How to put together a renovation estimate and not overpay

What an estimate is made of

Example: a 65 m² old-stock apartment, Standard grade — works grouped by category, labour and materials apart in each, additional costs at the end.

The total is 59,582 ₾, or 917 ₾/m². Range: 50,645 ₾ – 68,519 ₾.

Every line has three things

• A quantity with a unit: m², running metre, piece. A line reading "Plaster" with one lump sum and no quantity cannot be checked.
• A unit price: what one m² or one point costs. That is how you compare two quotes with each other and with market prices.
• Labour and materials apart. When they are one number, you cannot tell what you are paying for — the hands or the material.

Note that materials in an estimate are a catalogue allowance, not the price of a specific tile. An expensive tile raises the total, a cheap one lowers it.

Additional costs are not a hidden markup

• Contingency — 4%
• Delivery — 4%
• Waste removal — 2%

Every renovation has these costs. Contingency covers what you cannot see before opening things up: a bad screed, wiring that is not where the plan says. An estimate without them looks more attractive, but the difference arrives anyway — at the worst moment.

What should not be in an estimate

• Two finishes on one surface: laminate and porcelain on the same floor, paint and wallpaper on the same wall, a stretch ceiling together with ceiling paint.
• One partition three times: aerated block, drywall and glass are three ways to build one wall, not three walls.
• Demolition in a black frame — there is nothing to remove.
• Works the developer has already done: screed, plaster, rough services in a white frame.

The SIVRCE calculator follows these rules itself: it keeps one of each set of mutually exclusive finishes and, by the apartment's condition, leaves out what is already done. Check a contractor's estimate against the same list.

How to check the quantities

Unit prices are checked against the price list; quantities, against the simple ratios the SIVRCE calculator uses:

• Walls to finish: about 2.6 m² for every 1 m² of apartment floor (2.9 in a house, 1.8 in an office).
• New partitions: about 0.8 m² per 1 m² of floor, one side of the wall.
• Bathroom wall tiles: about 18 m² per bathroom, plus the floor.
• The ceiling equals the floor area; the walls are counted for a 2.7 m height. Higher ceilings mean more wall.

If a contractor's quantity is noticeably larger, ask where it comes from: sometimes it is a real feature of the apartment, sometimes one job counted twice.

When an estimate becomes a contract

When you accept a contractor's quote, its total becomes the contract amount and is split across the stages — in proportion to the estimate lines belonging to each stage. You see the stage amounts in the project plan. "Preparation for works" has no amount: it covers mobilisation days, not work from the estimate.

Materials: whose, and at what price

A materials line in an estimate is a catalogue allowance: the amount this work usually needs. The price of the specific tile, laminate or paint you pick may be higher or lower.

If you buy the materials yourself, agree with the contractor that the materials line leaves their estimate — otherwise you pay for the materials twice. Tbilisi shops and their prices are in the shop catalogue.

An estimate for a single room

An estimate for a bathroom, kitchen or single room should have no apartment-wide works: no electrical panel, partitions or flooring for other rooms. For a small area the SIVRCE calculator asks whether you are renovating the whole apartment or one room, and in the second case leaves those works out. Check the same in a contractor's estimate.

How to compare contractors' quotes

Compare the same scope: the same works on the same square metres. In SIVRCE every quote shows a total, a warranty and its lines — without the contractor's own cost, which stays with them.

The cheapest quote is often the one missing something. Compare its lines with your own estimate and ask where the missing part is.

The price does not grow without your consent: estimate changes

The contract amount is fixed the moment you accept a contractor's quote. After that it grows only through a change you approve. Current amount = contract + approved changes; undecided changes are shown apart — you do not owe them yet.

• The contractor drafts a change ("Draft") and sends it to you ("Awaiting your decision").
• You see the amount and how many days the end date moves, and decide: "Approved" or "Rejected". Nobody else decides.
• An approved change moves the budget and the dates ("Applied"). The contractor can withdraw a change they sent ("Withdrawn").
• A contractor cannot cancel a stage alone: that is a change with a minus sign, and the stage is cancelled when you approve it.
• The handover act cannot be signed while a change is waiting for your decision. After the act there are no more changes: new work is a new order.

Frequently asked questions