Agricultural building contractors: how to compare farm building quotes

Read the exclusions before the price

Almost every dispute on a farm building starts in the exclusions list. Groundworks, the slab, drainage, doors, electrical first fix, planning and structural design fees are all things a quote can legitimately leave out, and a headline number that excludes half of them will always beat a turnkey price on paper.

What a complete quote contains

• Scope split into priced lines: groundworks, foundations, slab, frame, cladding, doors, drainage. Not one lump sum.
• The structural design, who produces it, and confirmation you will receive calculations and drawings for building control.
• The steelwork or timber specification: section sizes or a frame schedule, sheeting product and gauge, fixings, and the corrosion or treatment class.
• Ground risk: has anyone dug a trial hole, and who pays if the ground is worse than assumed.
• Programme: fabrication or supply lead time, erection duration in working days, and what happens if the site is not ready on the agreed date.
• Payment stages tied to milestones you can see, not to dates.
• Insurance: public liability and contract works cover, with the certificate available on request.

Questions that expose the gaps

1. "What is not in this price?" Ask it directly and ask for the answer in writing.
2. "Is the slab in this figure, and at what thickness, reinforcement and finish?" Slab specification is where turnkey prices genuinely differ.
3. "Who is fabricating the frame, and can they provide the structural calculations and a declaration for the steelwork?"
4. "What access does your erection team need, and have you seen the track?" A site visit before quoting is a good sign.
5. "What is your standing time charge?" If they have one, you know they expect delays and have thought about them.
6. "Can I speak to two farms you have built for in the last year?" Working references on similar buildings beat anything on a website.

Sequencing that saves money

1. Settle the planning route first. Prior approval under Class A or a full application: see the planning guide. Contractors price a scheme with consent more keenly than a maybe.
2. Fix your scope on paper before asking for prices, so every contractor prices the same building: span, length, eaves, use, slab, doors, drainage.
3. Get the ground investigated if there is any doubt. A trial hole is cheap next to a foundation variation.
4. Order out of season where you can. Fabrication and erection capacity is seasonal on farms, and a flexible date is worth real money.
5. Compare like for like, using the cost driver table as a checklist against each quote.

Getting three priced quotes on the same written scope is the single most effective cost control available on a farm building, and it costs you nothing but the time to write the scope down. Start here and agricultural building contractors covering your area will quote your job.