Recommended Trades
Underfloor heating is rarely the only thing happening in a room. Floors come up, walls get opened, and there is usually a bathroom, a kitchen or a full renovation going on around it. So we get asked the same question fairly often — who else would you use?
Rather than answer it one email at a time, this is the list. These are trades our teams have either worked alongside or would be happy to have on their own homes. None of them pay to be here, and we take nothing from any work that comes their way.
If you are mid-project and stuck for someone, it is worth asking us before you start ringing round. We would rather point you somewhere sensible than have the heating held up waiting on a trade that never turns up.
In the interests of being straight with you: we build and look after the websites for a number of the businesses listed here. It is how we came to know them. Nobody pays to be on this page and we take nothing from work that comes their way, but you should know the connection exists rather than find out later.
What we mean by recommended
A recommendation is only worth something if it can be withdrawn, so anyone on this page has to still meet the same three things we would apply to our own teams.
They do the work themselves
Not a lead generator passing your details to whoever pays most for them. The person who quotes is connected to the person who turns up, and there is somebody accountable if something goes wrong afterwards.
They work to the relevant standard
Every trade has one, and in most of them the corner-cutting happens in the same predictable place. We would rather recommend someone who quotes higher and does it properly than someone who wins on price by leaving out the part you cannot see.
They say no when it is not their job
The most useful thing a tradesperson ever tells you is that they are the wrong person for it. Anyone who takes on work outside what they are good at will eventually do that on your project.
Who we point people towards
Grouped by nothing in particular — scan for the trade you need, or ask us and we will point you at the right one.
ElectriGate
Gates come up more often than you would expect on our projects, usually because the driveway is already being dug up and it is the one chance to get a cable run in without starting again later. ElectriGate works through independent fabricators rather than employed fitters, so the metalwork is made to measure instead of ordered in at a stock size. Two things catch buyers out: every powered gate must meet BS EN 12453, which is where cheap quotes cut their corner, and a gate facing a road can only be a metre tall under permitted development. Check where they cover before you plan around them.
Covers: Essex, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and central Scotland
Derbyshire Plumbing & Heating Specialists
The trade closest to our own, and the one most likely to be on site at the same time. Derbyshire Plumbing & Heating Specialists handle boilers, system upgrades and full bathroom installations. If you are putting underfloor heating into a bathroom it is worth getting the plumbing and the heating specified together rather than in sequence, because the floor build-up affects where everything else can sit — they cover bathroom fitting in Derby as a complete job.
Covers: Derby and Derbyshire
Driveways Sheffield
Since 2008 any new driveway over five square metres has needed to be permeable or drain to a soakaway, and a surprising number of quotes still ignore it. Driveways Sheffield lay block paving, resin and tarmac to that standard. Their coverage runs well beyond the city, including driveways in Dronfield and the villages south of Sheffield.
Covers: Sheffield, Dronfield and north Derbyshire
DNA Landscapes
Worth involving before the building work finishes rather than after, because levels, drainage and access all get decided while the machinery is still on site. DNA Landscapes handle design through to construction rather than drawing something and handing it on. They work across the West Midlands, including garden design in Solihull.
Covers: Solihull, Warwickshire and the West Midlands
Derbyshire Tiling Specialists
Tiling over underfloor heating is a specific skill rather than ordinary tiling — the adhesive has to be flexible, the screed has to be properly cured first, and the system needs commissioning before any heat goes through it. Get that sequence wrong and the tiles crack. Derbyshire Tiling Specialists know the order it goes in, and cover walls as well as floors including kitchen tiling.
Covers: Derby and Derbyshire
Fencing York
Fence panels are the one part of a garden where the cheap option genuinely does not last — untreated timber in a wet year will go in five seasons. Fencing York fit closeboard, feather edge and panel fencing, and also build decking in York, which is worth pricing at the same time since the groundwork overlaps.
Covers: York and North Yorkshire
Staffordshire Renovation Group
Where a project needs several trades in the right order, one point of contact removes the problem of each blaming the one before. Staffordshire Renovation Group run full renovations across North Staffordshire, from single rooms through to whole properties, including bathroom fitting in Stoke-on-Trent.
Covers: Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire
Paving Leeds
Retaining walls are the part of a garden most often built without thinking about drainage, and the ones that fail are almost always the ones with nowhere for water to go. Paving Leeds lay patios, paths and driveways, and build retaining walls where a garden needs terracing rather than levelling.
