How To Renovate

EP44 Understanding And Comparing Contractor Quotes

• Tash South • Season 1 • Episode 44

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Today on the podcast, it’s all about contractor quotes!
Quotes for renovation work can come in completely differently, making deciphering and comparing them impossible! It’s a really common problem.  

And that then leads to making choosing the right contractor, and budgeting for your project really difficult. 

In this episode, I show you you how to ensure all your quotes are in a consistent format, so you can avoid that headache!
I also go over how important it is to get detailed breakdowns and ask the right questions.

So join me inside to find out how getting it right from quote stage can help you budget better, plan better and even avoid disputes.

I’ll see you there!

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Hi I'm your host, Tash South I'm an Interior Designer and Renovation Consultant.
Each episode of How To Renovate is short, but brimming with practical advice to help you manage your renovation project with confidence and success.

Grab some more renovation advice & free resources and become part of the South Place Studio Renovation Community at
https://www.southplacestudio.com/freebies

Everything I teach about renovation falls within my Five Pillar Process for A Successful Renovation, to learn more about the process, head to
https://www.southplacestudio.com/pillars


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Speaker 1:

How to Renovate. Hey, everyone Tash here, welcome to this week's episode of how to Renovate. Now, in this episode, I am going to be talking about understanding and comparing contractor quotes. So just last week I had someone ask me how to do this. They were so confused. They put their job out for tender, they'd done their due diligence, they'd asked for three or four contractor quotes and all the contractor quotes came in very differently. Um, now, not, I don't only mean differently in terms of final figures and costs, but also different formats, which cause them so much confusion. So I thought I'd do a quick episode on how you can get contracted quotes that are similar, first of all, and then also just how to compare them. So let's get into the episode. So everything I teach, if you don't know by now, falls under my five pillar process to a successful renovation, and the information in this episode falls under pillar three people. Let's get into the episode. Okay, so understanding and comparing contractor quotes the first thing that you need to actually try and do is to get all the contractors to quote in the same way, which is easier said than done. So unless you are prepared and you know what to ask for and how to ask for their quote, you're probably going to get lots of different quotes in lots of different formats, which are going to be really confusing to compare, because you cannot compare like for like if every quote is different, right? So you really need to start at the beginning, and so, before you even put your work out to tender or start asking for contractor quotes, you need to have a way of asking for that information correctly. And so, moving on to number two, the way that you do this is to provide an itemized list of what needs to be done, and this really needs to be divided into each room or area of your renovation project. Now, now, this itemised list, as I'm calling it, is actually known in the construction industry as a prospective schedule of works, and it's just a really fancy way of saying it is a really extensive list of every single job that needs to be done, in order in every area or room of the renovation.

Speaker 1:

Now, you can do this yourself. It doesn't have to be perfect. Your contractor can make adjustments or add things in that you may have left out. But how you do it is you need to think about your project really, really logically in terms of if I was doing this job. If I was renovating this bathroom, how would I start doing it? So you just think about it really logically and you start listing everything. So first I would demo, I would tear out all the things that are in there the bath, the shower, the tiles and so you add a few lines for that, you put in a line for demolition, you list everything that you want removed from that room, and you can do this in an Excel sheet. And then you can then have the contractors put a cost associated with that next to each line item or next to each room, depending on how accurate you'd like your quotes to be broken down.

Speaker 1:

And then, after demolition, you logically think about the next step. So you then have all this rubbish you need to get rid of. So you need to add a line for rubbish removal, you need to add a line for a skip, perhaps, and then think about the next logical steps. So once all of that is out of the room, you then think about reconstructing the room. Right, you need to open the walls. If you need to change the shower, the location of the toilet, the walls need to be opened up, the pipes need to be moved.

Speaker 1:

List all of that out, and then you can also go so far as to list. Which I do actually recommend is list the approximate amount of tiling you need in square meterage. List the size of the tiles. If you may have already decided on that or you have even a vague idea of whether you want small tiles or larger tiles. Because small tiles, they cost more to install, there'll be more cutting. Install there'll be more cutting, there'll be more grout, there'll be more labor involved. So try and think about every single thing that you can make a big old list of it, put it in this document, section it out in different rooms or areas, and that is your itemized list or your prospective schedule of works.

