Local Ledger lists a small number of builders based in and around Brentwood, Essex. This page explains exactly how we choose them, what we check and what we don’t, so you can decide how much weight to give the list.
Who we list
Builders based in or around Brentwood who work across Brentwood, Shenfield, Hutton, Warley, Pilgrims Hatch, Doddinghurst, Ingatestone, Mountnessing and Billericay. To be considered, a firm needs a public Google listing with reviews and a phone number homeowners can call.
The page is capped at ten builders, and currently lists 10. A short list is the point: it means every firm on it gets seen, and adding a firm means taking one off.
What we check
Google reviews. We note each firm’s rating and number of reviews, and we read the reviews. The summary on every profile describes the work the reviews actually mention — including when that isn’t what you might expect, such as a firm whose reviews are mostly commercial fit-outs or garden landscaping. Every profile shows the date the rating was checked.
Companies House. We look each firm up by its exact name. Every profile says what we found: an active company with its number, a company of that name that has been dissolved, or no match. No match is normal for a sole trader and isn’t a mark against a firm. Company records were last checked on 9 October 2026.
Contact details. The website on each profile is the firm’s own, either linked from its Google listing or matched to the phone number on it.
Few reviews. A firm with fewer than 3 Google reviews is labelled “Few reviews”. Treat it as a lead to check, not a settled verdict.
What we don't check
We don’t independently verify insurance, warranties, qualifications, trade body membership, prices or the quality of anyone’s work. Some builders show badges on their own websites — FMB, TrustMark, Which? Trusted Trader and so on. We don’t repeat those unless we’ve confirmed them on the organisation’s own register, and you should check them the same way.
Before you hire anyone, ask to see their insurance certificate, speak to recent customers, and get a written quote and contract. Our guide to checking a builder is legitimate walks through it.
How the order is decided
The main list on the home page is shuffled every six hours. Everyone visiting in the same six-hour window sees the same order, and nobody holds the top spot for long. The order doesn’t mean anything: it isn’t a ranking, and nobody can pay to move up it. The summary table under the list is alphabetical for the same reason.
Keeping it up to date
We re-check ratings and company records when we update the listings, and every profile shows when its details were last checked. If a firm stops trading, we take it off.
How Local Ledger is funded
Homeowners never pay anything, we don’t take commission, and we never pass your details on as a “lead”. You call builders directly on their own numbers.
Listed builders don’t pay anything at the moment. Later we’ll offer them a simple monthly plan — and only once we can show each one real numbers on the visits and calls the page sends them. Whatever happens, position can’t be bought: the order rotates for everyone, and every summary says what the reviews say.
Corrections and removals
Spotted something wrong, or run a listed business and want it removed? Email hello@localledger.co.uk. We act on removal requests the same day.
Written by the Local Ledger team. Last updated 9 October 2026.