Covers: Leeds and West Yorkshire
JZ Property Maintenance
Most renovation projects generate a list of small jobs too minor for a specialist and too fiddly to leave. JZ Property Maintenance pick up exactly that kind of work, along with larger repairs and general upkeep. Their handyman service in Cardiff covers the city and surrounding areas.
Covers: Cardiff and South Wales
Artificial Grass Sheffield
The base matters more than the grass. Laid straight onto soil it will sink and hold water within a season, which is why a proper sub-base and drainage layer is most of the job. Artificial Grass Sheffield install to that spec, including artificial grass for pets, which uses a more permeable backing for obvious reasons.
Covers: Sheffield and South Yorkshire
Nottingham Metal Works
Building regulations require a handrail on any flight of three or more risers, and on anything structural it needs fabricating to fit rather than buying off the shelf. Nottingham Metal Works make gates, railings, balustrades and handrails to measure in their own workshop.
Covers: Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Fencing Cardiff
Boundary work is worth agreeing with a neighbour in writing before it starts, because a fence in the wrong place by six inches is a problem that outlasts everyone involved. Fencing Cardiff fit timber and composite fencing across the city and out to the coast, including fencing in Penarth.
Covers: Cardiff, Penarth and the Vale of Glamorgan
Flooring Nottingham
Not every floor covering suits underfloor heating — thick carpet and underlay insulate against the very thing you have just installed, and solid timber can move. Flooring Nottingham will tell you what works over a heated floor and what does not. Their waterproof flooring range is worth a look for bathrooms and kitchens.
Covers: Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Derbyshire Electrical Specialists
Electric underfloor heating needs a dedicated circuit and a competent-person certificate, so an electrician is on most of our jobs at some point. Derbyshire Electrical Specialists cover domestic and commercial work across the county. They also handle alarm, security and CCTV installation, which is far easier done while walls and floors are already open.
Covers: Derby and Derbyshire
Driveways Coventry
Resin bound is the finish most people are picturing when they say they want something that looks tidy and drains properly — it is permeable by design, so it satisfies the drainage rules without a soakaway. Driveways Coventry lay it alongside block paving and tarmac, and their resin driveway work covers the city and surrounding towns.
Covers: Coventry and Warwickshire
Tree Surgeon Colchester
Check for a Tree Preservation Order before anyone touches anything, and assume one applies if the property sits in a conservation area — the fines are considerable and ignorance is not a defence. Tree Surgeon Colchester handle felling, crown reduction and tree pruning across north Essex.
Covers: Colchester and north Essex
UPVC Paint Sprayers
Tired uPVC windows and doors can be sprayed rather than replaced, at a fraction of the cost and in a day or two rather than a week. The finish depends almost entirely on the preparation, which is where the cheap jobs fail. UPVC Paint Sprayers cover the Midlands and the north, including spray painting in Mansfield.
Covers: Mansfield, Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands
Decking Sheffield
A garden room under 2.5 metres tall and away from the boundary usually falls under permitted development, which is why so many go up without anyone applying for anything — but the detail matters and it is worth checking rather than assuming. Decking Sheffield build decking and garden rooms in Sheffield to that spec.
Covers: Sheffield and South Yorkshire
Derbyshire Specialists Group
Commercial work runs to a different set of constraints from domestic — fire regulations, accessibility and the fact that the building usually has to keep operating while the work happens. Derbyshire Specialists Group handle that side, including office refurbishment, and phase work around occupancy rather than closing a site down.
Covers: Derby, Derbyshire and the East Midlands
House Clearance Bridgend
Worth booking before the trades arrive rather than after, because a cleared space is quicker to work in and skips get expensive when they sit full. House Clearance Bridgend handle full and part clearances with licensed waste disposal, and also take on garden clearance where an outdoor space has got away from someone.
Covers: Bridgend and South Wales
Nottingham Fencing
Concrete posts outlast timber ones by a wide margin and cost little more at the point of installation, which is the single decision that determines whether a fence is still standing in fifteen years. Nottingham Fencing fit both across the county, including fencing in Kirkby-in-Ashfield.
Covers: Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Metal Gates & Railings Derby
Galvanising before powder coating roughly doubles the life of external steelwork and adds relatively little to the price — if a quote does not mention it, ask. Metal Gates & Railings Derby fabricate gates, railings and handrails to measure rather than supplying stock sizes.
Covers: Derby and Derbyshire
Driveways Rotherham
A patio wants a fall of roughly one in eighty away from the house, and the ones that pool water almost always got that wrong rather than anything else. Driveways Rotherham lay driveways and patios across the borough, in block paving, flags and resin.
Covers: Rotherham and South Yorkshire