Blog>News>Checkatrade turns 25!
Last updated: 28 September 2023
Checkatrade turns 25!
This year marks 25 years that we've been helping UK homeowners to find trustworthy, quality and Checkatrade-approved tradespeople. So what better excuse to revisit the 90s and take a trip down memory lane to the great 1998?
January 1998. A tornado ripped through a small seaside town in West Sussex. The devastation was extraordinary. We witnessed rogue tradespeople offering to help rebuild the damage, but in fact, they were delivering bodge jobs at rip-off prices.
That was the moment we decided to start our own directory of quality, reliable and local tradespeople, who we personally checked and approved (or rejected!). And we've never looked back.
Until now, when we thought it'd be fun to go back to the late 90s for a bit of nostalgia. If you remember dial-up internet, acid-wash jeans, and Armageddon (the film - not the tornado), you're going to enjoy this.
TV in the 90s
More than a decade before Netflix started streaming in the UK, we used to find entertainment in prime time TV shows. Remember that?
The nation was gripped by the Ground Force trio of Charlie Dimmock, Alan Titchmarsh, and Tommy Walsh, with more than 12 million of us tuning in at its peak.
In fact, it's credited with helping to increase B&Q's sales of garden decking between the late 90s and early 2000s from £5,000 in 1997 to £16 million in 2001.
Popular midweek viewing also included Changing Rooms, with the flamboyant Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and the loveable Linda Barker inspiring our home improvement ambitions. Although, with hindsight, some of those 90s installs were best left in the past!
If walls could talk, we're sure they'd be questioning the bold tones of aquamarine, lemon, and peach that we sloshed onto them before getting creative with a bit of decorative stencilling. And if you didn't own a Futon at some point in the 90s, can you even claim you were there?!
On a positive note, this study shared by Ideal Home suggests that programmes such as Changing Rooms actually helped to give UK homeowners more DIY confidence to try out new colour schemes and trends at home.
Just as well, because there was a lot of 90s orange pine that needed dealing with in the kitchen and plenty of bathrooms with all-consuming corner baths crying out for a modern reconfigure.
Hello? It's 1998 calling
Technology ramped up into a new gear in the 90s.
Outside, people were beginning to be better connected with phones. The Nokia 5110 launched in April ‘98 - although most people were too busy playing Snake to make calls.
At home, we were stepping into the world of the World Wide Web, although only 9% of households had internet access.
If you were a teenager in the 90s, you’ll no doubt have memories of using dial-up internet, the iconic sound it made, and the arguments when another family member attempted to use the landline at the same time!
Back then, Checkatrade was still a paper directory. Our online trade directory launched in 2004, and is now the nation's leading directory, with more than 48,000 tradespeople proud to display our trusted tick of approval.
Ripping it up in acid-wash jeans
In many ways, the 90s was the last decade to have a truly distinctive fashion style, so we threw everything at it.
Acid wash jeans - yep. Cargo pants, tube tops, a choker necklace, tick, tick, and tick. Crimped hair tied back in a garish scrunchie? Roger that. Grunge look, we totally rocked that too.
And Friends continued to influence young women in the late 90s, with queues around the block for 'The Rachel' haircut.
Meanwhile, the guys were just shaking off their curtains haircut as the Britpop era started to peter out with the rise in popularity of rap and hip hop. Cue high-top trainers, sportswear, and leather jackets.
The MP3 player
How we access and enjoy music has changed drastically since the 90s. Who had an MP3 player? And what did you have on it?
Celine Dion sang about her heart going on and on…and on, off the back of the billion-dollar movie, Titanic.
And Cher quite literally did go on and on with her chart-topping auto-tuned electropop hit Believe, which sat at the number one spot for seven weeks in '98.
Britney launched her career with Hit Me Baby One More Time, meanwhile the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were the must-have pull-out posters from Smash Hits magazine.
Blockbuster Video!
Is there anything more nostalgic than heading down to your local Blockbuster Video on a Saturday evening to choose your VHS rental and a bag of sweet treats?
Photo by Sean Benesh on Unsplash
Meanwhile, at the cinema, the billboard charts were full of high drama with Armageddon and Saving Private Ryan being the second and third highest-grossing films of 1998.
But there was light relief from the hilarious rom-com There’s Something About Mary.
Happy 25 years to us and all those tradespeople and homeowners still using Checkatrade!
While fashion, home, and lifestyle trends have come and gone, Checkatrade remains a trusted and reliable constant, synonymous with top-quality workmanship.
Over the past 25 years, we’ve continued to build on our ambition to help homeowners find quality tradespeople in their local area, growing to become the leading trade directory in the UK.
All Checkatrade members are:
Checked - Every Checkatrade tradesperson has passed up to 12 rigorous checks to become an approved member
Reviewed - Over 6.2 million reviews have been published on Checkatrade. We check every review our members receive, giving you recommendations you can rely on
Guaranteed - When you contact a tradesperson through Checkatrade, our guarantee could cover you for up to 12 months. You can claim up to £1,000. Exclusions and T&Cs apply.
We're proud to say that our Checkatrade members are a cut above the rest and we remain committed to ensuring our homeowners receive the high standards they deserve.
Thank you for sticking with us. We're always here for you, whatever trade you're in need of, you can trust in the Checkatrade tick of approval.
