Renovation estimate template: a worked sample and how to read it

What a proper estimate contains

An estimate, also called a bill of quantities, is not a «price for the renovation». It is a document in which every figure can be recalculated. If something from the list below is missing, you cannot recalculate it, and you end up comparing totals instead of works.

• A header. The property, the address, the area, what the figures are based on — drawings or an on-site survey — plus a date and a version number. Without a date and a version you cannot tell which of two estimates you are reading.
• Sections by stage or by room. For example: demolition, plumbing, electrics, finishes. Each section has its own subtotal.
• A line per work: description · unit · quantity · unit price · amount. Five columns, not counting the line number. The quantity is not «approximate»: it follows from a drawing or from measurements.
• Materials in a separate section. With the brand and the quantity, and a note on who buys them — you or the contractor.
• Subtotals and a grand total, with a clear note on whether the prices include VAT. Otherwise two estimates cannot be compared.
• What is not included. A short list of what the price does not cover. It is better to write down disputed items before the contract than to argue about them mid-project.

With no header, no quantities or no breakdown by line, it is not an estimate but a price offer.

The sample: a 2.0 × 2.0 m bathroom

The sample object is a 2.0 × 2.0 m bathroom with a ceiling height of 2.7 m. It is a major renovation with all the tiles replaced. The floor area is 4.0 m². The walls: perimeter 8.0 m × 2.7 m = 21.6 m², minus a door opening of 0.8 × 2.0 m = 1.6 m², which leaves 20.0 m².

The sample contains labour only. The rates are ours, in lari, published in the article Apartment Renovation in Tbilisi: 2026 Prices. Materials belong in a separate section that is not included here; the reason is explained below. In the table, m² is square metres, lm is linear metres and pc is pieces.

The sample is shortened: it has no header, no materials section, no note on VAT and no list of exclusions. A real estimate needs all of them.

How to read the sample: where every number comes from

In the sample, the quantity column matters more than the prices. Here is where each figure comes from.

• Tile removal, 24.0 m². Walls 20.0 m² plus floor 4.0 m²: when all the tiles are replaced, both surfaces are stripped.
• Waterproofing, 5.6 m². Floor 4.0 m² plus the upturn onto the walls: perimeter 8.0 m × 0.2 m = 1.6 m². The line name says so directly: «with a 20 cm upturn onto the walls».
• Grouting, 24.0 m². The same as the tiled area: 20.0 m² on the walls and 4.0 m² on the floor.
• 45° tile cutting, 5.4 lm. Two outer corners of the installation box, 2.7 m each.
• Water and drainage points. Five water points: basin 2, shower 2, toilet 1. Three drainage points: toilet, basin, floor drain.

Openings are deducted. The wall area is 21.6 m² before the deduction and 20.0 m² after it: a door opening of 0.8 × 2.0 m needs neither tile nor plaster. Plaster and wall tile are counted from 20.0 m². If another estimate gives the full wall area with no deduction for openings, ask what rule it follows. In the sample, the waterproofing upturn on the walls is counted along the full 8.0 m perimeter, without deducting the door: that is an assumption of the sample, and in a real estimate such assumptions are worth writing down.

Units differ, and that is normal. Areas are in m², lengths (chases, cable, cutting) in lm, items in pieces, water and drainage outlets in points, waste removal in trips. What should worry you is not the variety but a swap: an item counted by the piece, such as a socket, billed in m². We wrote about swapped units in How to check a renovation estimate: 7 tricks used to inflate it.

Lines that are often forgotten. The sample has several of them: construction debris removal (line 2), grouting (20), 45° tile cutting (21), and the finish installation of the toilet kept apart from the rough installation of its frame (lines 7 and 8). If these are missing from an estimate that looks cheaper than the others, ask who will do them and at whose expense.

Using the sample for your own estimate

The sample works well as a checklist. Compare the estimate you were sent against it:

• take the floor and wall areas for each room from the drawings or from measurements, and deduct the openings;
• compare the lines for tile, plaster and paint with them: in an estimate of works the quantity should not exceed the surface area;
• read the units column on its own: items counted by the piece should be in pieces, lengths in lm;
• look for debris removal, grouting and the other «small» lines from the sample, and if they are missing, ask where they are;
• check that there is a materials section with brands and a note on who buys.

If questions remain that you cannot settle yourself, that is a reason to hand the estimate over for a check.

Why the sample has no materials

The price of a work depends on the quantity and the method; the price of a material depends on your choice: tiles, sanitaryware, mixers, light fittings. Mix them in one line and the estimate cannot be checked: you cannot tell where the work ends, where the material begins, or which brand was priced.

That is why in a proper estimate materials form a separate section: brand, article number, quantity, and a note saying «client buys» or «contractor buys». A line reading «bathroom tiles» cannot be checked; a line with the brand, the format and the quantity in m² can be compared with a shop price. Materials with no brand are a reason to stop and ask — more on that in the article on the seven tricks.

When it is time to have an estimate checked

You can compare an estimate against the sample and recalculate the quantities yourself. It makes sense to hand it over for a check when:

• the sum is large and an error in the quantities turns into serious money;
• there are no drawings and the quantities were estimated by eye;
• the estimate contains «package» lines with no breakdown — «demolition — package», «electrics — billed as executed»;
• you are not in Georgia and cannot come to the site; we describe how to run a renovation from abroad in the article on remote renovation.

What we do. An estimate audit from drawings costs from $4/m², with a minimum order of $150 and a turnaround from 3 working days, and is done fully remotely. It includes six stages of review, a discrepancy table with the bottom-line total, a review of the contract and its annexes, and a 40–60 minute call on the report.

If there are no drawings or they carry no dimensions, we do an audit with a site visit and a dimensioned plan: from $6/m², minimum order $250, turnaround from 5 working days. On top of the review you get a site visit with laser measurements of all rooms, a dimensioned plan in PDF and DWG/DXF, and a room-by-room quantity schedule.

How it works money-wise. Prices are quoted in dollars and paid in lari at the rate on the day of payment. The initial review of the estimate and the price quote are free, and during working hours we reply within 15 minutes. We name the exact price and deadline after the initial review, start once you agree, and from then on the price does not change. It is fixed before we begin and does not depend on what we find. The report stays with you, and we do not require you to give us the renovation job. If you do hire us for the renovation after the audit, the cost of the audit is deducted from your first payment under the contract.

We buy materials and pay crews every month ourselves, so we check your estimate against real Tbilisi prices. Prices and timing are on the audit page.

If the renovation is already under way

An estimate cannot show how the work was done. An estimate audit does not assess the quality of work that has already been carried out: that is technical supervision, a separate service — a site visit and a written report. How it works is described in the article on technical supervision of apartment renovation.

Frequently asked questions