builders quotes

[roofergirl]

Trying to get a kitchen extension done. Have had 3 builders in to quote. All were recommended by friends and when they came they came they were very keen and spent time going round investigating. Then they spent ages getting back to us like 8 weeks. Anyway after chasing them for quotes 2 have got back with so called quotes. The quotes were just the name of job ie kitchen extension or porch and a price next to it. No detail at all - just the cost.Seems like they just plucked a figure out of thin air. Is this usual? Should a quote be more detailed? Will they provide a more detailed quote later? How do I know whats going to be included? HELP!

[quoteunquote]

When you went at looked at their previous work what were the finishing like?

anyone can do any job for any money, it is what they achieve for that cost,

If they under quote, then the quality and standard will be poor.

You want to know if they are realistic pricers.

Quoting accurately is time consuming, if you want a break down ask, but most people won't do that unless they are committed to the work unless asked,

despite my name I rarely quote anymore, it is not cost effective, it is better for my clients, as I am not putting in cover costs, as my clients trust me, they benefit as much as I do.

[yetanotherworry]

We didn't get much detail on our quotes BUT the architect plans had all the detail regarding materials to use. Our quotes were for work to the standard of the plans and then broken down by job e. stage 1, foundation £2000; stage 2 bricks up to roof level £2000, etc... then a final figure at the end.
We also got our builders through recommendations and went to look at the finished extensions and checked that costs had been true to the quote. The only extra costs we paid were for extras that we had added on and I made sure that I had written costings for these as we discussed them (even if by text/email).

[roofergirl]

thanks worry that's exactly the kind of detail I mean. Otherwise seems like the builder is plucking a figure out of thin air. How do I go about getting builders to do such a detailed quote?
Quoteunquote: I understand it must be time consuming doing a detailed quote but how else can I see what I will be paying for? We're spending a lot of money and seems too reckless to just hope for the best and trust that the figure they quoted is not just something plucked out of thin air.

[quoteunquote]

It sounds like they have gone for the cubic meter costing,

When you build, some things you know to the exact penny, and some things you don't know until you open up.

The first massive thing, that is where the cost is unpredictable is foundations,

Foundations might be predictable, or as you open up you find a big hole to pour money down,

so if you are asking a builder to an all in price, they are going to price in cover costs.

So if you broke it down and took out the items that are unpredictable and agreed to cover them yourself, the builder would not have to cover their asses,

We did away with this issue years ago,

We pass all saving back to customer, so we don't price, we don't advertise, we are booked well into the future and expanding.

I found client also prefer my methods, it is more efficient , and cost effective for both sides.

I would give you the design and drawings, the planning negotiations and applications, price of materials , the hourly rate of each crew member, procedure of works, a break down of allocated timings, service costs, trade costs, full project management, high end finish, we have never gone over time,

We work with the client's budget (we have never gone over), we adjust the design to the budget, if we make savings along the way, then the client can either retain it, or re invest it into the project.

I get all fittings, service, trades, gear hire, materials far cheaper than any client will ever be able to, as I put a lot of money through these companies and suppliers each and every week, year in year out, I get everything at least 50% less than the client can, more usually,

my trades come on demand, which means no delays,

Speed quoteing goes a little like this,

bulk standard new affordable living type home, cubic meter £1,000

then up in jumps of £500, as to finish.

work out your cubic meter of your build, divide the quote, and you will work out what they priced in at.

[roofergirl]

Quoteunquote, that's brilliant! That's the way I thought getting a quote should be. Don't suppose you work up in the North West by any chance? this is exactly the way we'd like the job to go.

Should I just ask builder to include all the things you mentioned like hourly rate, price of materials , the hourly rate of each crew member, procedure of works, a break down of allocated timings, service costs, trade costs?

Off to work out cubic meter. What did you mean by 'divide the quote'

[quoteunquote]

Well you know how many cubic feet you are getting, and you know the quote price, so you should be able divide the quote price by the cubic feet.

Most construction is not priced the way I do it , (cause I is a woman, init)I got rather fed up with doing the parts of the job I hate, staying up for hours, working out prices, hours chasing work, going and seeing jobs, all massively time consuming and unpaid, so I fixed it.

I also noticed clients hated the uncertainty and lack of control,

I am a pedantic obsessive control freak, So I am have to do everything to a high standard, with fine finishes.

and have only ever employed others who prefer to do a job properly.

because my clients know that I/we do this, they do not need to fret about being rip off, and I don't ever have stressy clients, which I/we find totally unbearable.

If you were my client we would of sat down, you would explain to me what was not working for you with your space, what you thought the solutions maybe,

I then will take you through our suggested solutions are,and how they could be executed, so if for say , you wanted a two storey brick extension , but your budget will not stretch that far, we would suggest alternatives such as timber frame (just as good, done properly)

because we are working with a budget from design stage up, you do not have to compromise on finish,

I love the design process, I love the planning process, I always get it 100% unbroken record(because I know what they want to hear)(we often also have park authority to get through, as well as conservation area control), we specialise in renovation of listed building, and contemporary new builds,

I like the parts of work that are creative and productive, and hate the boring admin stuff, or smooching clients, so I do my best to eliminate them, I don't have to do any boring pricing work, I don't have to pull in clients, I don't have to advertise.

other builders/contractors would argue that I will not pull in as much profit per job, but it is swings and roundabouts, as I don't have times without work, I don't have to spend any time chasing work, or money on advertising.

we put between 10% to 20% on materials, to cover cost, and pass the rest of our discount on, so the customer gets it as much lower cost than they would otherwise.

I just want to do a quality job and keep everyone in work, this method works best for us.

[MrsTaraPlumbing]

We do that kind of work - including design and sorting the building reg.s - but not in you area - we are in Kent.
If we were quoting - yes it takes a long time to do but we would give you a very detailed quote so you knew exactly what was covered in the cost and what, if anything was excluded.
Our quotes for a job like that descried could be about 4 pages of A4.

Other good advice from the others who've commented here.