Speaker 1:

Now, if you're working with an architect, they will help you do this. They may even do it for you. If, now, if you're working with an architect, they will help you do this, they may even do it for you. If you're paying an architect to do this, they should do this for you. But if you're at a stage where you're working, for any reason, directly with a contractor and you need to get these quotes and you need to compare them yourself, then you need to really think about how you want to receive these quotes. And so doing it this way, putting in the time to do this itemised list and the schedule of works, really gives each contractor then a template to work from. And if you just make it clear from the start that you want them to associate their costs with what you've listed, and then also don't forget to mention to them because you're not a contractor, they're the professional say to them just caveat it and say if you see anything in here that needs to be done that you know needs to be done and I did not list here you need to add that in. And then that leaves it open for them to then add what they need to add and not omit anything just because you've made the list. So make sure that you do that, make sure that you say that to them, and then you stand a much better chance of getting all these quotes in laid out in a similar fashion, which then make them so much easier to compare down the line once you've received all of them.

Speaker 1:

So then, moving on to number three, so once you've made your list and you've received all your quotes back whether that be three or four, I always recommend a minimum of three then make sure you are comparing like for like. So even though you may have provided them a template, they might have filled it out differently. So you just want to make sure that you've got all the quotes next to one another and you can at least see that they've quoted in a similar fashion, whether that be by different areas or chunks of rooms, or if they quoted for every single line item, at least if they've added that together for a total for that area. So just make sure that you're comparing like for like when you're looking at all the quotes laid out next to one another. So I'll give you some examples of what each contractor's quote should really include so that you can make sure you're comparing like for like.

Speaker 1:

So each one really should include some preliminaries, so that's getting the site ready for the construction, ready for the build work. They should include site management fees, any certificates they might need to pay for to get sign off for the work they're doing on your project. There'll be costs associated for demolition, for groundworks, for structural works, and these really should be broken down into their various sections. They should also have costs for things like services, installing all the finishes, internal doors. If you're having any, there should be a separate cost for whether they're supplying the internal doors or whether you're supplying the internal doors and what it would cost to fit those internal doors. And then, of course, there should be an allocation for taxes and also for contingency. Or perhaps you've told them what your contingency is, but it's always really useful when a contractor puts in a figure for contingency, because if you're working with good people, if you're hiring a good contractor, they will be able to look at the size of your project and they'd be able to say to you on a project this size, in my experience this is the size of contingency you need to set aside. So that's also a really good line to have inside your schedule of works. And then, of course, you'll have the scary grand total at the end of what your project total should cost.

Speaker 1:

But the most dangerous thing you can do is to just get a total cost from a contractor without any breakdown, because then you don't know what you're comparing to your other quotes. So this is why the shadow of works and the itemized list is so important. And then also, every single quote should include a list of exclusions. So there's a couple of different names for this. They might call it a list of exclusions, so there's a couple of different names for this. They might call it a list of exclusions, they might call it client supply, but really, what this is, it's all the items the contractor will not be paying for. So these are the additional items you will be paying for, and these are generally things like your bathroom fittings, your tiles, perhaps your flooring. Sometimes, if the contractor's not supplying that, it could literally be all the fixtures and fittings your contractor could only be quoting for the labour, the demolition and so on. So just make sure that you have a list of exclusions noted in your template document, in your prospective schedule of works.

