Phase 07 — Costing, quoting and contract

Every document this phase asks you to produce, on paper. Take it outside — you will not have signal, and you will have dirt on your hands.

Quantity take-off

Setting Out · Phase 07 — Costing, quoting and contract

PropertyDate

Every surface, in m²

One line per shape, not per area — break irregular shapes into rectangles and triangles and show the dimensions. Cut allowance is 5% stretcher bond, 10% herringbone, 12–15% curves, 15% small or fiddly.

Surface	Dimensions	Nett m²	Wastage %	Order m²

Excavation, fill, sub-base, sand and soil, in m³

Area × depth, one line each. Add roughly 25% to compacted base, bulking to excavated spoil, and settlement to soil and mulch. Note where a yard sells by the tonne instead.

Material	Area × depth	Nett m³	Allowance	Order m³

Edging, pipe and cable, in linear metres

Measured along the centre-line of the run, plus 5% for the wander, then rounded up to whole supplied lengths — coils, sections, rolls. Nobody sells 47.3 m of anything.

Item	Run	Nett m	Wastage %	Order length

Counts of every plant, fitting and unit

Plants by pot size, blocks per block, sprinklers, drippers, lights, fixings and caps as separate items. Add attic stock where you cannot go back for four more in two years.

Item	Size or type	Nett count	Wastage	Order count

Project cost plan

Setting Out · Phase 07 — Costing, quoting and contract

PropertyDate

Every cost line, priced

One row per line off your take-off. Category is materials, plant hire, subcontractor or disposal. Materials include wastage; subcontractors are written quotes, not estimates.

Line	Category	Quantity	Rate	Cost $

Upload your written subcontractor quotes

One file per trade, each showing the ABN, the scope, materials, labour, timeframe and terms — quotes, not estimates.

Your own labour hours

Every task gets an hour estimate whether or not you are paying for those hours. Total them here, priced for the hours you will actually achieve in a Perth summer.

hours

Contingency percentage

Start at 15% and move within the 10–20% band on evidence.

Why that percentage, and what it is drawn against

Name the risks — unlocated services, unknown fill, suspected asbestos, a wall of unknown construction, a stage priced from a rate rather than a quote. Push down only for a fixed written quote on a fully specified scope.

Total, including contingency

The budget you committed to in Phase 1

Copy it across from the project charter, unchanged.

How you will close the gap

A 20–30% difference is normal — that budget was a concept-stage number. The honest levers are reduce scope, stage the project, substitute materials, or do more yourself.

Staging plan

Setting Out · Phase 07 — Costing, quoting and contract

PropertyDate

Upload your staging plan

A marked-up site plan or programme showing each stage, the area of the block it covers, its budget and its target season.

Your stages, with a budget and a target season for each

Break at trade boundaries, not mid-trade. Seasons as a Perth window — March–May, June–August, September–November, December–February.

Stage	Works included	Budget	Target season

Where do services and drainage sit relative to the surfaces above them?

Stormwater, soakwells, sleeves and conduit are deep and permanent. Name the stage each lands in, and the surface it ends up under.

Where does the irrigation sit relative to the soil and the planting?

Mainline, valves and wiring go in before the paving; laterals and dripline after the imported soil and before the plants. Say which stage each half is in.

What the garden looks like at the end of each stage

One line per stage. If you cannot write that line, the stage boundary is in the wrong place.