We can help you find and enlist the right building contractors to work on your build.

In the current economic climate, builders are in hot demand. For this reason, we generally recommend following a ‘selected tender’ process. 

In a ‘selected tender’, one to three builders submit a tender.  

Because it is usually understood that a formal invitation to tender indicates a willingness to engage the builder (subject to a satisfactory price), it is important to select suitable builders to take part in the tender process. This would normally involve you meeting with each of the builders before they put in a tender. Things for you to consider about the builder at this initial meeting are:

• their ability to appropriately staff and complete the project

• their experience in your type of work

• their reputation for quality work

• their reputation for cooperation

• their financial stability.

After we have agreed on three builders to approach for a tender, there are two steps:

• The builders submit a tender of their preliminary and general costs (project management fees), their margin percent, labour rates and variation fees (cost of changing something part way through the construction period).

• We evaluate their pricing and together choose the desired builder, sign a contract with the chosen builder and book in a start date.

At this point, we give the set of drawings and specifications to the chosen builder (usually at the same time as we submit the building consent documents to council for approval). The builder will submit a fixed lump-sum price based on these, with open-book pricing and two to three prices for each subtrade that needs to be contracted in (such as plumbers or joiners, etc).

A quantity surveyor is generally engaged at this stage as well to review the open-book pricing.