Quotes for construction and maintenance

What to put in your request

A supplier can only price what they can see. Answer these and the quotes come back for the same job, which is the only way they can be compared.

1. 1What the work is: a new building, an extension, alterations, a fit-out, repairs, or a maintenance contract.
2. 2Drawings and a specification, or a bill of quantities if there is one. Without them, a written scope room by room, and who will do any design.
3. 3Finishes and materials: the brands and grades you want, or an allowance for each that the quotes all use.
4. 4The site: the address, access for trucks and materials, where materials can be stored, and whether the building stays in use during the work.
5. 5The programme: when work can start, when it must be finished, and any phases or hours when work is not allowed.
6. 6Who handles approvals: drawing and submitting plans, municipal inspections, and the paperwork at completion.
7. 7For a maintenance contract: the buildings covered, planned work and how often, response times for breakdowns, and the rates for call-outs, labour and materials.
8. 8The payment terms you expect, so the quotes answer them rather than set their own.

What to compare when the quotes come back

The lowest total is where comparing starts, not where it ends.

• What each quote excludes, and its allowances. A low total with large allowances or long exclusions is not yet a price.
• How extra work is priced and agreed. Ask for variations to be priced and approved in writing before the work is done.
• The payment schedule: the deposit, progress payments tied to work actually done, and any amount held back until defects are fixed.
• The programme, and what happens if completion is late.
• The guarantees: workmanship, roofing and waterproofing, and how long the contractor stays responsible for defects after completion.
• The contractor's CIDB grading. It is required for public-sector work, and the register is public, so it is a quick check that the class and size of the job fit.

On SupScope every quote arrives with the same three figures: the total, the lead time and the deposit. The first comparison is done before you open anything. The rest of this list is what to read in each supplier's notes and documents.

Paperwork worth asking for

Approved plans, or a written exemption for minor work

Under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, building work, including alterations, extensions and repairs to a building's structure, needs the municipality's written approval of plans before it starts. A building control officer may exempt minor building work in writing. What counts as minor varies, so ask your municipality, and agree in the quote who draws and submits the plans.

The health and safety paperwork, before work starts

The Construction Regulations put duties on you as the client: give the contractor a health and safety specification for the job, appoint the principal contractor in writing, approve their health and safety plan, and make sure they are registered and in good standing with the Compensation Fund before work begins. A large project also needs a construction work permit from the Department of Employment and Labour.

A registered asbestos contractor, if asbestos is involved

Asbestos cement roofs, gutters, pipes and boards are found in older buildings. Under the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, removing them is work for an asbestos contractor registered with the Department of Employment and Labour, and you as the client must appoint an approved inspection authority and obtain an asbestos clearance certificate once the work is done.

The certificates at completion

New electrical work needs a certificate of compliance, and plumbing by a PIRB licensed plumber comes with a PIRB certificate. Where the work needed approved plans, the municipality issues an occupancy certificate only once it has the electrical certificate and, where they apply, the designers' certificates for the structure and fire systems. Using the building before then, without the municipality's permission, is an offence.

And from any supplier

A SARS Tax Compliance Status PIN

It replaced the old tax clearance certificate. Checking it on eFiling shows the supplier's status on the day you check, not the day it was issued.

A B-BBEE certificate or sworn affidavit

Only if your own scorecard counts it. Small suppliers (turnover up to R10 million) may use an affidavit instead of a verified certificate.

Company registration and a bank confirmation letter

Worth having before the first payment, so the account you pay is the company you chose.

General guidance, not legal advice. Regulations change, and some depend on your municipality or the job, so confirm anything you rely on with the authority concerned.

How this works on SupScope

1. Step 1

   Post it once

   Describe the job and choose Construction & Maintenance and your province.

2. Step 2

   It reaches the right suppliers

   Only suppliers who work in this trade and cover your province see it.

3. Step 3

   Compare and award

   Quotes arrive side by side. Accept one and the others are told.