Everything You Need to Know About the Tender Process

The tender process is how you invite multiple builders to quote on your job — and ensure they’re quoting on the same scope of work. Whether you’re remodelling your bathroom or planning an extension, it’s a crucial stage of any renovation. 

Getting it right involves carefully shortlisting builders and giving them a clear, detailed brief and set of documents (a tender pack) for them to quote off. Rather than builders estimating pricing off vague “I want to redo the kitchen” conversations, you’ll receive accurate quotes from multiple candidates for an identical job. You can make a truly informed decision about the right builder for your project. 

If you’re a first-time renovator, the tender process can sound a bit formal or intimidating, but actually it’s a great way to put yourself in the driving seat of your project. In this article we break down everything you need to know, including:

• The right time to go out to tender 
• What you need to do before starting the tender process
• What you should include in a tender pack 
• Whether or not you need a tender pack
• How a tender pack can benefit your renovation

Step 1: Get clear on what you want 

Before you go out to tender, you need a solid understanding of what you want and what’s possible to achieve in your property. The more information you can provide your potential builder, the more accurately they’ll be able to quote. 

You want to be crystal clear on your desired layout and your must-haves vs nice to haves. You don’t need to have decided on every fitting and fixture, but you should have a good idea of what kind of materials your budget will allow for. Having a desired timeline in mind and a rough idea of how long different projects typically take is also useful. 

Planning a bathroom renovation? Here’s how long bathroom remodels typically take.

Step 2: Get plans drawn up (if you need to)

For smaller-scale projects that don’t need council involvement, structural changes or layout alterations (like upgrading your bathroom or renovating your kitchen) you don’t usually require planning permission or architectural or structural drawings.

A clear scope of work, including photos, measurements and a well-written description of what you want, plus inspiration images or a moodboard should be enough for a contractor to quote accurately.

If you’re moving load-bearing walls, changing the layout of a room significantly (including moving water supplies or electrics), extending your home or adding an extra room, or making external changes to the property, you’ll need architectural drawings, structural drawings and building regulations drawings for your renovation. 

It’s best to wait until you have all these before going out to tender. Many experienced builders will be able to quote off planning drawings, but the detail the additional drawings provide ensures a more detailed cost estimate – plus helps builders to fully understand the ins and outs of your project before they get started. Specifying the type of bricks, roof and glazing, for example, can change the cost of the job by thousands of pounds. 

Step 3: Create your tender pack 

Now you’re ready to create your tender pack. The tender pack is the bundle of info you give to builders so they can quote accurately. It ensures there’s no guesswork, fluff or scope gaps. A comprehensive tender pack includes: 

• A detailed scope of work (what needs to be done, stated clearly)
  
• Plans or drawings (sketches, 3D renders or professional drawings if needed)
  
• A specifications list (fixtures, finishes, appliances, etc.
  
• Photos of the current space (plus inspiration photos if helpful)
  
• Desired project timelines or deadlines
  
• Any site constraints or access issues
  
• Bonus: a schedule of works. A schedule of works is a line-by-line breakdown of all the jobs that need to happen during the renovation, with timelines and notes of who is responsible. This isn’t usually necessary for smaller projects, but is helpful for larger more costly renovations with lots of moving parts (think above £200,000)

Do you need a tender pack?

Whatever the scale of your project, putting a tender pack together is worth the effort. As well as making it easier to directly compare builder’s quotes, it can save you money in the long run as you can be sure everything you want done is included in the quote – there are less missed or hidden costs. It ensures that everyone involved in the project is aligned on expectations and can act as a shared reference point throughout the project.

When builders know exactly what they’re pricing on upfront, there’s no need for endless time-consuming clarification, which can potentially set the relationship up on the wrong foot. Plus, a well-thought-out tender pack shows you’re serious about the job, which builders appreciate. 

Step 4: Shortlist builders, send them your tender pack and arrange site visits

Many first-time renovators or those who’ve been burned before turn to family and friends for recommendations. While these can be helpful and reassuring, every project is unique. There are no two absolutely identical kitchens, bathrooms or extensions, so it’s important not just to go off word of mouth but to find the perfect fit for your specific build. 

Need a hand finding the right builder? The Page understands your plans, needs and project complexity, then we do the searching and filtering for you from our network of Pagers (our brilliant partner builders). We match you with teams whose availability aligns with your timeline, who can work with your plans and designs, offer the right level of input and direction for you, and can deliver brilliant results for a good and fair price. It’s a seamless and hassle-free process for you as a homeowner. 

Once you’ve got a shortlist of builders who could be a good fit for your job, send them your tender pack so they can fully ascertain if the job and timeline would be doable for them. Then arrange site visits with suitable candidates. Site visits allow builders to get a feel for the space and check the conditions, plus spot anything that might affect pricing. 

Meeting builders in person also gives you insight into whether or not you can see yourself working together – this is particularly important for longer projects like extensions. 

Step 5: Receive and review quotes

After the site visits, each contractor will send through a formal quote. This typically takes up to two weeks, depending on the scale of the job and how busy the builder is (or if they have a dedicated admin professional). A solid quote should include:

• A line-by-line breakdown of costs attributed to jobs
  
• Total cost of labour and building materials (including VAT)
  
• Details of what’s not included (what the homeowner needs to supply)
  
• Timeline and work schedule
  
• Payment milestones and method
  
• Terms and conditions
  
• Information on insurance and workmanship guarantees (if offered)
  

Check that your quotes all reflect the scope of work that you provided. If there’s anything missing or stated in vague language that you need clarification on, don’t hesitate to ask. The important thing to remember is that the cheapest quote shouldn’t necessarily be the most appealing. Nor does the most expensive always reflect better workmanship. Try to analyse and rationalise the differences to find the quote that will work best for your goals and budget. Are there quality differences in the proposed materials? How many people will be on site? Is there anything missing from a quote?

Getting quotes back is where a lot of homeowners feel overwhelmed. They can look totally different even if the job is the same as every builder has their own way of pricing and presenting information. This is where The Page can offer support. We help you create a clear brief for your project so that you receive complete quotes that are apples for apples and contain no risk of hidden costs. Once you get the quotes back, our renovation coach runs through them with you, helping you to make a confident decision on the best builder for you.

Step 6: Decide on a builder and get started

Once you’ve made your choice, lock your builder in! You’ll sign a contract, finalise any last details or inclusions, and confirm the start date and payment schedule. Quoting on a job takes significant time and effort, so make sure to inform the other builders that you won’t be moving forward. 

Get matched to the right builder for your project with The Page

The Page is a free London-based renovation coaching and builder matching platform. We provide homeowners with a renovation roadmap: achieve your dream space with clarity and bespoke support throughout the process, transparency on budget and real market costs, and the expert workmanship of our Pagers. Pagers are the hand-picked, hands-on builders we work with. Highly vetted, skilled, and experienced, with tight-knit teams, their lean businesses equal top-quality work for a fair price.

Thomas is our in-house renovation coach. He intimately understands the renovation process and project-specific challenges – he’s helped over 1,000 Londoners renovate with confidence. Whether you’re transforming your kitchen into a host-with-the-most space or adding an extension to maximise family time, Thomas is here to signpost you at every stage of your project so you can make informed decisions. From budgeting and sourcing fittings, right through to the pinch-me moment when you’re raising a toast to your new space, he’s here to help. 

The result? Confidence in your investment and a home you love.