Choosing a Fit-Out Contractor: What to Ask and What to Check

Why this is harder than it looks

You are buying something that does not exist yet, from people whose past work you can see but whose performance on your project depends on individuals, workload and circumstances you cannot see.

Price is the easiest thing to compare and the least informative, because the numbers in front of you almost certainly describe different scopes of work.

Step one: make the bids comparable

Before looking at any total, check what each one includes:

Item	Frequently excluded
Services alterations	HVAC rebalancing, duct modification
Fire systems	Sprinkler and detector relocation for the new layout
Ceiling	Whether existing is retained, adapted or replaced
Flooring preparation	Screed and levelling, which vary enormously by finish
Electrical	Containment only, or final circuits and devices
IT and AV	Containment only, or the systems themselves
Furniture	Almost always separate
Statutory approvals	Whose cost and whose effort
Making good and protection	Common areas, lift lobbies, adjacent tenants
Documentation	As-builts, O&M manuals, commissioning records

Issue a scope schedule and require every bidder to price the same list, marking exclusions explicitly. A comparison built on anything less is guesswork.

Where the contract will be item-rate, agree the method of measurement — commonly referenced to IS 1200 — so quantities are not argued later.

Step two: judge capability, not marketing

The named site team. Ask who runs the site, what else they run concurrently, and meet them. This single factor affects outcome more than the firm's brochure.

Programme logic. Ask what governs the date on your project. A capable contractor names the long-lead items, the design information they need from you and by when, and the services sequence. A weaker one gives a duration.

Services capability. Most fit-out problems are services problems. Ask how they coordinate MEP, whether it is in-house or subcontracted, and to see a coordinated services drawing from a recent project.

Commissioning approach. Ask what commissioning records you will receive. If the answer is vague, expect comfort complaints later.

Financial standing. Audited accounts, current workload, and how subcontractors are paid.

Step three: check references properly

Speak to clients whose projects completed at least a year ago. Ask:

• Did defects get fixed promptly during the liability period?
• Did the as-builts and O&M documentation actually arrive, and were they usable?
• Were the commissioning records complete, with measured values?
• Did anything appear in the first monsoon, or the first peak summer?
• Were variations priced fairly, or did the number climb after signature?
• Would you appoint them again, for the same kind of project?

The last question is worth more than a testimonial.

Warning signs

• A total noticeably below the others. Usually scope, occasionally desperation. Both are risks.
• Reluctance to name the site manager. Or naming one who is clearly overcommitted.
• A programme with dates but no logic. Nothing about long-lead items or information requirements.
• No questions asked about your brief. A contractor who does not probe the brief has not thought about how to build it.
• Vagueness about commissioning and documentation. These are the deliverables clients most often find missing.
• Pressure to sign quickly. Rarely in your interest.

What to fix in the contract, not afterwards

• The scope, itemised, with exclusions stated
• Completion criteria — what must be finished, tested and handed over
• Documentation deliverables and their format
• How variations are priced, and against what rates
• The defects liability period, and whether it spans the relevant season
• Retention percentages and release points
• Sectional completion, if the floor is handed over in phases

Administrative provisions covering contracts and responsibilities sit within NBC 2016, Part 2, and the contractual terms themselves should be settled with legal advice.

A note on honesty

The firms worth working with will tell you what they cannot answer without seeing your floor plan, your services capacity and your lease. A contractor who gives a confident rate and duration on a phone call, before seeing anything, is not being helpful — they are giving you a number that will change.

Standards referenced

Administrative provisions covering contracts and responsibilities in NBC 2016, Part 2; method of measurement for building works in IS 1200. Contract structure, terms and risk allocation for a specific project should be settled with legal advice.