Speaker 1:

Even if you don't list out everything you're thinking about supplying, make sure that you have the words list of exclusions and the contractor can then fill out underneath that heading what they are not including in the quote that they are providing for you. Because I find that this is where a lot of disputes happen. It's when contractors don't know that you want them to do certain things, to supply certain things, and then the client is assuming that the contractor will include those things, and I found, for some reason, this happens a lot with skirting and cornicing, and sometimes a contractor doesn't include for the supply or the fitting of skirting and cornicing in their quote. But obviously the client generally wants cornicing and skirting and so assumes that that is included somewhere. So just make sure that you have an area for a list of exclusions and that is everything that the contractor has not included in his quote that you will have to pay extra for. And then, of course, if each contractor is applying their list of exclusions, you can then compare that to the other quotes you are receiving. So, for example, if one contractor is including for skirting and cornicing and they've added that into the general section of their quote and they've not put it in their list of exclusions, but another contractor has completely excluded the fitting and the supply of skirting and cornicing, then of course you can make that adjustment. You can compare those two quotes and say well, this quote includes 5k for skirtings and cornicing and this one has excluded it. So you can then take that 5k out and then you're comparing like for like. So this is what I mean by having this list of exclusions. You then know what you need to adjust, even just for your own purposes removing and including across the selection of quotes you're getting, so that you know you're comparing like for like and then, moving on to number five, ask lots of questions.

Speaker 1:

Don't be shy to ask questions. It is so confusing trying to compare quotes and making sure you're comparing like for like. So obviously I'm giving you some some information here and some advice on how to to get those quotes so that they are most similar. But don't be afraid to ask questions. If the list of exclusions is not clear, ask the question. Ask what's included, ask what's not included. If they have not put a figure next to each line item and they've for some reason left one blank and you can't figure out why, or they've not put an extra note or an additional note as to why they've done that, then ask the question.

Speaker 1:

So just go back to them, ask lots of questions if you need to clarify anything, and I always find, actually, that asking lots of questions gives you a bit of an insight of what it would be like to work with that contractor, because if, for some reason, they're getting annoyed that you're asking questions or they are not communicating clearly with you, then that really gives you an insight of what it might be to work with them on your project. So I would say ask lots of questions, see how they react. Are they helpful? Are they being patient with you and giving you the information you need to make your important decision of hiring the right person for your job? Or are they being dismissive or taking really long time to get back to you or refusing to give you the breakdowns you're asking for? All those are kind of signs, red flags, that perhaps you should consider some of the other contractors more. So just make sure that this person is someone you are going to be happy working with, because you know they will be involved in your project for a long time.

Speaker 1:

Renovation projects take a while. They can take anywhere from three months to over a year. So make sure that you're happy with the person you're choosing. And then, lastly, never assume anything. Oh my gosh, I've learned this the hard way.

Speaker 1:

Never, ever assume anything. Never assume that the skirting's included, never assume that the coving's included or that they've allocated a cost for the labour to install those when they're not on the quote. So never assume anything. Ask lots of questions, like I just said, if anything is not clear, even if it's obvious, even if it seems obvious to you that, oh, how could they even do the job without first doing this stage but there's no cost for it or it's not noted in the quote anywhere. Ask the question, never just assume that it's included, even if it's a stupid question. Even if they come back and say of course that's included, how could we do the job without that? At least you've asked the question, because sometimes assuming something is included and it's not can cost you thousands of pounds. So never assume anything. Ask lots of questions and make sure that you can get something to the contractors a document, your perspective, schedule of works, a list of what needs to be done, so that they can all quote in the same way, hopefully. So I hope I've given you some good information there of how to make the whole choosing a builder process and comparing quotes process a little bit easier. If I have, drop me a message. I'd love to know if the podcast is helping you in any way and if you are subscribed to it. Thank you. If you're not yet subscribed to it, please subscribe if you are finding it helpful. Well, that brings us to the end of this episode. Everybody, I hope it was helpful to you. I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you next week. Bye for now For more information on my five pillar process for successful renovation.

Speaker 1:

You can go directly to southplacestudiocom forward slash pillars where you'll find an introduction to the process which covers each of the pillars and what they cover. We also have a number of other free renovation resources. Go now to southplacestudiocom forward slash freebies. I have created some amazing freebies for you there. There is one on the process, like we just said. There is one on planning permission. There is one on kitchen design. There is another one on lighting planning. Go and check those out. There's so much free information there to help you with your renovation.