How to write a scope of works for a builder (with an example)
4 min
6
September 2026
Key figures in this guide
One-minute decision
What are you trying to work out?
Use the guide to decide the role, then search for the right type of professional rather than asking everyone for the same thing.
Find professionalsA scope of works is a written list of everything the builder must do, room by room, with the specification and who supplies what. It is the single most effective thing you can do to get comparable quotes, because it removes the guesswork that makes three builders price three different jobs.
Drawings show shape. A scope of works decides money. Without one, the cheapest quote is usually just the one that left the most out.
What a good scope of works contains
- 01The property, the access arrangements and the working hours
- 02Preliminaries: welfare, skips, scaffolding, protection, site clean, insurances
- 03Demolition and strip-out, stated item by item
- 04Structure: foundations, beams, openings, with reference to the engineer drawings
- 05Roof, windows and external doors, with product and finish stated
- 06First fix: electrics, plumbing, heating, drainage, with socket and radiator counts
- 07Plaster, screed and floor build-ups
- 08Second fix: sanitaryware, kitchen fitting, joinery, ironmongery
- 09Decoration: number of coats, paint brand and finish
- 10Externals: patio, drainage, making good, landscaping
- 11What the client supplies, and when it will be on site
- 12Exclusions, provisional sums and allowances, stated openly
- 13Certificates, warranties and handover documents required
- 14Programme, payment stages and retention
How to write it in an afternoon
- Walk the house with the drawings and write one line per activity, in the order the work happens.
- For each line, state the quantity and the specification, or an allowance in pounds if you have not chosen yet.
- Mark anything you are supplying yourself, and anything you are keeping.
- Use allowances honestly: an allowance of £8,000 for a kitchen is far more useful than the word kitchen.
- Say what quality means for the finish: level 4 plaster, two undercoats and a topcoat, brushed steel ironmongery.
- Send the same document to every builder and ask them to price against your line numbers.
Example scope extract, rear extension
| Item | Description | Specification or allowance |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Site set-up, protection, welfare, skips | Contractor to allow |
| 2.1 | Break out rear wall, form 3.6 metre opening | Per engineer drawing S-101, steel and padstones |
| 3.1 | Foundations, trench fill | 1.2 metre depth, per engineer calculations |
| 4.1 | Flat roof with two rooflights | Single-ply membrane, 2 x 1000 x 1000 rooflights, allowance £2,600 |
| 5.1 | Aluminium sliding doors, 3.6 metre | Client-supplied, contractor to fit |
| 6.1 | Electrics first and second fix | 12 sockets, 8 downlights, 2 pendants, Part P certificate |
| 7.1 | Underfloor heating to new floor | Wet system, one zone, linked to existing boiler |
| 8.1 | Kitchen fitting | Client-supplied units, contractor fitting only |
| 9.1 | Decoration | Level 4 plaster, mist coat plus two coats matt emulsion |
| 10.1 | Patio, 18 square metres | Porcelain paving, allowance £75 per square metre supply |
Mistakes to avoid
- Vague verbs: upgrade, tidy, make good, as discussed
- Leaving out client-supplied items, so the builder assumes they are supplying them
- No allowance for the things you have not chosen, so each builder invents their own
- Changing the scope for one builder mid-tender and not the others
- Verbal variations on site, with no written instruction or price
Why it saves money
A defined scope removes risk pricing, exposes the quote that has omitted the steel or the drainage, and gives you a fair basis for every variation later. Most overspend on domestic projects is not bad luck. It is undefined work priced twice.
Let renovome draft it
Renovome builds a structured scope of works and brief from a guided set of questions about your property and your plans, then sends the same document to every professional you shortlist, so the quotes you get back can be compared line by line. Create your project brief to start.
Last reviewed: September 2026