Skip to content
ConstructionDesign and build across BaliBODE Construction InteriorJoinery, light and finishesBODE Interior ProcurementOwner-side tender managementBODE Procurement SolarWhat the sun can do for your roofBODE Solar
Journal LatestBuilding in Bali while living somewhere else

JournalArticleProcurement2 min read

How a contractor shortlist is made

When BODE Procurement recommends contractors for a project, the list is short on purpose. This is what happens before a name appears on it.

Design render of a Bali villa entrance with arched openings and tropical planting

Owners sometimes expect a procurement service to hand them a long list of builders. A long list feels thorough. In practice it mostly passes the work back to the owner, who then has to meet and check everyone on it. A short list, built carefully, is far more useful.

It begins with the brief

The first conversation is about your project, and contractors come later. We want to understand the scope, the location and access to the site, the budget, the timing and the standard of finish you expect. A builder who excels at large concrete villas in the south may be a poor fit for a timber house in the hills, and the brief is how we tell the difference.

Past work, seen in person

Every contractor we consider has completed projects we can visit. We look at finished buildings and, where possible, buildings still under way, because a tidy site tells you more about a builder's management than a polished portfolio. We also speak with previous clients, especially about how problems were handled when they came up.

Capacity and finances

A good builder who is already stretched across too many sites will not give your project the attention it needs. We ask about current workload and about the site manager who would actually be assigned to you. We also look for signs of financial stability, since a contractor running short of cash halfway through a build is one of the most damaging things that can happen to an owner.

When you choose a builder, you should be choosing between good options with a clear view of each.

Comparable prices

Shortlisted contractors price the same bill of quantities, which lets us compare their quotes line by line. We then summarise the differences in plain language, showing where each one is expensive and what each one has left out. That summary is often the most valuable document in the whole process.

The choice is yours

We give our honest reading of each option, reservations included. The final decision, and the contract, stay with you. BODE Procurement's work ends at the recommendation to award. More about the process is on the BODE Procurement site.

Finished white townhouses with pitched gable roofs in BaliArticleProcurement3 min read

Comparing contractor quotes without comparing the wrong things

Two quotes for the same house can differ by a third and still both be honest. Here is how to tell what you are actually comparing.

Aerial view of pitched villa roofs around a courtyard pool in BaliJournal entryBODE Group3 min read

Building in Bali while living somewhere else

Many Bali homes are planned from another time zone. Distance changes what an owner needs from a builder, and most of it comes down to information that arrives without being chased.

Villa lounge in Bali opening onto a plunge pool through sliding glass wallsJournal entryBODE Group2 min read

Four practices, one point of accountability

Why BODE Group is organised as four separate practices that share their drawings and their responsibility, and what that means for the person who owns the house.