Tender for building contractor

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mike
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Oct 2016 09:21

Tender for building contractor

Post by mike »

Hello Nigel and All,

First of all let me thank you all for this forum and Nigel for the web-site and articles -it is very helpful and I've got a lot from there. So thank you!
Now, back to my question.
I want to understand what it means to build a house/villa in Cyprus (in theory for now) and different aspects of this long process. This will help me to decide to do it or not when I'll be ready for it.
Currently I am on the phase of Architect->Quantity surveyor->Tender understanding.
So I want to know how the Tender goes:
- how building contractors are invited to participate?
- if invitations are sent by architect how to be sure he send it to ALL available contractors and not just to his "preferred ones"?
- is it done by phone, email, letters, ... other way?
- what do I get after receiving tender results:
- price per unit of work?
- price per unit of work including materials?
- price on required material on its own (for each item)?
- something else

In case I can choose different supplier(s) for the materials where can I get list of available and compare their prices?

Sorry if that is too much for one post-question.
I just want to control and understand as much as possible so that is how these questions come.
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hello Mike & welcome to the forum.

We had our house built by a contractor and can outline how we proceeded. Our Bills of Quantities came on paper (in Greek) detailing each aspect of the construction and the types and amounts of construction material needed for each:

Preliminaries (tender preparation, third-party insurance, site fencing, temporary power supply, loo, etc)
Excavation (site preparation)
Concrete substructure
Concrete superstructure
Brickwork
Insulation
Carpentry
Metalworks
Plumbing & electrical
Floor finishes
Painting
False ceiling
External water services
External works
Miscellaneous works

I translated this and put it in a spreadsheet (I can send this to you if you wish).

The BoQ (36 pages) formed part of the invitation to tender (ITT) and went to five contractors four of which our architect had worked with before and one who been recommended to him by another architect. Our lawyer at the time gave us the name of another contractor that we included on the list (who also proved to be the most expensive).

We had agreed with our architect earlier that we would use a specialist mechanical engineering company for the design, supply and installation of the underfloor heating, water pressurising, water softening, waste disposal and solar water heating - and that we would supply all the floor finishes, wall tiles, bathroom and kitchen sinks, baths, taps, showers, etc. and lighting.

The ITTs were sent in the post together with our architect's building specification (60 pages).

Tenders responses were sent to our architect and we opened and looked at them together. My wife & I shortlisted three discounting the most and least expensive. I took copies of their tender responses and entered their quotes into my spreadsheet.

We then inspected properties built by each of the three we'd shortlisted and made our choice - the contractor who had been recommended to our architect by another architect.

We then decided that we'd supply the fitted kitchen, wardrobes and all the internal doors ourselves.

Then we negotiated a final fixed price with our chosen contractor. Work started a couple of months later.

I hope that helps

Regards
Nigel Howarth
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mike
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Oct 2016 09:21

Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by mike »

Hello Nigel,

That is very informative. Thanks a lot for such open answer.

I have few more questions based on you answer.
Have you mentioned in ITT a list of works to be done by you or other 3rd party? Same for the supplies?
Do you remember how much time it took for the contractors to come up with the Tenders responses?

Yeap, I would like to have a look on the spreadsheet you've mentioned.
Could you please send it to me via email (@ address sent in PM)?

Thank you,
Mike
Nigel Howarth
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Posts: 2911
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
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Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by Nigel Howarth »

You're welcome Mike & thanks for your email address I'll send you my Bills of Quantities later today

The ITT contained the work to be done by our main contractor.

As for supplies that we provided we used three main companies:

Kitchen & utility room units - a shop in Limassol that specialised in Italian fitted kitchens recommended by a friend.

Mechanical engineering company recommended by our architect supplied & fitted the underfloor central heating system, solar water heater, water pressurising system, air conditioning, waste disposal unit and water softener.

A building supplies company recommended by our architect that supplied bathroom equipment, ceramic tiles (floor and walls), internal doors.

A granite supplier recommended by our architect for our granite flooring and worktops in bathrooms, kitchen and utility.

