Boilerplate
Short (25 words): NI Trades is Northern Ireland’s own tradesperson platform. Homeowners post jobs free; vetted local trades respond direct. Founded in Belfast, built for NI only.
Long (75 words): NI Trades (nitrades.co.uk) is a tradesperson platform built exclusively for Northern Ireland. Homeowners post jobs free and receive direct responses from up to three vetted local tradespeople; trades pay a flat monthly fee with no per-lead charges. Founded in Belfast by a team who understand how much it matters who you let through your front door, the platform covers 19 trade categories across all 11 council areas and publishes researched NI-specific cost guides, including the NI Home Improvement Cost Index 2026.
Fast facts
The NI Home Improvement Cost Index 2026 benchmarks what kitchens, bathrooms, extensions, roofs, windows, rewires and oil boilers actually cost in Northern Ireland, plus statutory fees across all 11 councils and the live grants landscape. Every figure is sourced, dated and free to reuse with attribution. If you need a number that isn’t published, ask: we usually have it.
Story angles
GB trade platforms barely cover Northern Ireland
On 4 July 2026, Checkatrade’s own public search page for builders in Belfast displayed exactly one listed builder ("1 Builders in Belfast", checkatrade.com/Search/Builder/in/Belfast) for a city of around 345,000 people. GB-wide platforms also price in GB terms and have little visibility of NI-specific realities such as OFTEC oil-heating registration or council Building Control. NI Trades exists because Northern Ireland works differently and deserves a platform built for it.
What home improvement really costs in NI, with data
The NI Home Improvement Cost Index 2026 compiles researched local pricing across ten categories: kitchens, bathrooms, extensions per square metre, roofs, windows, rewires, oil boilers, gas safety, Building Control fees across all 11 councils, and planning fees, including the striking gap between the £347 NI householder planning fee and the €34 equivalent in the Republic. All figures are free to cite with attribution.
Oil nation: the heating story GB coverage misses
Around 63 per cent of NI homes heat with oil, the highest share in the UK, yet UK-wide consumer coverage routinely assumes mains gas. From boiler replacement costs to the OFTEC engineers the work legally depends on, NI Trades publishes the oil-heating data and guidance that national outlets miss.
The £150m Warm Healthy Homes Fund and who will install it
The Department for Communities’ Warm Healthy Homes Fund consultation runs to 19 August 2026, with the £150m fund expected from April 2027. The under-covered question is delivery: insulation and heating upgrades need registered local installers at a time when the construction skills shortage is well documented. NI Trades tracks both sides of that equation.
Built in Belfast, taking on the national giants
NI Trades does its vetting calls, guide research and homeowner support in-house from Belfast, taking on national platforms with honesty as the differentiator, including publishing exactly what its checks do and do not cover. Checkatrade itself began as one paper directory in one small town; NI Trades is betting the same local-first playbook wins Northern Ireland.
The team
NI Trades was built in Belfast by a team who understand the importance of vetted, credentialed trades working in people’s homes, and who watched GB-wide platforms treat Northern Ireland as an afterthought: thin coverage, GB pricing, and no understanding of how NI homes are actually heated, approved and built. Vetting, guide research and homeowner support are all handled in-house. The team is available for interview, comment and data requests, usually same day, by emailing hello@nitrades.co.uk.
Assets
Logo mark (square, PNG): nitrades.co.uk/images/logo.png. Full logo with wordmark, high resolution (2048px, transparent PNG), in both colourways: for light backgrounds and for dark backgrounds. Social card (1200x630): nitrades.co.uk/images/og-image.jpg. Please do not recolour, stretch or redraw the logo. Founder photography, product screenshots and high-resolution assets supplied on request within the hour during business hours.
Our accuracy promise to journalists
Everything on this page and in the Cost Index is checked before publication and dated. We will never hand you an unverifiable claim: where a figure is a snapshot (grant schemes, competitor pages, statutory fees) we say so and date it, and if we get something wrong we correct it publicly and quickly. Our methodology, editorial standards and vetting process are all public.