know more.
Worth doing now
- Make any open part of the job safe and weatherproof
- Photograph the state of the work, with dates
- Keep a log of every attempt to make contact
- Check the quote for agreed dates and payment terms
- Check the company's status on Companies House
- Tell your home insurer if the property is exposed
Worth holding off on
- Paying any further money until you have a reply
- Removing or disposing of materials or equipment left on site
- Taking down or moving scaffolding yourself
- Hiring someone else to carry on with the work
- Posting accusations about the builder online
- Assuming the worst before you have tried every route
On site
Looking after a job that has stalled
If work is under way when the builder goes quiet, the priority is the building itself. An open roof, an uncovered opening or an exposed wall needs protecting from the weather. If you need to arrange temporary cover, keep it temporary, record it with photographs and keep the receipt.
Scaffolding is usually hired from a scaffolding firm rather than owned by the builder. If it has been standing for a while with no work, or you are worried about its safety, contact the scaffolding firm directly. Their name is normally on a tag or board on the scaffold.
Materials and tools left on site may belong to the builder or a supplier, and in some cases to you if you have paid for them. Don't sell or throw them away. Note what is there, photograph it and ask the builder in writing to confirm what should happen to it.
Before work starts
If you have paid a deposit and the start date keeps slipping
Silence before a job starts is a slightly different situation. You may have accepted a quote, paid a deposit and been given a start date, and then heard nothing. Good builders are often booked weeks ahead, and one overrunning job can push back everything behind it. A builder who is simply busy will usually give you a new date when you reach them.
Start with what was agreed. If the quote gave a start date or a window, note it. If it didn't, the law generally expects work to begin and finish within a reasonable time, and a builder should be able to tell you when that will be. Ask in writing for a confirmed start date, and keep the tone practical: you are trying to plan your home, not start an argument.
If the dates keep moving without explanation, or you get no reply at all, work through the same steps as above: every contact route, a written request with a date, a check of the company's status, and then a formal letter. Don't pay any further sums before work starts. Building deposits explained sets out what a deposit is normally for and how it relates to the start of the job.
This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a long silence means a builder has broken the contract depends on what was agreed and the circumstances. Citizens Advice publishes free guidance, and a solicitor can advise on your situation.
If the silence goes on
When silence becomes a stalled job
If a formal letter goes unanswered and the final date passes, the question changes. It is no longer how to get a reply but whether the builder has, in effect, walked away from the job. That is a bigger step with legal consequences, and it is worth being careful before you act on it. Abandoned building jobs explains how to tell the difference and what to do.
If the business has stopped trading, the route is different again, because you would be dealing with an insolvency practitioner rather than the builder. When a contractor goes out of business covers that situation.
At this point, free advice from Citizens Advice is worth taking, and if a significant amount of money is involved, so is a solicitor's view. When should I get legal advice? helps you decide.
Before the next job
Setting up communication from the start
Communication problems are easier to prevent than to fix. Before work starts, agree how you will contact each other, who your contact is while the work is going on, and how quickly you can expect a reply. Get a landline or office number as well as a mobile if there is one, and an email address.
A written quote with a start date and an expected duration gives both of you something to refer to. A payment schedule that follows progress, rather than running ahead of it, keeps the incentives sensible. Questions to ask at a site visit includes the communication questions worth asking, and preventing problems before they start covers the rest.
Where Mortaro fits
Getting answers is the job we do
Contractors being hard to reach while they are working is the problem Mortaro exists to solve. If we coordinated your project, you talk to us rather than chasing your contractor. We get answers from them while they are on the tools, and if something stalls or goes quiet, we chase it and keep you updated. How it works explains the arrangement.
Your contractor carries out the work and holds the contract with you, and contractors who fail to meet our standards are removed from our network. If you have a problem now, putting things right tells you how to reach us.
Straight answers
Questions about builders who stop responding
How long should I wait before worrying?
A few days without a reply is common, especially mid-job elsewhere. If a week or two passes with no response to calls, texts and a written message, it is time for a formal letter with a final date.
Should I pay the next instalment if the builder isn't replying?
Hold off on further payments until you have a reply and the work the payment relates to has been done. Keep to what was agreed in the quote once contact resumes.
Can I get someone else to finish the job?
Not straight away. First give the original builder a clear, written final chance to respond and return. Ending the contract too early can put you in the wrong, so take advice before you do.
Should I post a review about it?
Wait until the matter is resolved. If you do leave a review, stick to facts you can show, such as dates and what happened, rather than accusations.
Start here
Tell us about the work you have in mind
We will confirm we cover your postcode, arrange a site visit with a contractor from our network and send you a written quotation. No charge, no obligation.