Tom,

Many thanks for the very interesting and informative comment.

I have asked my architect to give me a price for preparing a BOQ, but have not actually decided whether to go aheand with that or not.

My intention was to give it to the builder, but you say not to so I will have to reconsider. If the BOQ is just made for my own use then I could make it myself.

My wife is Thai and will be in Thailand when the house is built. Obviously she speaks Thai but is not overly familiar with construction. I have a lot of experience in the construction industry but can only speak basic Thai (Despite trying to learn the language for many years!). Also I will not be in Thailand for the majority of the build period.

As to the foundations being important i agree with your comments totally. That’s why I commissioned a site soil test to determine the Thai house foundation design.

Once again, many thanks for your valuable comments.

Hi David and thanks for the comment.

I do wonder why you go on about ‘cheapskating’ the builder.Perhaps there is something that implies that in my website in which case I would be grateful if you could point it out so that I can correct it. It is never my intention to ‘cheapskate’ anyone.

I have been in the construction industry in the UK as a practising professional engineer for more that 20 years during which time I have worked with a wide range of architects, civil and structural, mechanical and electrical engineers and sub contractors. I know the construction industry inside out. You can see some of the projects I have complete with one of my Clients here
http://www.takenaka-eu.com/local/uk/index.htm

I get an above average service from my sub-contractors because I am a professional and I deal with them honestly. they respect my knowledge, skill and integrity.

As to the BOQ they help everybody, Client and Builder alike. They help to define the scope, quality and cost of the work and in our case Kanyah will use them as a shopping list to source and price the materials to be used in the build. By obtaining quotations from suppliers for materials such as wood flooring, wood walling, doors, windows, tiles bamboo mat etc, she is better able to guide the builders in preparing their quotation and protect both parties from misunderstandings.

Hello Mich and thank you for your question.

There are various views about BOQs. Some people (me for one) like to have them produced by a Quantity Surveyor, some want the builder to produce them. There appears to be no hard and fast rule.

However, I can offer some guidance from my own experience.

When I appointed my Thai Architect, the Kensington Company, I asked them about BOQs and they made it clear that provision of BOQs was not included in the price for making the construction drawings.

After the construction drawings were finished I paid them extra to produce the BOQs.

In the UK where I live it is not the Architect’s job to make the BOQs, they are produced by a Quantity Surveyor (QS), and I imagine that in Thailand it is the same. So unless your agreement with the Architect clearly included the production of BOQs I can well imagine that he is right to say that they are not included in his price.

Some people, even if they have a BOQ, do not issue it to the builder when he is preparing his quotation. They are worried that if there is an error or something missing in the BOQ that the builder will claim extra money for supplying what is missing in the BOQ. JC, see his comment above, for example, advocates not giving the BOQ to the builder.

I will be giving my BOQ to the builders tendering for the project because:-

A) I want all the tenders to be on the same basis.

C) If the tenderers fill out the BOQ it will be clear that they have thought about and allowed for everything in the build.

If, later, it turns out that there was something missing from the BOQ then I am prepared to pay for it. That’s a fair deal I think.

Another purpose for us commissioning the preparation of the BOQ is that we can obtain quotations for the supply if the materials used in the construction. We can then either use that information to check or challenge the builder’s price, or to purchase the materials ourselves.

Another point about the Architect giving the drawings to builders. It is common practice in Thailand, generally and not just in the construction industry, for service providers to pay someone a commission for providing them with a customer. That’s a polite way of saying that (in your case) the Architect would be entitled to a commission from the successful builder and that would ultimately come from you pocket. Nothing wrong with that in my view, but you might get lower prices from builders if you issued the drawings yourself rather than through the Architect.

Have I covered everything? If not please let me know.

And other visitors to the website please feel free to add your comment as see fit.