How much contingency: turning experience into steps
If you only read one paragraph, read this: how much contingency depends on how the situation is set up, not on how you feel at the time. Arrange the…
Comparing two quotes fairly: turning experience into steps
Put comparing two quotes fairly back into a real week, with overtime, travel and days you cannot be bothered. Any plan that only survives good months…
The cost of the cheapest bid: a grounded explanation
Put the cost of the cheapest bid back into a real week, with overtime, travel and days you cannot be bothered. Any plan that only survives good…
Risks with prepaid packages: boundaries before methods
Anyone who has spent time on risks with prepaid packages has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not…
Instalments or lump sum: priorities at three stages
Advice on instalments or lump sum tends to split in two: impossibly complex, or sold as one click. Reality sits between. It needs some patience and…
Negotiating a price-rise clause: turning experience into steps
Anyone who has spent time on negotiating a price-rise clause has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not…
Holding back retention: a grounded explanation
If you have already tried holding back retention and dropped it, the fault is usually in the setup: a starting point set too high, an environment…
Keeping a renovation ledger: settled in one read
Most people want keeping a renovation ledger to make things better. The workable version of that goal is steadier: a floor you can hit on a bad day.…
Splitting the budget: from zero to fluent
Separate two things in splitting the budget: the outcome you want and the action you can sustain. When the gap is too wide, shrink the action instead…
Hidden lines in a quote: don't get carried by claims
Advice on hidden lines in a quote tends to split in two: impossibly complex, or sold as one click. Reality sits between. It needs some patience and…
The trap in per-square-metre pricing: solutions by condition
There is plenty written about the trap in per-square-metre pricing and little you can act on. This piece stays concrete: every action can be done…
What share materials should take: solutions by condition
Put what share materials should take back into a real week, with overtime, travel and days you cannot be bothered. Any plan that only survives good…
Regional labour differences: priorities at three stages
Most people do not fail at regional labour differences from misunderstanding it. They fail because understanding is not doing. What follows is the…
Costing demolition: settled in one read
Let us set the limits of costing demolition first: it reliably improves no rework to pay for twice, and it does not deliver overnight. Anything…
Electrics by metre or by point: the detail checklist
Most people want electrics by metre or by point to make things better. The workable version of that goal is steadier: a floor you can hit on a bad…
How fitted joinery is priced: solutions by condition
Advice on how fitted joinery is priced tends to split in two: impossibly complex, or sold as one click. Reality sits between. It needs some patience…
Tile wastage rates: a grounded explanation
There is plenty written about tile wastage rates and little you can act on. This piece stays concrete: every action can be done in front of the TV…
Estimating paint quantity: a grounded explanation
Separate two things in estimating paint quantity: the outcome you want and the action you can sustain. When the gap is too wide, shrink the action…
What makes up a window price: the detail checklist
Separate two things in what makes up a window price: the outcome you want and the action you can sustain. When the gap is too wide, shrink the action…
Allocating the bathroom budget: a grounded explanation
Anyone who has spent time on allocating the bathroom budget has a failure story: a strong start, a collapse in the middle, then silence. This is not…