Contingency for a €270,600 renovation of a 55 m² Helsinki flat

W

WideRoof

Property investor
Established
I have already issued both contractors the same written brief, but their totals are far enough apart that the missing assumptions remain unclear. The provisional budget is €270,600 for a 55 m² completed new-build flat in Helsinki.

The work involves the kitchen and bathrooms, floors, decoration, electrical testing and some efficiency improvements. I’m less worried about finish choices than whether plumbing access requires opening completed areas, how moisture checks affect sequencing, and which reinstatement work has been excluded. What should I ask each contractor to price separately, and how would you set the contingency before those answers and any approval timing are confirmed?
 
Before choosing a contingency, make both contractors reprice an identical schedule. Ask them to separate labour, materials, electrical work, plumbing access, testing, waste and any items treated as allowances. Also ask each one to list exclusions explicitly. At €270,600, even a 10% contingency is €27,060, but it will not fix a quote that leaves half the scope undefined.
 
What condition is the flat actually in when the work starts? “New-build” could mean completed surfaces or something closer to a fit-out, and that changes the risk considerably. I’d also establish whether plumbing points stay where they are and whether bathroom moisture documentation and service drawings are available. Moving services or opening finished areas is a different proposition from replacing visible fittings.
 
The flat is being assessed as a completed new-build, not an extension or structural alteration. The plumbing-access point is exactly the sort of ambiguity I’m worried about: both quotes mention the bathroom work, but neither makes clear what happens if access requires opening and reinstating other finishes. I’ll ask for a room-by-room inclusions and exclusions schedule rather than comparing the totals alone.
 
A single contingency percentage is tempting here, but I’m not convinced it addresses the difference between the bids. That gap may reflect omitted or provisional work rather than ordinary renovation uncertainty.

I would mark every line as fixed, allowance-based or excluded, then decide which quote remains credible once the unresolved items are priced on the same basis. Keep the reserve mainly for genuine unknowns such as concealed moisture or difficult plumbing access; otherwise it can make an incomplete low bid appear safer than it is.
 
Also request a sequence showing when electrical checks, plumbing investigation and moisture assessment happen relative to demolition and ordering. Anything that can change the design should be resolved before committing to long-lead materials. Have both contractors state assumed lead times, who stores materials, and whether delays alter their price or only the completion date.
 
For the Helsinki side, ask the building manager or relevant project contact what approvals, access arrangements and working restrictions apply to this particular flat and building. Do not assume that “no structural work” means no administrative delay. Put permit or approval responsibility and timing into the programme, then compare contractors on the same start assumptions. I’d keep a separate cash reserve until the moisture, plumbing and electrical unknowns are answered.
 
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