2 storey granny annex on side of house

Ballie12

Hi,
Would really appreciate some advice..have got planning permission and plans with basic building spec. Am looking for a builder and asked for quotes from four builders.Was shocked at the variation and lack of detail on the quotes in order to compare them,.. uncertain how to proceed also now thinking about splitting the work is contacting for plumbing and electrical separately to minimise fat and advice welcomed :-) carole

unforeseen

Maybe you need a more detailed plan to allow them to give a more accurate quote.it sounds like their lack of detail on the quote is the result of your lack of detail on the plan

It sounds like you are just asking them for a ball park figure for a 2 storey extension with very little detail supplied if it is only a basic plan

Schoolworker

Last year we did an extension and went to several builders for quotes. Only two came back one was £50k and the other £80k so there was a huge difference in price. Anyway finally got another quote from builder but he let us down, approached 2 more builders, appointed another builder and he let us down 3 weeks before start. Got another builder quote and he was able to start in 2 weeks time. His quote was £52k but we had to buy bathroom and kitchen appliances on top of this as well as pay and find our own tiler and painter. It was a good job done and a few extra things. American up which increased slightly but we are happy with this and his quote was detailed on what he did for what price. Good luck.

Doozergirl

unforeseen wrote: »

Maybe you need a more detailed plan to allow them to give a more accurate quote.it sounds like their lack of detail on the quote is the result of your lack of detail on the plan

It sounds like you are just asking them for a ball park figure for a 2 storey extension with very little detail supplied if it is only a basic plan

I agree. If you give them the detail then there's no reason why the quotes shouldn't be comparable. With no clear specificiation you are asking people to compare apples and oranges. There's no surprise.

Not only that, you're asking them to do even more work by creating a specification for you. How many hours do you think it's fair to ask four sets of people to work for free on your behalf to provide you with a decent specification?

I don't even work that way any more. I get involved at the beginning, set a budget with the client and then start the design process to a realistic outcome. Too many people design things they can't afford and then make a poor decisions on their builder based on price.

Hoploz

Did you have you planning drawings done by an architect or similar? If so then it's worth asking them to do detailed plans. These can then be submitted to building control for approval too.

Having said that, this is what I did for the job I had done recently and yet still I had quotes ranging between £35k and £125k based on the same detailed spec! Though several around £60k so we assumed this was actually the real value.