Bills of quantities for a hotel refurbishment tender

We supported a hotel operator preparing to tender refurbishment works to its bar and dining areas. Working with the client’s consultant and architect, we produced a measured bill of quantities that set out the scope, pricing options and design assumptions for a main contractor tender.

Background

The client needed a bill of quantities to accompany its architect’s tender drawings for a hotel refurbishment. The scheme combined alterations to existing public areas with new finishes, fitted furniture and changes to an external parking area to create additional seating.

The project team was preparing for a short tender period and a planned four week fit out. Some structural and building services information was still being developed, while the extent of work to existing finishes needed clarification. The tender documents therefore had to identify what contractors should price and make the remaining assumptions visible.

Our approach

We first established the procurement route, the information available and the format that would suit the tendering contractors. The client’s consultant wanted builders quantities in Excel for a single main contract. We arranged the bill by building element, giving contractors a consistent structure for their prices.

We measured the drawings in Bluebeam and developed the item descriptions and bill in Vector. The scope covered demolition and alterations, walls and doors, floor and ceiling finishes, bespoke fittings and external works. Existing floor finishes to be stripped out covered around 300 m², alongside approximately 70 m² of external paving works.

A live schedule recorded more than 40 queries and clarifications as the work progressed. We worked through these with the consultant and architect, then incorporated the responses into the measured scope. For example, a store had no new floor finish shown and a lobby had no ceiling finish identified. The responses established the additional finishes to include and gave contractors a common basis for pricing them.

We also examined the interfaces around new folding doors and an external awning. The queries brought out the need to allow for fascia cladding and alterations to rainwater goods, alongside the principal door installation. We included these associated activities in the bill so contractors could price the work together.

Where existing conditions could not be measured with certainty, we made the pricing basis explicit. Plaster repairs were divided into size bands with provisional quantities. Separate provisional sum headings identified potential work to existing fire stopping and external drainage, with allowance values left for the client’s consultant to set.

Loose furniture was initially expected to be supplied by the client. We included a separately identifiable option for contractors to price its supply and installation, allowing the client to compare procurement choices and omit the option if it purchased the furniture itself.

The measurement was supported by marked up drawings, take off schedules and a drawing register. These provided a route back from the bill to the information measured and helped the client’s team understand the scope and qualifications accompanying the quantities.

Outcome

We delivered the bill in PDF and Excel with the supporting measurement records, drawing register and queries and clarifications schedule.

The client had a common pricing document for its main contractor tender, with measured work, procurement options and provisional allowances separately identified. This gave its team a clearer basis for comparing tender prices and following up outstanding information before committing to the refurbishment.