I did check prices where I could but for some of the items there was only a single supplier at the time (and we did get a discount on most of the things we bought.

Alarm system supplied and fitted by a company recommended by our architect.

(We also bought bits and pieces from a number of other companies - lighting, kitchen sink & tap and fitted wardrobes.)

If you visit http://www.cyprus-property-buyers.com/c ... /index.htm you'll see much of the building work from start to finish.

I can't remember how long it took the contractors to submit their bids, but it was no more than a couple of months.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
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mike
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Oct 2016 09:21

Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by mike »

I see.
It seems that good architect knows everything and everyone :)

Thank you again for the detailed answer.
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Mike

Our architect is also a director of a family-run development company in Limassol so he does have many contacts in the construction field.

We've been in our house 12 years now and are very happy. We haven't had any major problems such as damp and leaking roofs like so many of the properties here.

Whereabouts are you planning to build?

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
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mike
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Oct 2016 09:21

Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by mike »

Hi Nigel,

My small family live in Limassol. We are considering areas (like Fasoula) in max 10 minutes away from the city so it won't be too far from the kindergarten and work.

Our dream :) is to have a land 400-500 sqm, 3-4 bedrooms house on 150 sqm with good isolation and warm floor, a pool (if too far from the beach) and maybe borehole to save on the water or some other cheaper solution (purification device) (did not reach this point yet in my studies). As per my estimates land < 70-90K Eur + construction of the house+pool < 170-190K Eur. All together < 240-280K Eur.

Unfortunately we don't have final decision whether to build a house or to buy a ready one. The estimate says we don't have enough funding now and probably it will take another 4-5 years and would require a big loan if we decide to build. So currently I am just doing my home exercise to study this subject (construction of the house) as personally I prefer to build a house just because of the reasons you've mentioned above (damp, leaking roofs, being warm and comfortable).

Though many people suggest us even not to start with the construction and to buy a ready house as it should be cheaper, less nervous and would save us a lot of troubles. Others say that these days the development companies don't have enough work and could offer better price for building.
Could you maybe comment on these two opinions?
Any forecast for the construction cost for the next 4-5 years?

Anyway we should make our decision and we would do it as soon as we find a suitable option or enough money :)

Regards,
Mike
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Mike

Construction costs vary greatly and you'll find an article on the subject at Construction cost in Cyprus. (I would say you're looking around €1,200) We bought a flat plot of land so our earthworks were minimal but we spent around 30% of the total cost on fixtures and fittings, floor finishes, carpentry, garden & irrigation system and central heating. We don't have a swimming pool.

Another benefit of building a house is that you get exactly what you want and have control over how much you spend.

We bought our land in 1992 and agreed our contract to build in 2002 before prices went crazy. The total cost was about 40% less than buying an equivalent property from a developer.

But building a house isn't for everyone - it isn't a task to be taken on lightly. Both my wife and I put a lot of thought and effort into it agreeing the design, evaluating tenders, selecting our contractor, negotiating prices, sourcing fixtures and fittings, liaising with out architect etc, etc. It was OK for us because we were retired and had plenty of time to spare.

In today's market buying a resale (second-hand) property would be less costly and require much less time and effort by yourself.

As for construction costs - I wish I had a crystal ball. You can find the latest output costs in construction on the CyStat website at http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statis ... penElement it looks as if construction costs are starting to increase.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
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mike
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Oct 2016 09:21

Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by mike »

Thank you for the link with output costs, I will have a look on it.

The one with Paphos Construction I've seen before and it reminds your BoQ spreadsheet. I found as well another link which provides estimates on the percentage basis (not sure how accurate) and for the metallic construction foundation.
Maybe it can be useful to someone (it is in Greek): http://menelaou.com/script/

Thanks,
Mike
Nigel Howarth
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Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
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Re: Tender for building contractor

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Thanks Mike

Thanks (I translated using Google Chrome). Steel frame houses seem to be increasing in popularity and are worth investigating further - there were very few around when we built our house in 2002..

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
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