The tender specification
Three quotes covering three different scopes cannot be compared: that is what every board runs into after asking for “a price for the façade”. This document puts the same question to everyone.
Tendering only means something at equal scope
Above a threshold set by the meeting, contracts must be put out to tender and the board must be consulted. But the duty bears on the number of quotes, not on their comparability — and that is where everything is decided.
A cheaper quote that excludes the scaffolding, the removal of rubble or making good the common parts is not cheaper: it is incomplete. A common specification removes that discussion before it happens.
What makes two quotes comparable
- The same scope of works, written down in black and white.
- The same quantities, measured rather than eyeballed.
- The same warranties and insurance required.
- The same form of reply: itemised, not a lump sum.
Send the same document to every contractor approached, on the same day, with the same reply deadline. A specification given to one and not the others distorts the tender as much as having none.
Word template
Tender — [nature of the works]
Co-ownership [name] — [address] — replies due before [date]
Replace the items in brackets and delete what does not apply. Section 3 is the most important: what you do not write will not be priced, and will become an extra once the works are under way.
1. Identification
The building, its address, the single point of contact for this tender.
Co-ownership [name] — [address] — Contact: [agent / board, details]
2. Purpose of the tender
What you want done, in one sentence a contractor who does not know the building can understand.
[Nature] works on [precise location in the building]
3. Detailed scope
Item by item, what is included. And, just as important, what is explicitly excluded.
Included: [detailed list] — Excluded: [list]
4. Quantities and measurements
Areas, lengths, number of units. Measured where possible; failing that, say they are to be checked on site.
[Item] — [quantity] — [measured / to be checked by the contractor]
5. Site constraints
Access, parking, permitted hours, occupied flats, presence of a caretaker, any special conditions.
Access: [...] — Hours: [...] — Constraints: [...]
6. Warranties and insurance
Structural insurance in force, qualifications expected, references on comparable projects.
Structural insurance certificate required — Qualifications: [...] — References: [number]
7. Timescales
Preferred start date, acceptable duration, periods to avoid. A contractor prices differently by season.
Preferred start: [date] — Maximum duration: [...] — Excluded periods: [...]
8. Form of reply
Itemised quote, validity of the offer, deadline for submission. A lump sum makes comparison impossible.
Itemised quote — Minimum validity: [duration] — To be submitted before [date]
Sent on the same day to every contractor approached. Replies received after the deadline are set aside, and that is said in advance.
Get the template by email
One email address and the document is yours. The download opens right below.
Three comparable quotes beat six quotes received
The useful work is not collecting offers, it is putting the same question to all of them. Then comes finding out, eight months later, which one said what. CoproHarmony keeps quotes attached to the defect that prompted them, with their dates and attachments.
Start from the report
The defect is recorded with its photos before the tender goes out.
Attach the quotes
Each offer stays linked to the file it concerns.
Decide at the meeting
Comparable quotes go with the notice without being hunted down.
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