Building tender process question

[siouxchief]

Hi all,

Just have another tender question for you. I am building a 3 bed semi next year and I will be going out to tender shortly. I have friends who can do a good job with painting and of fitting a kitchen\wooden flooring.

My question is should I get the builders to quote for these and to itemize them so I can see what they charge for them and then am I able to say I accept your quote minus the kitchen\decorating or should I be getting them to quote without these from the start?

Not sure does it matter or would the builders be giving me a more favourable overall quote if they quote for the whole job? I guess getting them to quote for the whole job allows me to see what the charge in comparison to my friends would be.

Obviously don't want to annoy the builders from the beginning by subtracting things after they have quoted but maybe this is common so just wanted to understand what is the process.

Thanks

 

[jeds]

Most contractors are not going to worry about omitting items of finishing from a contract. Decorating, flooring, etc. often gets omitted. It might pi$$ them off if you want to bring in Uncle Fred to do something in the middle of the contract; like screeding a floor or hanging doors or something.

 

[^woody^]

Seems like you are doing a Dutch auction, not a tender.

A builder must have a notion that he is going to get all the work he is spending his time and effort pricing for. Not giving you prices only for you to pick and choose who gets bits of work that can be done more cheaply.

If you don't specify the conditions of tender at the start, you can expect some claims for the bidders costs in preparing a tender that they had no realistic chance of winning in the first place.

 

[siouxchief]

Thanks both, appreciate the feedback. Will be up front that I intend getting that work done by someone else when going for tender.

 

[noseall]

My question is should I get the builders to quote for these and to itemize them so I can see what they charge for them and then am I able to say I accept your quote minus the kitchen\decorating

Be prepared to fall out with a lot of builders if you go with the above method.

 

[siouxchief]

Be prepared to fall out with a lot of builders if you go with the above method.

How about getting a quote with and without the decorating & kitchen fitting?

 

[noseall]

Most builders quote for the building work only as this is the only thing that is specc'd up on the drawings. Even the quotes for electrics and plumbing are usually guess work.
The second fix stuff you are on about is usually discussed once the building is erected. Few customers actually know what they want and even less actually produce a spec sheet describing explicitly what is to be quoted for. Asking for 'some tiles' or a 'nice kitchen' is rather ambiguous and means either a lot of faff for the builder or a worthless quote.

 

[siouxchief]

Interesting thanks. Maybe I'm too prepared but I will be going to get a kitchen spec'd out by Benchmarx soon and have a spreadsheet of the carpets, wood flooring, light sockets and bathroom units specified already. I am out of work at the moment though so have some free time to prepare.

Cheers

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

Kitchens are deeply personal, prices range from £4K to £40K. The fittings are down to you to choose and then you expect a builder to go scurrying about to get the best price on a "Acme double oven with turbo super charger in red". It is imperative that the builders areas are well and truly underlined. A builder mate of mine showed me a house he was converting. He had put the vent for the cooker where his drawings showed it. The kitchen fitters then fitted the kitchen with the cooker about a yard away from the vent!
Frank

 

[siouxchief]

Slightly diverging from my original question but where do you draw the line at what you spec out for the builder.

I was just speccing the outside light by the front door and wondered should this be something he doesn't buy and fit for me but wasn't sure?

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

He is a builder not an electrician, he will get an electrician in, as this little job needs to be certified.
Frank

 

[^woody^]

You spec (specify) what you want.

 

[noseall]

Slightly diverging from my original question but where do you draw the line at what you spec out for the builder.

Ideally, you would produce spec' sheets for each individual trade. The builder then passes these onto the relevant tradesmen for quoting. Our plumber and electrician either visit the site for discussion or work off the drawing and/or spec' sheet. Larger complex jobs usually require a site visit.

Second fix décor stuff is personal taste and will require explicit direction from the customer in terms of identifying product, quality, colour, style, finish, etc etc. Even something as banal as paint has many differing options or combinations. There are currently one trillion second fix products to choose from so be very explicit, if accurate non-changing quotes are what you are after.

 

[siouxchief]

Thanks all, just saw these replies and they provide some great info and saves me making a fool out of myself when I go to tender.

Cheers