A tender package so builders quote the same job, £899 fixed
Three builders, three quotes, three different jobs: one includes the kitchen, one leaves out the drains. A tender package puts the whole scope on paper, so the prices you compare are for the same thing. £899.
- £899 fixed, no survey fee
- Drawings and specification together
- Free redraws until approval
What does a tender package cost?
The fee is £899, with no survey fee and no VAT to add. It turns your approved design into construction drawings and a written specification that several builders can price from, with a schedule for them to fill in. Where we have drawn the planning and building regulations sets, the tender pack builds on them.
What is in the £899 pack
- Construction drawings: plans, sections and elevations with the dimensions, levels and details a builder needs
- A written specification covering materials, finishes, fittings and workmanship, room by room
- A pricing schedule of items for each builder to fill in, so the quotes line up line by line
- A list of what is excluded or left to the client, so nothing is assumed
- A short note on how to compare the quotes, and how to deal with the health and safety duties
Why a tender pack saves money
Because quotes only compare when the scope is the same. A builder who prices from a planning drawing has to guess the specification: the windows, the insulation, the finishes. Guesses differ, so the quotes differ. A tender pack removes the guess and the “extras” that follow it.
It also gives the builder the details before work starts, and building control sees drawings that match what is built (gov.uk).
What goes into a good tender set
The drawings say where and how big. The specification says what with. The schedule says how much. Without all three, a quote is a guess. We write the specification in plain English by room and element, so a homeowner can read it and a builder can price it.
- Construction drawings at a scale builders can measure from
- A specification by trade and by room
- A pricing schedule with a line for each element
- Exclusions, provisional sums and who supplies what
Who is responsible for health and safety
The Regulations place duties on the client for planning and managing the project and giving information to designers and contractors (regulation 11A). With more than one contractor, a principal designer and principal contractor must be appointed in writing (regulation 11D). For a domestic client, HSE’s guidance says those duties usually pass to the contractor, or to the principal contractor on a multi-contractor job (HSE).
Who takes the principal designer role has to be agreed in writing, and we will tell you how to do that. For the technical set underneath, see building regulations drawings and structural calculations.
What the regulations ask of the client
- Client duty
- A client must make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring a project, and provide building information as soon as practicable to every designer and contractor. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 11A
- In writing
- Where more than one contractor is or may be involved, the client must appoint a principal designer and a principal contractor in writing. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 11D
- Sole contractor
- A sole contractor is treated as the principal contractor, and a sole designer takes on the principal designer duties. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 11D
- Domestic client
- On a single-contractor project the client duties of a domestic client pass to the contractor. HSE, CDM 2015: domestic clients
- Several contractors
- With more than one contractor, the duties pass to the principal contractor, unless the client agrees in writing for a designer to take them on. HSE, CDM 2015: domestic clients
- 5 weeks
- A full-plans building regulations application is decided within 5 weeks, or 2 months by agreement. gov.uk, Building regulations approval: how to apply
Tender package questions
Do I need a tender package for a small job?
Not always. It earns its fee where you are comparing builders on a larger job, with a lot of specification to decide.
Will it fix my final price?
No. It gives builders the same scope to price, which makes the quotes comparable. Provisional sums and changes can still move the final cost.
Who is responsible for health and safety on a domestic job?
On a domestic job the client duties usually pass to the contractor, or to the principal contractor if there are several.
Source: HSE, CDM 2015: domestic clients
Do you appoint the builder?
No. You choose. We prepare the pack and a note on how to compare the quotes.
Does the £899 include planning and building regulations?
No. Those are separate sets. The tender pack builds on them.
Other services people book with this one
Compare builders on the same scope
Send the address and the approved drawings if you have them. We reply with a fixed fee.