What your building contract should say

The ten clauses that matter

1. Scope, defined by a document. Quantities and rates, not a headline number. Every quotation you compare should reference the same scope document.
2. Exclusions, listed explicitly. What is not included, stated positively rather than left to be inferred. This is where most disputes originate.
3. Provisional sums, labelled. Items that cannot be fixed yet, named as such, with the basis for pricing them later.
4. Payment stages tied to completed and inspected work. Never to dates. A stage not done is not invoiced because the month ended.
5. Retention. A percentage held to the end of the defects period, released when snagging is closed in writing.
6. Programme with stated float. Named allowance for ferry and weather, not hidden inside trade durations.
7. Variation procedure. Priced, in writing, agreed before the work happens, with the programme impact stated at the same time.
8. Warranty scope and exclusions. What is covered, for how long, and what is not. See guarantees.
9. Insurance obligations, with certificates provided.
10. Dispute steps. What happens before anyone reaches for a lawyer — a defined escalation, an independent opinion where relevant.

Payment staging done properly

This is where owners lose the most leverage, and it is entirely avoidable.

• Against work, not dates. The stage is defined by what is complete, and payment follows inspection.
• Mobilisation is normal; a large advance is not. Some upfront payment for materials and setting up is reasonable. A large payment far ahead of any work removes your protection.
• Never pay ahead of progress. The moment you are paying for work not yet done, your position has changed fundamentally.
• Retention on every stage, accumulating to the agreed percentage.
• Final payment after snagging is closed in writing, not after handover.

Variations, and how they become disputes

Almost every construction dispute we hear about traces to variations agreed verbally on site.

The sequence that prevents it is simple and it is worth insisting on with any contractor:

1. The need for a variation is identified and communicated in writing.
2. It is priced before the work happens.
3. The programme impact is stated at the same time as the price — this is the half people forget, and it is why projects finish late without anyone having noticed the moment it happened.
4. You approve in writing.
5. Only then does the work proceed.

On an old building, variations are normal rather than a sign of anything wrong. What is not normal is discovering them at the final account.

Warranty and exclusions

A warranty with no stated exclusions has not been read by anyone. Insist on the exclusions being written down, because the alternative is discovering them during a claim.

• Period, and whether it differs by element — structural and waterproofing should carry longer than decoration.
• What is excluded: fair wear, lack of maintenance, free-issue materials, consequential loss, existing structure you asked not to be touched.
• What maintenance is required to keep cover valid, stated specifically rather than implied.
• Manufacturer warranties registered in your name, not the contractor's.
• What documentation you receive at handover — as-built information, service drawings, warranties, and certificates.

See guarantees and insurance for what each of these actually covers.

Things worth adding on this island specifically

Standard contract templates are written for mainland conditions. Four additions are worth making here.

A named float allowance for shipping and weather

So that a ferry cancellation is a known, allocated risk rather than an argument about who is at fault.

Free-issue material dates committed to the programme

Where you are supplying goods, your delivery date becomes a contractual obligation the same way the contractor's work does.

An access and haulage statement

What route was assumed for material and waste, and what happens if it turns out to be different. On a stepped-lane property this is a substantial cost line.

A seasonal working statement

What working is possible in which months, particularly where a property is near operating accommodation. It prevents a dispute about a programme that assumed August working.

Before you sign

• Verify company registration and VAT details rather than accepting them.
• See insurance certificates with sums insured and expiry dates.
• Confirm site labour is declared.
• Check that your named contact is the person you have been dealing with, and that they stay through to handover.
• Read the exclusions list twice. It is the most informative page in the document.
• Take independent legal advice on a contract of any size. It costs a fraction of a dispute.

What the scope document should actually contain

The contract references a scope. If that scope is a paragraph, the contract is worth very little, and this is where most of the protection actually lives.

• Quantities and rates, element by element, so a variation can be priced against something rather than negotiated from nothing.
• Specifications named, not implied. "Tiling" is not a specification; the tile, the adhesive, the grout, the movement joint arrangement and the substrate preparation are.
• What is being demolished or removed, and where the waste goes. On an access-restricted property this is a major cost line and it should be visible.
• What is being retained, explicitly. The wall you are keeping, the terrace you are not touching — named, so that later movement in it is understood not to be covered.
• Access assumptions, including where material and waste are assumed to be staged from.
• Who supplies what, item by item, with dates for anything you are supplying.
• Inspection and hold points — the moments where work stops for a check.
• What happens at handover: documentation, as-built information, warranties, service drawings.

Reading a quotation properly

Three questions that reveal more than any amount of line-by-line comparison.

1. "What is not in this?" The exclusions list is the most informative page. If there is not one, ask for it in writing before going further.
2. "Which of these figures could move, and by how much?" Provisional sums are normal and honest. Provisional sums disguised as fixed prices are neither.
3. "What did you assume about access?" On this island the answer is worth thousands. Two contractors assuming different staging points are not quoting the same job.