Contingency and hidden risks for a 380 sq ft Manchester apartment renovation

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bakesAndView

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If the hidden work is discovered after the finishes go in, the £20,660 budget and the programme could both unravel. This is a 380 sq ft serviced apartment in Manchester, with kitchen, bathroom, flooring, decoration, electrical inspection and some energy-related work in scope; there is no extension.

I would rather postpone cosmetic items than leave moisture, water connections or unsafe electrics unresolved. How much contingency would you add at this stage, and which areas should be opened or tested before contractors finalise their prices? Material lead times and the order of trades are also concerns.
 
I’d start around 15% and consider 20% if plumbing routes, the consumer unit or areas behind fitted units cannot be inspected. Before settling on that, ask whether the £20,660 includes VAT, waste removal, protection of common areas, making good after access, and testing certificates. Those exclusions can consume a contingency without any genuine surprise occurring.
 
The £20,660 is my working scope figure, with contingency still to be added. The point about exclusions is useful: VAT, disposal and making good are not yet consistently shown across the early estimates. I’ll require those to be explicit rather than assuming they are included. Access behind the kitchen and around the water connections remains the least clear part.
 
“No extension” does not necessarily mean zero structural uncertainty. Confirm that the layout stays unchanged and whether any new channels, heavy wall-mounted items or floor build-up could affect the existing fabric. I’d also ask the surveyor to distinguish visible condition from areas they simply could not inspect. That gives you a list for priced opening-up work rather than one vague warning.
 
I’m less convinced that raising the contingency is the first answer. A tightly written scope may do more for you than moving from 15% to 20%. Ask each contractor to list assumptions and exclusions beside electrical work, plumbing access, floor preparation and moisture repairs. If one quote says only “allowance,” find out what quantity and labour it actually buys.
 
Will the apartment be empty throughout, and does the building control working hours, water isolation or access to shared service areas? In a serviced apartment, a technically short job can still stretch if trades cannot enter when planned. Also ask who obtains any building-management consent or other approval that may be needed, and whether that time appears in the programme.
 
Sequence the investigative work before ordering finishes: electrical testing, water and waste checks, moisture investigation, then any limited opening up. After that, freeze the kitchen measurements and flooring levels. Otherwise a plumbing repair or damaged substrate can invalidate measurements and force materials to sit on site while another trade catches up.
 
Moisture deserves its own questions rather than being buried under “bathrooms.” Is staining active or historic? Can the source be traced to this apartment, an adjoining unit or shared pipework? Who pays for opening and reinstatement if access crosses a communal area? Even if nothing is currently visible, ask which enclosed connections cannot be inspected.
 
Luca, I would also separate an electrical check from remedial electrical work. Does the figure buy inspection only, or does it contain a defined sum for corrections? Ask what happens if circuits, accessories or the consumer unit need attention, and whether making good is included after any access work.
 
For contractor interviews, three short questions usually reveal a lot: what could stop you on day one, what have you excluded because you cannot see it, and which decision or material must be fixed first to protect the completion date? Get the answers written into the quote or programme.
 
Material lead times matter, but ordering everything early is not automatically safer. Flooring thickness, kitchen dimensions and connection positions may change after investigation. Reserve or select long-lead items where possible, but delay final dimensions and irreversible orders until the hidden-condition work is complete.
 
I’d split the contingency mentally into two parts: foreseeable scope gaps and true discoveries. VAT, disposal, access protection and certificates should be moved into the base budget once clarified. Keep the contingency for concealed moisture, unexpected electrical remediation, plumbing access and damaged substrates. That also makes it easier to decide whether cosmetics must be deferred.
 
One more point on quote comparison: require the same sequence from every bidder. If one assumes simultaneous trades and another allows drying, testing or approval time, their completion dates are not comparable. Ask for dependencies as well as dates—particularly water shutdowns, electrical isolation, inspections and delivery of the kitchen.
 
The practical next step seems to be a short pre-construction investigation list rather than a bigger finishes spreadsheet. Confirm inaccessible plumbing, moisture evidence, electrical inspection versus repairs, floor condition, management restrictions and approval timing. Then issue one revised scope to all contractors and set the contingency from what remains genuinely unknown. Given your priorities, protect electrical and water work first and leave paint or other cosmetic upgrades as the adjustable portion.
 
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