New Build Tender Questions

[siouxchief]

Hi all,

I have permission to build a 3 bed semi in Hertfordshire which will be of a standard spec so nothing fancy. I have some time off soon and would like to begin putting together a tender document in my free time.

So my question to the builders in here is, what are the most useful things you like to see in such a document so I can make sure I can include them and get an accurate quote?

Obviously I will be getting the detailed drawings done but I will also do the following if people think it is useful:

Pick and provide a price for a kitchen
Pick and provide a price for internal doors
Pick and provide a price for bathrooms
Pick and provide a price for skirting
Pick and provide paint colours per room
Pick and provide a price for radiators
Pick and provide a price for flooring
Pick and provide a price for a boiler
Pick and provide a price for carpets
Pick and provide a price for driveway paving

The 1 issue I can see with the above is that I would not probably go to the place builders would go so my prices would be skewed high.
Therefore can someone advise if the above is a reasonable approach even to get ballpark figures for when the quotes come back and also have I missed any big ticket item which would be useful to include too?

Any tips would be very welcome as this is all very new including if people can recommend which shops I should go to to get these prices as I would just head to B&Q.

Cheers

 

[^woody^]

You need to change your thinking.

With a tender, you dont ask builders what they want, rather you specify what you want - and they price it. That's the only way that you can get comparative costs. If you let builders include what they want, then you have no way of knowing if costs, quality and value are the same.

If you say you want white emulsion on the walls, someone will price for Dulux, someone else will price for Tesco own brand. So it is you who should specify a specific brand or a specific standard you want the paint and its application to meet.

What goes into the tender document is what (should be) already within your building plans.

The unknown costs, such as service connections or specialist suppliers/materials are dealt with via a "Provisional Sum" which is a fixed cost which each builder uses in his calculation, again so that the quotes remain comparatve if the Provisional Sums change later.

 

[siouxchief]

Thanks woody that makes sense when I see it in writing. So is my list essentially correct but my todo should be "Pick a boiler type" rather than "Pick and provide a price for a boiler" so they then provide the price? I guess it would be useful to have the knowledge of the price for my own estimates even if I don't provide it to the builders though.

Didn't think about the paint so I guess I should specify that brand also. Besides the list provided and paint is there any other main things I should look to specify to get a similar quote from all builders and any tips where to get prices for these items?

Thanks

 

[^woody^]

"Pick a boiler type"

No, you dont let them pick anything. You specify the boiler or whatever and then all the builders quote for that.

I would not go around trying to get your own prices for things, as that will just confuse you and cause you to dispute the builders quoted prices when they come back different.

If you get several prices for exactly the exactly the same thing, then those are the costs which you need to choose by. Builders will have different purchasing power and business expences which are all different, so the quotes will all vary, but the idea is that the thing being quoted for is the same and does not vary - ie a comparable quote.

 

[siouxchief]

Thanks woody, understood. Think I wrote that badly. 'Pick a boiler type' is my todo list so i was planning to pick the boiler type and to give it to them to quote for so I would be picking it as you said I should.

Cheers

 

[^woody^]

Using the boiler as an example, if you dont know much about boilers then you might not want to actually pick a single one. So you might want to just use a standard and say something like "A compact A-rated 35kW combi boiler to fit inside a wall unit, with a five year manufacturers parts and labour warranty."

This is a standard, and so allows the builders to pick one of several boilers that meet this criteria. You might not care about the manufacturer, just the performance. So there might be scope for a builder to select a boiler that is a few hundred pounds cheaper than another, but will still perform the same.

So just think about what items you actually want, and what items you are not bothered about but just want them to perform to a certain level.

Things like paint are much of a muchness, Crown, Dulux, Leyland might not matter to you so you just specify a standard. But say electrical fittings, or your kitchen and bathroom might want to be a certain type as you interact with them daily and differences might matter.

 

[siouxchief]

Thanks for that woody, makes sense. I think a lot of my items can be like the boiler where I generally specify so will do that then get specific on kitchen etc.

 

[wessex101]

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but if you put together an amateurish specification/tender document the builders will be circling like sharks.

Probably best to pay a professional, even the architect (joke before the architects on here start throwing their toys out of the pram) to produce a specification and tender package. It will probably pay for itself in reducing claims and overspends later.

 

[^woody^]

It will probably pay for itself in reducing claims and overspends later.

How will that happen?

If the OP specifies that he wants a 7" pink clay flowerpot filled with Lincolnshire peat, with a 6" geranium in it and the builder quotes £10.99, but instead he gets carnation in a blue plastic pot in top soil, for £26.50, then how does the claim arise?

 

[wessex101]

If the OP specifies that he wants a 7" pink clay flowerpot filled with Lincolnshire peat, with a 6" geranium in it and the builder quotes £10.99, but instead he gets carnation in a blue plastic pot in top soil, for £26.50, then how does the claim arise?

According to Google there are 422 different species of geranium. Mr Builder has priced the cheapest geranium on the market. Mr Client wanted the more expensive variety. Oops we've got a potential dispute and claim. Don't get me started on plant pots. If a plant in a pot can be so difficult it doesn't instill much hope for a 3 bed house.

 

[^woody^]

Oops we've got a potential dispute and claim

Not in the real world of domestic house building and extensions

 

[siouxchief]

Do any of you have an example of a good specification to go with the detailed building reg drawings please outlining things like internal door types, kitchen etc?

Thanks

 

[^woody^]

You dont need to go overboard with specifications.

If you want a solid softwood or hardwood door, then you just write that. If you want a cheap hollow hardboard door, say that. If you want brass levers, say that, if you want aluminium pull handles, say that. If you like a particular one at B&Q or out of a catalogue say that or add "or similar".

The thing you might struggle with is refering to BS or EN standards, but you can cover this with a generic "any applicable standard" reference.

If you or whoever is project managing the work, then materials would be confirmed with the builder before ordering, or fitting.