Renovation Ready UK renovation planningCheck my project

Renovation Ready guide centre

Plan with more confidence. Use every part of the site.

Practical guidance for UK homeowners who want clearer quotes, a more honest budget and fewer avoidable surprises before and during a renovation.

Choose your next step

Six useful guides. No filler.

Start with the complete workflow, or go directly to the part of your project that feels least certain.

01Start here · 7 min

Use Renovation Ready to its full benefit

02Preparation · 5 min

Before asking builders for quotes

03Budget · 6 min

Build a realistic all-in budget

04Builders · 6 min

Compare builder quotes fairly

05Decisions · 5 min

Decide the right things before work starts

06Hiring · 5 min

Questions to ask before hiring a builder

Guide 01

Start here

7 minute read

The complete workflow

How to use Renovation Ready to its full benefit

The site works best as one connected process: find the gaps, turn them into actions, build the true budget and keep important decisions visible as the project moves.

  1. 01

    Take the readiness check honestly

    Answer for the project you have today, not the project you hope to have in a month. A lower score with accurate answers is more useful than a reassuring score built on assumptions.

  2. 02

    Use the action plan before final quotes

    Resolve the high-priority gaps first. Missing drawings, vague specifications and undecided client purchases make quotes less comparable and increase the chance of later extras.

  3. 03

    Create your project and enter the real ceiling

    Start the workspace with the total amount you can safely commit—not the figure you hope the building work will cost. Keep emergency savings separate from the project budget.

  4. 04

    Build the all-in budget

    Add design and survey fees, statutory costs, temporary arrangements, client-supplied items, external works, contingency and VAT where relevant. Then compare that forecast with your available budget.

  5. 05

    Compare the same scope line by line

    Enter each builder's price against the same headings. Mark anything missing, provisional or unclear. The lowest headline total is not necessarily the lowest completed-project cost.

  6. 06

    Record decisions and due dates

    Log every important choice, who owns it and when it is needed. Work backwards from installation dates so late selections do not become rushed purchases or programme delays.

  7. 07

    Control changes before work proceeds

    Record the description, cost and time effect of a change. Approve it before the work starts and update the forecast immediately, even if the formal invoice comes later.

  8. 08

    Link payments to evidence and finish well

    Check agreed milestones before paying. Keep a snagging list, track completion evidence and collect warranties, certificates, manuals and final records at handover.

Guide 02

Preparation

5 minute read

Better information in, better prices out

What to prepare before asking builders for quotes

A quotation can only be as clear as the information behind it. Give each builder the same pack so differences in price reflect their offer—not different guesses about your project.

01

A defined scope

List what is being built, altered, removed and retained. Include work outside the obvious building area, such as access, drainage and making good.

02

Coordinated information

Issue the same current drawings, structural information and relevant reports to everyone. Mark superseded documents clearly.

03

A specification

State expected products, finishes and performance where they matter. If something is not chosen, use a sensible stated allowance.

04

Clear responsibilities

Say what you will supply, what the builder will supply, who arranges approvals and who coordinates specialist trades.

05

Site constraints

Share access, parking, working-hour, neighbour and occupied-home restrictions before pricing—not after appointment.

06

A return format

Ask builders to price against the same headings and list exclusions, assumptions, provisional sums, programme and VAT separately.

Guide 03

Budget

6 minute read

Look beyond the contract sum

Build a realistic all-in renovation budget

The builder's quote is one part of the cost. Your useful number is the forecast to complete the whole project and live through it.

Core works

Builder's scope, VAT, preliminaries and priced specialist packages

Professional and statutory

Designers, engineers, surveys, applications, inspections and certificates

Client purchases

Kitchen, sanitaryware, finishes, appliances, lighting and furniture you supply

Life around the work

Storage, temporary accommodation, moving, security and extra travel

Outside and after

Landscaping, decorating, blinds, final cleaning and reinstatement

Contingency

A visible risk allowance appropriate to the project's uncertainty and existing fabric

Keep four figures separate

  • Budget: the amount approved for each category.
  • Committed: orders, appointments and accepted quotations.
  • Paid: money that has actually left your account.
  • Forecast: the best current view of the final cost, including known changes.
Guide 04

Builders

6 minute read

Compare the offer, not just the total

How to compare builder quotes fairly

Line up the same scope across every quotation. A £10,000 difference may disappear once missing items, low allowances and exclusions are corrected.

  1. 1

    Normalise the headings

    Put each quote into the same structure: preliminaries, demolition, structure, envelope, services, finishes and external works.

  2. 2

    Find every gap

    Mark each item included, excluded, provisional or unclear. Send a single written clarification list and keep the answers.

  3. 3

    Check allowances

    Compare quantities and product allowances, not only totals. A low provisional sum transfers risk back to you.

  4. 4

    Compare programme and method

    Look at start date, duration, sequencing, supervision, site setup and how work in an occupied home will be managed.

  5. 5

    Test the likely final cost

    Add reasonable values for omissions and weak allowances before ranking the quotes. Then assess confidence, communication and evidence alongside price.

Guide 05

Decisions

5 minute read

Remove pressure from the programme

Decide the right things before work starts

The most disruptive late decisions affect concealed work, long-lead orders or several trades. Prioritise choices by consequence, not by how visible they are.

Before pricing

Scope and performance

Layout, structure, insulation approach, heating strategy, window and door requirements, electrical ambition and who supplies major items.

Before appointment

Commercial rules

Final inclusions, exclusions, allowances, programme, access, payment milestones, change approval and responsibilities.

Before site starts

First-fix information

Kitchen and bathroom layouts, lighting and socket positions, controls, built-in joinery interfaces and specialist equipment.

Before each trade needs it

Products and finishes

Confirm selections early enough for technical review, ordering and delivery—not merely before visible installation.

Guide 06

Hiring

5 minute read

Look for evidence and clear processes

Questions to ask a builder before hiring

Good conversations go beyond “How much?” Ask questions that reveal who will run the job, how uncertainty is handled and what happens when something changes.

  • 01

    Who will supervise the site day to day, and how often will the person who priced the work be present?

  • 02

    Which recent projects are genuinely similar, and may I speak to those clients about communication, changes and finishing?

  • 03

    What is excluded or still provisional, and which assumptions would most change the price?

  • 04

    How is the programme managed, including long-lead orders, subcontractors and delays outside your control?

  • 05

    How will changes be priced and approved before additional work is carried out?

  • 06

    What evidence supports each payment, and what retention, snagging or completion arrangements are proposed?

  • 07

    What insurance and relevant competence can you evidence, and who is responsible for statutory inspections and certificates?

  • 08

    How will problems be raised and recorded, and what response time should each side expect?

Turn reading into action

Find the gaps in your own project.

Complete the free readiness check, then use your action plan and project workspace to keep the important work visible.

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