What it is
One person on this island has a problem — a leak, a dead circuit, a wall that has started moving — and no idea which of the twenty-seven trades here deals with it, or which of the people doing that trade is any good. Another person does exactly that work and has a gap next week that nobody knows about.
This site exists to put those two in touch. That is the entire service. It is free, it takes about two minutes, and once the introduction is made we are out of it.
- You describe the job in plain words. Guessing the trade is optional and frequently wrong.
- A person reads it — not a form router — and works out which trade it actually needs.
- We tell you who, and tell them about you. You agree everything with them directly.
What it is not
This matters more than the previous section, because most of the harm in this market comes from services that imply more than they are.
- Not a contractor
- Nothing on this site is built by us. There is no crew, no yard, no plant, and no job we hold. Every page describing a trade is describing what that work involves on this island, not something being sold to you.
- Not an agency or an employer
- The tradespeople are independent. They are not staff, they are not represented by us, and they are not supervised by us. They set their own prices and take their own work.
- Not a vetting service
- We know who does what and who turns up, because we have watched them work for years. That is knowledge, not certification. We do not licence, accredit, insure or guarantee anyone, and any site that tells you it does is making a claim it cannot support.
- Not a lead auction
- Your details go to one person for one job. They are not sold, not shared three ways, and not added to a list.
- Not a payment intermediary
- Money never passes through here. You pay the tradesperson, on terms you agreed with them.
Why it is free, and how that stays true
Finding work costs tradespeople real time. An afternoon spent driving to quote a job that was never theirs to do is an afternoon gone, and on an island where every trip is a distance that adds up fast.
So a well-described job, correctly routed, is worth something to the person receiving it — which is why they are willing to be on a list, and why you are not charged for the introduction. There is no commission on your job either, because a percentage would give us a reason to route you to the expensive option rather than the right one.
If that model ever changes, it will be written on this page before it is written anywhere else.
Who is behind it
People who have worked on and around building sites on this island long enough to know which crews finish and which ones disappear in August. The site is written in that voice deliberately: numerate, specific, and comfortable saying that something is harder or more expensive than you were hoping.
Languages
Requests come in in Greek, English, German and French, and the site itself is published in full in Greek and English. Whether the right tradesperson for your job speaks your language is a separate question, and one you will get an honest answer to before you are put in touch rather than after.
Questions people actually ask
So you are not builders?
No. Not a builder, not a contractor, not a project manager on your job. We know the people who are, and that is the whole offer.
Why is the site called Construction Santorini then?
Because it is what people search for when they need building work done here, and the site has answered those searches for years. The name describes the subject, not a company that builds things.
Do you take a cut?
No. Not from you and not from the tradesperson's invoice.
Can I trust the person you send?
You can trust that we think they are right for the job and that they turn up, because that is what we actually know. Anything beyond that — licences, insurance, a written scope — you should ask them for directly, and we will tell you to.
What if I want to complain about someone?
Tell us. We cannot compel anyone to do anything and we hold no power over them, but it changes who gets suggested next time, which is the only real sanction that exists here.