Defining refurbishment quantities for a multi-storey car park

We supported a contractor preparing bills of quantities for the refurbishment of a multi-storey car park. The scope combined existing-frame repairs, envelope work, floor coatings, services and external improvements. We coordinated the measurement and clarifications, distinguishing detailed quantities from specialist pricing points and later issuing an addendum when an external-painting query required a further allowance.

Background

The tender information was developing when the commission began. Architectural, structural and landscaping information had to be brought into an elemental bill that the contractor could use for pricing.

Some of the most significant work depended on specialist assessment and design. Concrete repairs, steel alterations, cladding and services therefore required a different treatment from finishes that could be measured directly from the drawings and specifications.

Our approach

We agreed that distinction with the estimating team at the outset. The client requested specialist pricing points for the repair, frame, façade and services elements, with the wider bill organised into its standard elemental sections. This avoided presenting an unsupported detailed repair quantity where a specialist survey or design was still required.

The structural bill identified concrete repairs and steelwork alterations as specialist items. It also made the associated attendance and specialist preliminaries visible. The pricing document therefore addressed the support required around a specialist package as well as the principal repair operation.

For the floor finishes, we measured the different coating and waterproofing systems separately, covering more than 15,000 square metres across the principal floor areas. Descriptions retained the relevant finish type and specification reference, with stair treads, risers and contrasting nosings addressed in their appropriate units.

The car park’s operational markings also needed definition. Line markings, directional arrows, words and symbols were distinguished from the surrounding surface finish. A clarification established that the graphics were to be painted and measured separately, rather than treated as a vinyl-signage assumption.

External works queries addressed missing build-ups and support details. We sought confirmation of sub-base and bedding thicknesses, and the foundation required beneath precast seating-wall elements. Subsequent drawings and responses were fed into the pricing information rather than left in a separate email trail.

We coordinated the measurement input, assembled the bills for issue in Excel and CITE formats, and retained the clarification record alongside them. The record distinguished the agreed scope from matters that still required information, helping the estimating team understand the basis on which each package had been prepared.

The work also continued after the initial issue. A later external-painting enquiry was addressed through a separately identified addendum, recording approximately 1,000 square metres of additional wall-painting quantities. This preserved a clear route from the subsequent query to the further pricing item.

Outcome

The client received an elemental set of refurbishment bills with defined specialist pricing points, measured finishes and supporting scope clarifications. The later addendum provided a visible update to the tender information when the painting scope was revisited.

Our contribution was to organise a varied existing-building scope into usable pricing information, retaining the distinction between measured work, specialist responsibility and subsequent clarification.