In brief
- A bid can miss real work because the estimator priced an empty building and the crew will work around residents and their furniture.
- The gap shows up as extra protection, slower access, temporary water and power works, and repairs to existing services that nobody surveyed.
- Ask for the priced allowance for occupied working, the survey record for existing services, and the procedure for closing and reopening the building each day.
Contents
The bid looks low because the estimate was built for an empty shell, not a home. In occupied renovations underbidding risks in Garowe start with what the estimator could not see: furniture that has to move, water and power that must stay on, and existing services that were never traced. The contractor prices the visible finishes and leaves the occupied work out.
What changes when people stay in the building?
When a household stays in place, every trade works in short windows around the residents. A crew that would tile a whole room in one visit instead shifts furniture, lays dust sheets and cleans down before the family returns each evening. Access to one bathroom may only open for a few hours, so a plaster or waterproofing job is split into stages. Temporary water points, a temporary supply route and a place to store cement away from children all carry labour and materials. Cement and adhesives set faster as site temperature rises, a general mechanism to confirm against the product data sheet and the project specification, so a staged pour or screed needs extra mixing and cleaning. Ask the contractor to list what the bid assumes about family access, working hours and the daily clean-down. If the list is empty, the price is probably built on an unoccupied site.
Why do existing services get damaged or left out?
Renovation work disturbs old pipework, cable routes and drains that were never recorded at handover. An estimator who prices only new finishes has no line for tracing, isolating, protecting or repairing those services. When a wall is opened and a water line is found in the wrong place, the work stops while the line is rerouted. Damage to existing services on an occupied site can also mean a household loses water or power during the works. Ask for the survey record: who walked the building, what was drawn, and which services were located before tender. Where records are missing, ask the municipal engineer's office whether it holds any drawings for the plot. The bid should carry an allowance for opening up and making good, checked against the project specification.
How do you test a low renovation bid?
A low bid is not proof of a weak contractor, but it does need to be read line by line before award. Ask each bidder to confirm in writing the allowance for occupied working, temporary services, protection of finishes and residents' property, and repairs to services found during the works. Compare the assumptions behind those lines, not just the totals. A bidder who cannot explain how the building will stay habitable during the works is carrying an unknown cost. Walk a recent occupied renovation the bidder completed and ask the household how the crew handled access, dust and water shutdowns. Where the scope or quantities are unclear, ask how the contract will treat work that was not priced, and confirm what the contract allows before any instruction is given.
What to do next
Before award, send every bidder a short written request: the priced allowance for occupied working, the survey record for existing services, and the daily procedure for dust, water and power. Ask the municipal engineer's office whether drawings exist for the plot. Compare the answers, then decide with your engineer which assumptions to fix in the contract before work starts.
Frequently asked questions
Can a low renovation bid in Garowe still be the right one?
It can, if the contractor has priced occupied working, protection and service repairs and simply runs a tighter site. Ask for those lines in writing and compare them with the other bids before you decide.
Who should record existing services before the work starts?
The party named in the contract, usually the contractor or a surveyor, should walk the building and draw what is found. Ask the municipal engineer's office whether it holds drawings for the plot, and keep the record signed by both sides.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Garowe and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.