How many builders should I ask?

Three is usually the right number. Fewer and you have no comparison, more and you burn goodwill among contractors who know they are one of six.

Should I always take the lowest price?

Only when you understand why it is lowest. A price that is low because of an omission becomes the highest by completion.

Can I tender from planning drawings?

You can, but you will get estimates rather than prices. Planning drawings do not contain the construction information a contractor needs to price with confidence.

What are provisional sums?

Allowances for work that is not yet fully defined. They are useful, but keeping them few and clearly described stops a tender turning into a wish list.

Procurement · Cornwall

Choosing a builder in Cornwall, how to compare three quotes that are actually comparable

The most common reason homeowners feel they overpaid is not that they picked the wrong builder. It is that they compared three quotes based on three different sets of assumptions, chose the lowest, and then paid the difference in variations. Cornwall has a lot of very good contractors, and a good tender process is how you find the one whose price you can rely on.

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Tender on the same information

A tender pack means every contractor prices the same job. Without it, one includes the kitchen and another does not, one assumes standard foundations and another allows for depth, and the comparison is meaningless. The pack does not need to be enormous, it needs to be unambiguous.

Full building regulations drawings including sections and construction details
A specification naming materials, finishes and standards where they matter
Structural information so beams and foundations are priced not guessed
A schedule of provisional sums for anything genuinely undecided
A clear statement of what the client is supplying directly

Questions that predict a good build

Ask when they could realistically start and finish, and whether that programme overlaps with their other commitments. Ask who will actually be on site day to day. Ask to see two projects of similar type and, if possible, speak to those clients. Ask how variations are priced and how often they will invoice. The answers tell you more about the experience you are about to have than the headline figure does.

Reading the returns

When quotes come back, compare them line by line rather than at the bottom. A price well below the others usually means something has been missed or excluded, and the conversation that follows either finds the omission or reveals a genuine efficiency. A price well above may be a contractor who does not want the job, or one who has read the risk more carefully than the others. Both are worth asking about.

Contract and payment

Even for a domestic project, a simple written contract that records the scope, the price, the programme, the payment stages and how variations are handled protects both sides. Payments should follow work completed rather than run ahead of it, and a retention or a final stage held until snagging is finished keeps everybody focused at the point where projects usually drift.

Frequently asked

Straight answers.

How many builders should I ask?: Three is usually the right number. Fewer and you have no comparison, more and you burn goodwill among contractors who know they are one of six.
Should I always take the lowest price?: Only when you understand why it is lowest. A price that is low because of an omission becomes the highest by completion.
Can I tender from planning drawings?: You can, but you will get estimates rather than prices. Planning drawings do not contain the construction information a contractor needs to price with confidence.
What are provisional sums?: Allowances for work that is not yet fully defined. They are useful, but keeping them few and clearly described stops a tender turning into a wish list.

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