Investigate before pricing
Review property and consent records, measure the existing building and identify the investigations needed before design is fixed. Depending on age and scope, that may include structural, geotechnical, drainage, moisture, electrical, plumbing or hazardous-material checks.
Opening-up should be planned and documented. It can reduce contingency, but only where the findings are fed back into the drawings and price.
Separate the budget
Keep design and consultants, approvals, enabling work, demolition, structure and weathertightness, services, finishes, external works, temporary accommodation and contingency visible. Require every builder to price the same scope and list exclusions.
- Existing-condition and opening-up allowance
- Temporary support and weather protection
- Electrical, plumbing, drainage and heating upgrades
- Kitchen, bathroom and joinery allowances
- Making good adjacent rooms and exterior finishes
- Storage, moving or accommodation during the work
Stage only when the boundaries work
Staging can help cash flow but may duplicate setup, protection and finishing. Ask the designer and builder to identify logical boundaries that keep the home safe, weather-tight and usable without undoing completed work later.
Shortlist questions
Ask before you appoint
- What existing-condition assumptions sit behind this price?
- Which investigations should happen before contract?
- What areas outside the room will need making good?
- Can the home remain occupied safely during this sequence?