I was speaking to this homeowner who bought an executive maisonette (EM) and needed to renovate.
The first ID he met (not from us) came back with a quotation of $150,000.
Naturally, he got a shock.
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He then proceeded to meet another ID, one that was introduced by his property agent.
Before understanding the scope of work, the second ID immediately said: "Wah, $150k? Too expensive. $100k i can do."
He was damn confused so he reached out to us.
I was pretty irked at that statement tbh.
What bothered me was how this statement could be made with no justification. How do you know if you can do a job at $100k, before hearing what the scope is? Any experienced and honest ID will tell you $150k for an EM is entirely possible if you are doing a major overhaul.
This is why margins & GST do affect the final price, scope of work is singlehandedly the biggest driver of your reno cost, and from our experience 99% of the quotations you receive will be quoting for different things.
You always need to equalise the quotations.
Scope Matters
What happens during reno is that you will prepare a brief to the IDs, and repeat it to maybe 3 people.
I guarantee you 99% of the time they will end up quoting for different things.
Take these 3 quotations, the brief was the same, but company A came back at $60k, company B $95k, company C $111k.
If you look at the quotations in detail, you can see why.
Company A had much lesser works included. For example, they didn’t include hacking and relaying of the kitchen floor.
Company A
Company B & C are much closer, and a large part of that difference is because C has more carpentry, but their margins are also higher.
B is quoting a total of 26ft carpentry for $4,475, while C is quoting 32ft equivalent at $5,455. See what we mean by scope of work?
Company B
Company C
Why This Matters
As homeowners, it's very tempting to hear a lower number and immediately assume you're being overcharged by the other IDs.
This is also why there are many ID malpractices where they quote you cheap at the start, and slowly add on the costs after you have committed to them, leaving you stuck.
That’s why always compare the scope of work in the quotations properly and don’t just look at the final number. Only then can you evaluate them fairly.
I really can’t emphasise enough how the scope of work will always differ, even though you briefed the 3 IDs the same.
And for whoever who can straight up say $100k can do EM without hearing your brief, dump them.
TLDR
You brief 3 IDs the same thing, but 99% of the time the 3 proposals you get will be quoting for different things.
Always check the line items, don’t just look at the final number.
Because a cheaper quote can either be a better deal, or simply a smaller renovation.
Lastly, if you need reliable IDs/contractors recommendations, enquire here. It’s free with no obligations.