Help preparing a joblist for builders

bpk101

Hi -

I’ve recently met with various full service building teams to discuss a large number of jobs that need doing to bring my newly purchased 2bed Victorian terrace up to scratch. Meetings at the property lasted for about an hour each and the builders were given a basic tour of the house and a rough idea of what i want doing. Jobs ranged from opening up fireplaces, replacing doors, adding power sockets and installing new radiators right through to more structural based jobs like repairing bowed ceilings and strengthening weak timber joists in the loft.

I’ve now been asked by each company to email a more detailed joblist so they can prepare quotes accordingly (of which i'll compare before deciding on a team for the project). Sounds fair enough...
However, half the jobs on this list are remedial works that I have no idea what I’m asking them to quote on until the damage is properly assessed and a solution arrived at. Like I say the initial visits did not cover any full assessment and what’s more every builder seemed to have a conflicting opinions on these problem areas anyway!

Should I be asking for ‘fixed quotes’ on work that is more straightforward (i.e. replacing door frames and doors, installing light sockets and switches, opening up fireplaces etc)…
and ‘estimates’ on work that needs further assessment before they can offer a proper fixed quote (i.e. repairing bowed ceilings, strengthening loft floor etc)? And get them all back in to assess these areas properly before starting (sounds a lot to have to ask them all back again)?

I’m stumped as to how I can prepare a detailed joblist when no agreed solution to some of the problems was arrived at during our initial visit. And concerned that if I just describe the problem area jobs as simply ‘fixing it' they’ll all approach the job in different ways giving me no grounds for comparing quotes.

Any advice gratefully received!

trailingspouse

Think about why you're asking for these quotes.

Basically it's so that you can assess which builder you want to use. So, I would suggest you pick a basic job that needs doing, and get them all to quote for the same thing. That way, you're comparing like with like. You don't have to get the full quote all at one go - they're not going to object if you ask for a quote for a couple of rooms and end up using them for 7!! And I prefer not to decide on price alone - how you get along with the builder, and how you feel about having them in your house (possibly unsupervised) also matters.

When we started our renovation of our Victoria terrace, I spent the first month basically interviewing tradespeople - electricians, plumbers, plasterers, painters etc etc etc. Now that I've found people I'm happy with, I don't bother getting other quotes, I just call them and they turn up and get on with it.

Some jobs are 'house-wide' - re-wiring is the obvious one. Once that was done, we did one room at a time, with me doing the donkey work (removing wall paper, tiles, preparing for painting etc etc), and then calling in the pros for the things I couldn't do. I suppose you could say I've project-managed it, but I see it as just being organised and thinking ahead, and enabling everyone to do a good job by not messing them around.