Three builders, three quotes, three different jobs. A tender package fixes that: the same drawings, the same specification and the same schedule, so each price covers what you actually want.
Photo: sludgegulper, BY-SA 2.0
Tender package for builders, for projects with approved drawings
Fixed in writing after a free assessment of your property. Council planning fees are separate.
Every price is the total you pay. Checked 24 October 2026.
Planning and building regulations drawings show the shape of a building. They do not say which brick, which window supplier, how much to spend on the kitchen, or whether the quote includes making good the garden. Each builder fills the gaps with their own assumptions, and the quote that looks smallest is often the one that assumed the least.
A specification states the quality: materials, finishes, insulation build-ups, joinery and the standard to which each trade works. A schedule of works breaks the job into priced lines: groundworks, structure, roofing, windows, first fix, plastering, second fix, decoration. Builders enter a price against every line, so you can see where two quotes differ.
The package also helps once work starts. A variation is easier to price against a line you both agreed than against a vague memory of a conversation. And when the building control surveyor visits, the specification already matches what the approved building regulations drawings say.
We do not tell you which builder to pick or what the job should cost. That is yours to judge from the quotes. If the drawings are not yet detailed enough to tender, we say what must come first.
Built from your approved drawings, so nothing is priced twice or missed.
The same few disagreements cause most disputes on London extension jobs, and the package removes each of them in writing.
| Question | Without a tender package | With one |
|---|---|---|
| Who supplies the kitchen and flooring? | Assumed differently by each builder | Provisional sum, stated |
| Is making good the garden included? | Often not | A named line in the schedule |
| Which windows? | Whatever the builder quoted | Specified by size, frame and glazing |
| Who arranges building control? | Unclear | A line item |
| How are changes priced? | Argued after the event | Against a schedule line |
Building control timing: regulation 14A(6) of the Building Regulations 2010.
Each figure links to the law or the government source it comes from.
A building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks of receiving it, or a longer period agreed in writing.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Building Regulations 2010, regulation 14A(6)Approval of building regulations plans lapses if work has not started within 3 years of the application.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Building Act 1984, section 32A council can require non-compliant work to be altered or removed for up to 10 years after completion.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Building Act 1984, section 36(4)Residential extensions under 100 square metres that are not part of a new dwelling are generally exempt from the Community Infrastructure Levy.
Source: GOV.UK, Community Infrastructure Levy guidance, paragraph 049The Community Infrastructure Levy residential extension exemption must be claimed before development commences, using Form 9.
Source: GOV.UK, Community Infrastructure Levy guidance, paragraph 049A council has 8 weeks to decide most applications from the day after a valid application is received.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34Tell us about your project and get a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. If you don't need planning permission at all, we'll tell you that too — for free.
It helps a great deal, and the package is priced for projects with approved drawings. If your drawings are only the planning set, builders must guess at structure and insulation, and the quotes will vary widely. We can prepare the building regulations pack first.
No. We write the documents, and you invite the builders you choose, or ask friends and neighbours for recommendations. We can answer builders' technical questions about the drawings during the tender period.
Yes, where you want it. Send the returned prices and we produce a side-by-side comparison, noting gaps or lines that look out of line. The choice of builder remains yours.
No. It is the scope that a contract between you and your builder would refer to. For a larger project, take advice on the form of contract. We can name a standard domestic form used in the industry but cannot give legal advice.
Approval lapses if work has not started within 3 years of the application. Tender early enough that you can begin comfortably inside that period.
Yes. The package works for any job with a set of approved drawings, including lofts, extensions and conversions. The £1,045 is the starting figure, and very large or unusual projects are quoted after we see the drawings.
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