Bill of Quantities Estimating Services in New Zealand

In New Zealand, bills are commonly measured in line with NZS 4202, the standard method of measurement for building works. Following a known method means contractors understand exactly what each item includes and how it was measured.

Bills sit well with NZS 3910 contracts, where variations are often valued using the rates in the contract. A clear bill gives both parties a fair, agreed basis for valuing changes during the job.

We measure and price to the drawings. Design compliance and building consent remain with your designer and building consent authority.

Where do bill of quantities estimates go wrong?

Measurement notes are often missing as well. Without preambles explaining what each item includes, tenderers make their own assumptions, prices drift apart and disputes follow during the job. Our preambles set out how each trade was measured, what labours are deemed included and where quantities are provisional, so every tenderer reads the bill the same way and variations can be valued fairly against the tendered rates later.

Bills often fail at the boundaries between trades. Flashings, fixings, penetrations and making good can fall between two sections and get priced by nobody. We check each boundary as part of the final review.

Another problem is relying on provisional sums for work that could be measured. Every provisional sum is a price that was not competed for, so we measure what the drawings allow and keep sums for genuinely undesigned work.

Finally, preliminaries are often thin. Site establishment, supervision, scaffolding and temporary works can be a significant share of the cost, so they are itemised for tenderers to price.