Well, the simple answer to this question is NO! It is impossible to simply compare one quote against another using the 'Total' amount.
Many people will ask for recommendations for a builder from friends and family and look at reviews online (we will discuss this on another post - not all reviews are equal!). Once the quotes are in, how do you choose who to trust to complete your build?
Firstly, when you ask a builder to provide you with a quote for your work, the quote should be completely bespoke to the work you have asked them to complete. In all cases, the Builder should come to see the project and discuss all requirements with you onsite.
You are advised to get a number of quotes to 'compare' them but this is really where the difficulty in choosing a builder comes in to play....how do you compare completely different quotes?
To help you, let's look at what makes up a quote for an Extension on your property.
MATERIALS
The price of materials has been negatively affected because of shortages since Covid and Brexit. 'Materials' is a generalised term to include all materials required to build your extension, create the flooring, roofing, external and internal finishes. As you can imagine, the cost is directly proportional to the quality of the material. The first concern you should have on a 'cheap' quote is the quality of the materials which will be used. If you choose to upspec these onsite, you will be charged extra for them. Some quotes will not even specify materials which meet current building control requirements as standard.
All builders have to deal with this high rise in materials, and, with this in mind, you should be concerned when you see quotes which are very low.
Have you got additional budget available to pay for these extra materials if you don't account for them in the initial quote?
LABOUR
Building work will take a number of weeks depending on the project. Everyone knows how invasive these works can be on your day to day life. If you have a young family at home, this is even more important to consider.
You should ensure that you are comfortable with who you employ as your builder and especially who will be entering your property on a day to day basis.
You should also be concerned with their skill level. There are a large number of skilled professionals required to complete your extension and good labour will be paid accordingly and this will affect the price of your quote.
Bricklayers, plasterers, joiners, roofers, site management, plumbers, electricians are the non-exhaustive list of skilled personnel who are required to ensure that your project runs smoothly and the results are as you expected.
Ensure that all the labour that your chosen builder hires to complete your work are qualified to do the jobs required. It is not satisfactory to have a bricklayer completing plumbing or electrical work if they do not have the qualifications to do so. Skilled labourers will vouch for their work and be happy to repair or re-do anything which is unsatisfactory.
Have you got money in your budget to repair bad workmanship and re-do work which was incorrectly completed in the first place?
TIME
The old saying 'time is money' is very relevant when it comes to comparing quotes.
If you are told that the project will take 12 weeks, it's worth noting that you should question whether these 12 weeks are concurrent. If your builder starts working on your property for a week and then doesn't come back for 9 weeks, then you have to ask yourself how this will impact your every day life. You will not be able to do much to change this once work has started on your property.
Extensions are complex and there are a large number of moving parts. Materials have to be available onsite on time and the relevant skilled labourers need to turn up on time to ensure that parts of the project are not delayed. Often, different skilled labourers are required to be onsite two to three times at different stage. In a well-oiled project, many parts of the project can be completed at the same time.
Have you got the patience and time to allow for a project which is mismanaged and takes 12 months when it could be completed in 3 months?
Finished Result and Quality of the Build
To summarise, this will be based on
The quality of the materials used
The quality of the labour
The project management provided and the experience of the building company
The final result will be determined completely based on who you choose to complete your project.
Do you want a high quality result which doesn't leave you feeling like you wish you'd never done it in the first place?
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