Three printed quotes laid side by side on a plain table with a pencil

How to compare demolition quotes in Bristol

7 min read
How to
Demolition quotes often describe different jobs. This guide shows how to put several quotes onto the same scope and compare them fairly.

Demolition quotes are hard to compare because they often describe different jobs. One firm may include the asbestos survey and the disposal of hazardous waste, another may leave both out, and a third may leave the reinstatement of the boundary to a separate contract. A total that looks low can hide several exclusions. A fair comparison starts by putting every quote onto the same scope, then looking at the terms under which the money will be paid. This guide describes a method for doing that on a Bristol job.

Start with a single written scope

Before any quote is requested, the owner should write a short scope document covering the building, its location, the work to be done and the things the owner expects to be included. The scope should describe the building in enough detail for each firm to price the same thing: its age, its construction, its height, its neighbours and any services that are live. It should also say whether the owner expects a soft strip, a full structural demolition, the removal of hazardous materials and the reinstatement of any boundaries.

For a Bristol job, sending the same scope to every firm is the single most useful step in making quotes comparable. The method should be compared too, as the method guide explains, and the residential demolition service page describes the typical scope for a house. Firms that have to pick up their own assumptions will price different things, and the owner will then be comparing their assumptions rather than their work.

Match the scope line by line

Once the quotes are in, lay them out side by side in a simple table with one row for each element of the scope. Mark each cell with the firm's price or with a clear statement that the item is excluded or included in another line. The key elements are the survey, the asbestos removal, the disconnection of services, the structural demolition, the soft strip, the disposal of waste, the highway permissions and the making good. A quote that is missing an element should be asked to add it, not treated as the cheaper option.

Pay attention to the wording as well as the figures. "Waste removal" is not the same as "removal of all waste to a licensed disposal point", and "asbestos" may mean the survey only, the removal of certain materials or the full abatement. The asbestos abatement service page explains what a full job looks like, which gives the owner a reference point for reading the wording of each quote.

Spotting provisional sums and exclusions

Provisional sums and exclusions are where most comparison errors occur. A provisional sum is a placeholder for work that cannot yet be measured, and it can rise or fall with the actual conditions. An exclusion is an item the contractor has chosen not to price at all. Both can make a low total misleading. Ask each firm to list every provisional sum and every exclusion in a separate section, with a short explanation of how it was calculated.

Some exclusions are reasonable. A firm may not be licensed to carry out asbestos work and may therefore exclude it, provided the owner is told and can arrange it separately. Others are not. An exclusion of highway permissions or of the making good of neighbouring walls would normally be a matter to resolve before the contract is signed.

Programme, insurance and payment terms

A quote should state the programme for the work, including the start date, the duration and any constraints on working hours. Two quotes with the same price but different programmes are not equivalent if one assumes a six-week job and the other a three-month job, because the owner will carry the cost of the longer period through other contracts and delays.

Insurance should also be compared. Check the cover limits, the expiry dates and whether the policies name the owner or cover damage to neighbouring property. The payment terms matter as well. The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 gives a right to stage payments on construction contracts, including demolition, unless the work is to take less than 45 days, and it requires an adequate mechanism for determining when payments become due. Those rules do not cover every job: section 106 excludes a contract with a residential occupier, so a Bristol homeowner having work done on the house they live in, or intend to live in, has to secure fair payment terms in the contract itself. A quote that proposes a single large payment in advance, or payments not linked to progress, should be explained before acceptance. The Act's provisions on stage payments and on dates for payment are the starting point for that conversation.

Questions to resolve before accepting

Before accepting any quote, the owner should have answers to a short set of questions. Who is the principal contractor and who will supervise the site? What method will be used, and how will the neighbours be protected? Who arranges the highway permissions and who pays for them? What is the waste route for each category of material? What happens if asbestos is found, and who decides when a provisional sum has been used up? Is there a written variation procedure? Each answer should be in writing, and each should be consistent with the others.

The Health and Safety Executive guidance on demolition states that the client should take advice from a competent demolition engineer before awarding a contract. For a larger or more complex job, that advice is worth obtaining before the quotes are compared, because it shows what a sound scope looks like. For a smaller job, the questions above provide a practical substitute.

Using the comparison

When the table is complete, the decision should rest on the scope, the programme and the terms, with the total price as one factor among several. A quote that is slightly higher but includes the survey, the waste route and the highway permissions may be the lower-risk choice. A quote that is lower because it leaves out half the work is not a bargain. The quote request page is the place to start a set of comparable requests, and the guide to what a demolition quote should cover lists the items each quote should state explicitly.

A structured comparison also makes it easier to negotiate. When every firm has priced the same scope, the owner can ask precise questions about the differences rather than general questions about price, and that usually produces a clearer and fairer result for everyone involved.

Scope notes to send with every request

A short scope note sent with every request makes the comparison far easier. It should describe the building's age and construction in plain terms, state which parts are to come down and which are to stay, and list any services known to be live. It should say whether a survey exists and, if so, when it was made and who carried it out. It should also identify the neighbours closest to the work and the route for lorries and skips.

The note should state what the owner expects to be included, such as the waste route, the disconnection of services, the highway permissions, the making good and the insurance. It should also state what the owner will arrange, so that the contractor does not price something the owner has already organised. Where the owner has a preference about method, it should be given as a preference rather than an instruction, so the contractor can explain whether it is workable.

Keeping the note to a page or two is usually enough. The aim is not to write the contract in advance but to make sure each firm starts from the same facts. The checking what a quote covers guide lists the items that the completed quotes should then describe.