Questions clients actually ask

Bands by work type are published in the cost index, with the methodology stated. The single largest variable is access — whether a lorry can reach the property — and it can change the figure by a large multiple for the same specification.

Four structural reasons: everything crosses by ferry, large parts of the island have no vehicle access so material moves by hand, the skilled labour pool is small and seasonally committed, and external specification has to be a grade up for salt. None of it is contractor margin. See why it costs more.

On a new build with a settled design, yes. On a renovation of a building nobody has opened up, a fixed price is either padded heavily or a trap that gets recovered through variations. We investigate first, then price.

More on an old building than a new one, and more on a building that has not been opened up. If a contractor tells you no contingency is needed on a renovation of a hundred-year-old cave house, that is informative about the contractor.

No, and you should check this on every quotation you compare. Architect, engineer, surveyor and permit fees are separate, you appoint the professionals directly, and quotations differ on whether they include them.

No. The visit and an initial view of feasibility are free. Detailed investigation — opening up, trial pits, survey — is chargeable and we tell you the cost before doing it.

Sometimes, for finishes you have chosen abroad. Two conditions: the delivery date has to be committed to the programme, and the warranty on those goods stays with you. Free-issue material arriving late is the most common owner-driven delay.

Availability is better in the closed season, and it is also when hotel refurbishment takes much of the capacity. Booking in autumn for winter is how you get the benefit.

Four to ten months on site for a house, five to twelve for a cave restoration, plus approvals. For a permitted project, doubling the on-site duration gives a realistic decision-to-keys figure. See how long a renovation takes.

Months, driven by what has to be resolved before submission rather than by processing: cadastral clarity, earlier unauthorised work, settlement approval and archaeology. See how long a permit takes.

Not for work that requires one. Doing so creates an αυθαίρετο on your title which surfaces at sale, at licensing and at your next application. Some maintenance and internal work falls outside permit requirements, and we tell you honestly which category yours is in.

On site in November, having booked in September or October. That gives the longest run before the spring opening rush.

Emergencies and small contained works. Anything substantial in a settlement core is impractical — deliveries cannot get in, neighbouring businesses cannot absorb it, and the work costs more for less output.

You are told when it happens rather than at the end, with the reason and the revised programme. Where the cause is within our control it is our problem; where it is a ferry cancellation or a supplier, it is what the programme float exists for. A contractor who only reports a delay at the point it becomes undeniable is telling you something about the rest of the job.

To a programme with stated float and weekly reporting against it, yes. To a date irrespective of ferry cancellations and supplier lead times, no — and nor should anyone else.

Against completed and inspected work, never against dates. A stage that has not been done is not invoiced because the month ended. Retention is held to the end of the defects period.

A mobilisation payment is normal. A large payment far ahead of any work is not, and it removes your protection. Never let payment get ahead of progress.

It is held back at handover and released when the snagging list is closed in writing, so that finishing the last five per cent is in the contractor's financial interest. If a contractor resists a retention clause, that is worth knowing before you sign.

Priced and agreed in writing before the work happens, with the programme impact stated at the same time. A variation agreed verbally on site is a dispute waiting for the final account.

Defective workmanship and materials for the period stated in your contract. It does not cover fair wear, lack of maintenance, free-issue materials, consequential loss, or movement in existing structure you asked us not to touch. See guarantees.

A fair question few clients ask. Manufacturer warranties on major products survive independently, which is why we register them in your name. For workmanship, a warranty is only as good as the company behind it — which is why company registration details are worth checking with any contractor, including us.

Yes, and you should ask that of every contractor here. Undeclared labour is cheaper for a reason and the risk transfers to you as the property owner.

Yes, on request. Public liability and contract works cover. We would rather show documents than make claims in a heading.

It depends what you touch. Purely internal non-structural work with no change to openings frequently does not; anything structural, any new opening, and anything externally visible in a designated settlement does.

A structure built without the permit it required. Common on older Santorini property — an added room, an enclosed terrace, a converted store. It blocks new permits and complicates sales, and it has to be regularised before you can build. See legalisation.

It becomes your problem when you apply for anything. It is resolvable in many cases and it takes months, so it should be found during a purchase survey rather than at your permit application.

Usually not. Most projects proceed with either no specific requirement or a watching brief. Where investigation is required it is a programme item, and it belongs before the foundation design rather than after. See archaeological approval.

Outside a designated settlement, largely. Inside one, no — the palette is controlled and it is settlement-specific. The assumption that any blue is acceptable is the most common misunderstanding we meet.

In a designated settlement, very likely not in a visible position. Concealment, screening or an alternative elevation is the answer, decided at design stage rather than on installation day.

Almost always impermeable finishes trapping moisture that was always in the rock, sometimes combined with surface water arriving from above. Sealing it further makes it worse. See cave house damp proofing.

The pattern matters more than the width. Diagonal cracks from opening corners, a crack at the crown of a vault, or anything that is widening warrants an engineer. See what cracks mean.

Usually thermal movement rather than water pressure — falls formed in the tile bed rather than the screed, no separating layer, missing movement joints, or a rigidly grouted perimeter. See waterproofing.

Salt-laden air, and the wrong grade of stainless or plain steel at fixings. A rust stain running down a white wall is almost always the bolt rather than the component it holds. See salt-air corrosion protection.

Almost certainly a system sized for the original house serving peak guest occupancy. It is predictable from a capacity assessment and it fails at the worst possible moment. See drainage and septic.

A large share of our work is exactly that. Weekly written reports with photographs, video walk-throughs at stage boundaries, variations approved in writing before work happens, and one named contact. See overseas owners.

Preferably. You appoint the architect and engineer directly and a builder works to their design. On a protected-settlement scheme especially, you want your designer independently arguing your case.

Yes, starting with a written survey of what has actually been built against what was drawn and paid for. We will not price a takeover without that.

Work we cannot supervise properly, design-and-build where we would also be the architect, jobs priced against a scope nobody has opened up, emergency structural work outside our competence, and very small single-trade jobs in peak season. See about.

Therasia routinely. Other Cycladic islands where the scale justifies moving a crew, plant and a container. For a bathroom on another island the honest answer is no — the mobilisation would be most of your budget.

We would rather not publish a response-time promise we cannot honour in every season. What we will say is that if you send a photograph and a sentence about the property you will get a straight answer about whether it is a job we should take, rather than a sales call.