Search the Community

Hi all - I'm hoping to get some advice on the below! We are currently in the process of renovating our 1 bed basement flat in London (zone 2). We have received planning approval to remove the old conservatory at the back of the house and replace it with a flat roof structure which will house the kitchen. This involves altering the internal layout of the flat as shown in the floorplans. The footprint of the house is staying exactly the same, it is 600sqft for reference. To complicate matters, our flat flooded during the flash flooding in London last summer so it has currently been stripped back to brick as part of the insurance repair works and drying out process. The flat is now completely dried out and we have put the job out to tender. We have just received quotes from builders to put the flat back together as per the proposed plans. When we received the quotes, I literally fell off my chair. The three quotes were: £270k, £353k and £403k. I am honestly in a state of shock. I'm fully aware that London building costs are unlike anywhere else in the country and that the cost of raw materials has shot up this year, however, these are on another level. I could buy another flat for that last quote! All 3 builders that quoted were aware of the fact that part of this work will be covered by our insurance claim. However, the majority of it won't be i.e. the removal of the conservatory, the change of layout etc. Am I being totally ripped off because they are aware it's an insurance job? I can't understand how someone can physically spend that much money on a 600sqft flat when the footprint of the house isn't changing and we aren't building any new walls! Unless I was coating every ceiling in gold leaf! Any advice would be much appreciated!

I am in the process of getting our technical drawings completed by my architect - these will then be sent out to timber frame companies to tender for. I will be project managing and sourcing trades myself. Appreciate that each timber frame company is slightly unique, and some may consider elements as 'standard' whereas others may consider elements as 'extra'. Therefore, I'm looking for a 'belt and braces' tender document or spreadsheet which I can send out to all the timber frame companies (for them to fill out against), so that we can accurately compare quotes like-for-like between the TF companies to make sure all elements are included and quoted for, thus avoiding surprise additional costs as much as possible during the build. I was hoping that with the vast amount of significantly more experienced individuals on here, that someone would have produced a thorough document/spreadsheet which they used to successfully tender against TF companies. If so, would it be out of the question to share it with me? Much appreciated.

Hi all, anyone have any recommended ICF contractors in the SE/ London area? want to get quotes in as tbh would much prefer someone else doing it faster and better then I would. thanks guys,

Hi, I've been in touch with my Architect about the next stage of planning/tendering for the build. I expected to go after the timber frame and window quotes myself but was surprised to hear that the Architect normally leaves that to the contractors to sort out. That means I'd have no say in what timber frame company is used and may not even be told which they are quoting for! My fear is I'd get a pile of lemons very easily and regret it. Is this normal and is it possible to provide a "preferred" list of companies to use for aspects of the tender? Thanks

Hi all, I am new to the forum and am desperately seeking advice.... we have building regs approval for a part single / part two-storey side extension on a 60s built semi. I have been putting the tender documents together myself. I will be issuing the approved plans, engineers notes, build spec and covering letter. The build spec is 8 pages long. I managed to find a good example to work from and added all our requirements, not obvious from the drawings. Should I put together a contract? I was thinking just a couple of pages which states that the contractor should follow the build spec, price and payment schedule, agreed dates for commencement and completion, defects liability period, required contractor's insurance cover, percentage to be held back for snagging. Reading up online I'm wondering if this is sufficient? Some suggest using something like the JCT Minor Works agreement. I don't want to go over the top and scare off good builders but I don't want to be naive either. Would really appreciate some advice. thank you