JournalArticleProcurement3 min read
Comparing contractor quotes without comparing the wrong things
Two quotes for the same house can differ by a third and still both be honest. Here is how to tell what you are actually comparing.
Owners who collect several quotes for a building project often face the same puzzle. The numbers are far apart, the documents look nothing alike, and it is hard to tell whether the cheapest builder is efficient or simply leaving things out. Comparing totals is the most natural thing to do, and usually the least informative.
Why totals mislead
Every contractor prices from their own reading of the drawings. One includes the septic system and the boundary wall, while another assumes those are separate. One allows a realistic sum for imported tiles, while another enters a modest placeholder that will grow later. Neither is necessarily dishonest. They are answering different questions.
One bill of quantities for everyone
The fairest way to compare is to give every contractor the same bill of quantities, a document listing each item of work with its measured quantity, and ask them to price it line by line. When quotes come back in the same structure, the differences become visible. You can see that one builder is expensive on concrete and cheap on finishes, or that another has quietly priced a lower grade of steel.
If contractors insist on their own format, the next best step is to rebuild their quotes into a common structure, or to have someone do it for you. It is tedious work, and it is where most of the useful insight sits.
Provisional sums and allowances
Pay special attention to items described as provisional sums or allowances. These are placeholders for things not yet fully specified, such as sanitary ware or kitchen fittings. A low allowance makes a quote look attractive today and pushes the real cost into the future. Ask each contractor what their allowance would actually buy.
A slightly higher price from a builder with a realistic schedule is often the cheaper house in the end.
Look beyond the price
A sound comparison also weighs things that never appear in the total: the proposed schedule, the payment terms, the warranty period and the team who will actually run the site. Experience on similar buildings counts for a great deal, and so does the way a contractor talks about problems before any have happened.
Where BODE Procurement fits
This is the work BODE Procurement does for owners who prefer to build with an outside contractor. We prepare the bill of quantities, collect quotes from builders we have already checked, rebuild them into a common format and write a plain summary of what each one includes and leaves out. The decision remains yours, made with the full picture in front of you. More about how we work is on the BODE Procurement site.
