Most construction disputes do not begin on site. They begin in the tender process, where assumptions are left unstated and scope is left undefined. The company that wins on price is often the company that made the most optimistic assumptions.
Ask what the price excludes
A quotation tells you what is included. The more revealing question is what is not. Provisional sums, exclusions, allowances and assumed site conditions are where cost overruns originate.
Since 2023, higher material and financing costs have widened that gap further — a contractor who priced before a price movement will return to the table.
Ask who will actually be on site
The team in the pitch is not always the team in the delivery. Ask who the site manager will be, how many projects they will run concurrently, and who has authority to make decisions.
Ask how progress will be reported
A weekly photograph is not reporting. Ask for the format: programme update, progress against milestones, cost position, risks and decisions required. If that is not available as a matter of routine, it will not appear when the project is under pressure.
The quality of the reporting you receive in month one is the best predictor of the reporting you receive in month nine.
Ask about change
Change is normal. The question is how it is handled. A clear variation process — priced, documented and approved before work proceeds — protects both sides. An informal one creates a claim.
Practical checks
- Comparable projects of similar scale and type, not just similar sector.
- Named references you can actually speak to.
- Health and safety policy and evidence it is applied.
- Insurance and registration documents, verified rather than assumed.
- A proposed programme with realistic durations and stated assumptions.
None of this guarantees a good outcome. But a company that answers these questions clearly is a company that has thought about them.