How the work will be measured is agreed before it is priced
Why — act while you have leverage
A rate per square foot means nothing until both of you agree what is being counted. Several agreements let the area be re-measured after completion with no method stated and no cap - which makes the final price unknowable when you sign it.
What to look at
- A named measurement standard, not "as per site"
- Whether openings are deducted, stated
- A cap or a stated rate for anything measured after the work is done
How to check it yourself
For any area-billed or quantity-billed line, ask which measurement standard applies and get it named in the document. IS 1200 sets out what is included, what is deducted and whether openings come out. Where the area is called approximate, ask what happens if the re-measurement is larger, and get a cap.
Where this comes from: IS 1200 - Methods of measurement of building and civil engineering works (established trade practice)
More construction quotation and boq checks
- Identical tender pack sent to 2+ contractors
- Quote comparison and conflicts pass done
- Negotiation round held on the comparison verdicts
- Grades and thicknesses are written down, not just brands
- Waterproofing is scoped everywhere water goes
- The things you cannot occupy without are in the price
- The electrical safety layer is named, not assumed
- What the quote leaves out, in writing