Tendering for big jobs

[GB_Groundworks]

how do you boys go about it, other than using a quantity surveyor that is, a builder we d work for is tendering for a big million pound build in prestbury, i have the tender and 20 pdfs of the plans, its a nightmare of a job half burried house.

tanking by approved specialist only, 10 yr guarantee on the tanking install... this is a nightmare

so how do you go about pricing big jobs, ive started to compartmentalise it from the demolition of the bungalow, site fencing, new footings, slabs, etc but then theres is all the super sleve drainage and levels to change etc.

then says price for everything but the paving which is tbc lol

its a lot easier when we buy a site and build a house and sell it lol

doing my head in trying to allow for all eventualities etc

looking like £80-£100k of work for us.

[haggistini]

You need a "good" QS Giles! they can make or break a job like that , but make sure they earn their money buy having a few site visits and discuss what is involved not just quantitys ,I am currently working on a tanking system it has base drains ,sumps,pumps and membranes to discharge water it's called a Newton system and we have a specialist firm doing the work. they also will need a few visits. Good luck btw!

[lutonlagerlout]

break it down into segments giles
it can easy take 40-50 hrs to do jobs like that
I.E. clear site £25 p/m
reduce to formation level £90 per M 3
etc etc
then add up the quantities
LLL

[GB_Groundworks]

Haggi if we were tendering for the whole job we would but you are talking £500 etc

I'm reliant on my mate getting the rest of his tender right, to get the job

Bit of an awkward one, actually should be but more resilient price it but it's not a firm price as Groundworks always change, we've used fosroc systems before but this is a two layer torch one system from visqueen

Just gonna have to keep braking it down into easier parts

[Pablo]

I always break the quotes down regardless of the size of the job. What always surprises me is how much more I have to charge to even come close to the same percentage of profit that I'd get from a standard 1 week job. What always catches me is plant hire/ muck away and those unforseen purchases of £20 here and there to act as workarounds for something we've not thought would be a problem. I get caught on plant usually due to the weather if I've budgeted for 3 weeks hire and it rains meaning topsoil can't be moved etc then and you've had it for 4 days then there's a week gone already. I now include in quotes get out clauses like stating how many loads of soil in muck out etc we'll expect to use but if we use more then it'll cost £### per load in addition to the original quote. I sweeten it by saying the bill will also be reduced by however many loads we don't use this never happens though. Another thing I do is allow for several days of snagging and also cleaning once we've finished. Cleaning a large garden upon completion can sometimes take another week and is something clients wouldn't think about or expect to pay for.
You said yesterday big jobs are the way forward I would strongly disagree they're good for the ego and bragging about but usually terrible for the bank balance compared to the smaller in and out stuff which always turn a better percentage of profit. I'm pricing one right now I'm confident I'll get it but it'll probably be about £80000 and is zero vat rated I'll not make anywhere near what I want to make on it although I'll not get caught out either you just can't put that extra bit on no one except footballers and lottery winners will pay it just now.
Every project I do has an excell speadsheet where I work out what's been spent whats saved whats the tax and whats the bottom line. This helps me keep a handle on the pricing and also scares me into getting things done better.

[lutonlagerlout]

i agree turnover for vanity ,profit for sanity
big jobs are nice for security,the 135 k extension last year kept us busy for 4 months,but there was around 105 profit at the end due to all the reasons pablo mentioned
if we do a 20m ramp for the council,we can make 25% profit in a week
but you need a lot lined up to keep the momentum
doing all sorts right now,got a months work but nothing big in the bag,a few priced have to wait and see
cheers LLL

[Dave_L]

I'm glad Pablo said what he said as that was exactly what I was thinking when I read the thread - big is most definitely not beautiful, infact I shy away from the big sub-contracting jobs - I can return far better profits from the £5k jobs than one £25/30k job, at far less risk too.

[GB_Groundworks]

spec says permeable indian stone hehe anyone seen this before?

[Dave_L]

Sounds like the QS/Architect is just outta college!

[Carberry]

All stone is permeable to do certain extent. I'm guessing when they say permeable though they want water to soak through it rather than run off it in which case you would need quite a porous sandstone. You wouldn't be able to seal it which isn't recommended for any very porous stone and you may have issues with strength and durability. Perhaps one of the more porous softer stones but cut to 40mm thick or something?

[GB_Groundworks]

I quoted for normal with polymeric

My bit of the tender is done, £58k of Groundworks

We'll see if my mate gets it

[rab1]

you or one of the other 2 contractors your mates qs asked to tender... ???.