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JC

AI auto-fill from plans

Upload your plans

Drop your plans here, or click to browse

PDF · up to 28 MB

See beyondthe price.

Upload your plans. We read every line and write out the full scope of works.

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Choose your view

Pick your side of the build.

The page changes to suit your questions and your next step.

Residential quoteshave no standard.

Every builder prices to their own assumptions, so no two quotes cover the same work.

01

Each quote covers different work

One allows for the retaining wall. One leaves it out. One sets aside a rough figure.

02

The numbers cannot be compared

Three formats, three sets of inclusions, and no way to tell which number is complete.

03

What nobody priced becomes a variation

The cheapest quote is usually the one that left the most out. The rest arrives later, at a price nobody competed on.

The fix

One scope of works,priced by every builder.

From your plansto your builder.

Four steps. You do the first one, we do the rest.

01 / 04Upload

Start with your plans.

Your drawings, your reports, whatever your designer gave you. Add a few details about the project and that is your part done. Everything after this is ours.

See it in the demo
/ Start a project
JC

AI auto-fill from plans

Upload your plans

Drop in your architectural plans as a PDF. We read them and fill out your project for you.

Drop your plans here, or click to browse

PDF · up to 28 MB

Your plans are read securely to fill the form. Nothing is published until you say so.

02 / 04Your scope of works

Your plans become one scope.

We read every drawing, report and specification, and write out every item of work they cover. Every scope item points at the page it came from. You approve it before any builder sees it.

See it in the demo
/ Scope of works
JC

Scope of works

Approved

242 items of work, built from your documents. Every builder prices this same list.

Preliminaries and site establishment14 items
Approvals, certification and compliance11 items
Demolition and site clearing6 items
Earthworks and excavation8 items

Bulk excavation, cut and fill

The big earthmoving that levels a sloping block into the platforms the home sits on.

Civil C03, page 2, Rev B

Detailed excavation for footings and services

The precise trenches and pier holes dug for footings, slab edges and underground pipes.

Structural S02, page 4, Rev B

Footings and ground floor structure7 items
Retaining walls and ground structures4 items
Concrete, formwork and reinforcement9 items
Structural steel and framing12 items
Roofing, gutters and downpipes10 items
External wall cladding and finishes9 items
Windows and external doors8 items
Plumbing and drainage15 items
Electrical, data and lighting13 items
Joinery and cabinetry11 items
03 / 04The same list, priced

Every builder prices that scope.

Verified builders walk your scope line by line and answer the same questions under signature. Nobody quietly leaves an item out, and nothing turns up later as a variation you never agreed to.

See it in the demo
/ Your round
JC

1 builder on your round

1 builder joined your round

They have your plans and contact details and can message you. Answer their questions to help them price it. Tenders usually follow within days.

Builders on your round

1 of 3 spots taken
  • CB

    Corten Build Co.

    6 years in operation · Melbourne, VIC

    ABNLicence
    228 items marked

What happens next

  1. Done

    Builders are notified

    Verified builders matching your scope and area are notified when your project goes live.

  2. 2You are here

    Builders join your round

    Up to 3 builders take a spot, open your full plans, and can ask questions here. You are notified each time.

  3. 32 to 3 weeks

    Compare and award

    Priced, itemised tenders arrive side by side. Compare, message, and award the builder you trust.

04 / 04The comparison

See what each price actually covers.

We read every tender in full and set out where they differ, item by item: what each one has allowed for, what it has left out, and where the money can still move. Then you choose.

Start your project
/ The tender evaluation
JC

Single dwelling · Pascoe Vale, VIC

Tenders received

3

project live 14 days

Lowest tender inc GST

$712,800

highest $800,800 · 12% spread

Build period

30–36 weeks

Significant flags

2

raised across the round

What this round comes down to

The overview

Corten Build Co. is $37,000 cheaper on paper, but $105,000 of its price sits in allowances of its own choosing that Meridian Building Co has priced in full. If those allowances overrun their stated figures by more than 35%, the saving is gone. The decision is not which number is lower; it is how much you trust the allowances.

Where the money stands

Each bar is a tender price. The solid part is committed; the lighter tail can still move.

Corten Build Co.

$712,800inc GST

$543,000 committed · $105,000 in allowances that can move either way

Meridian Building Co

$753,500inc GST

Every dollar committed

Brightwater Homes

$800,800inc GST

Every dollar committed

Firm: committed in the contract sum
MB

Meridian Building Co

14 years in operation

Tender price inc GST

$753,500

34 weeks · keys May 2027

Fully priced, no allowances

Weighted overall86
Price firmness100
Scope coverage100
Preparation54
Credentials & capacity80
Delivery & aftercare94
Programme confidence60

No significant flags · 3 worth attention

Commentary offered

Significant

16% of the price can still move

$105,000 sits in provisional sums and prime costs (2 PS, 3 PC).

Before you decide: Ask which allowances they would fix if the documents were finalised now.

Read the evaluationShortlistAward
CB

Corten Build Co.

6 years in operation

Tender price inc GST

$712,800

36 weeks · keys Jun 2027

Firm to 84% · $105,000 in allowances

Weighted overall47
Price firmness100
Scope coverage100
Preparation54
Credentials & capacity80
Delivery & aftercare94
Programme confidence60

2 significant flags · 6 worth attention

Significant

16% of the price can still move

$105,000 sits in provisional sums and prime costs (2 PS, 3 PC).

Before you decide: Ask which allowances they would fix if the documents were finalised now.

Read the evaluationShortlistAward

Side by side

The decision grid

Every row is the builders' own answers, lined up. A teal cell holds the strongest position on that line.

Corten Build Co.$712,800 inc GSTMeridian Building Co$753,500 inc GSTBrightwater Homes$800,800 inc GST

The money

Price inc GST$712,800$753,500$800,800
Firm portion$543,000 (84%)$685,000 (100%)$728,000 (100%)
Allowances$105,000 (2 PS, 3 PC)NoneNone
EscalationUncappedNoneNone

The programme

Build period36 weeks34 weeks30 weeks
Liquidated damagesNot offeredNot offered$2,500/week

Scope

Trades in the price18 of 2223 of 2323 of 23
Excluded scope items200

Open any builder's full evaluation to see the working behind their dimension scores.

The same project, read differently

Where the tenders differ

9 scope items are treated differently across these tenders. Until each builder prices the same scope, their totals are not the same number.

Scope itemCorten Build Co.Meridian Building CoBrightwater Homes
External worksExcludedIncludedIncluded
External finishesExcludedIncludedIncluded
Ground worksAllowanceIncludedIncluded
PaintingAllowanceIncludedIncluded

Show all 9 lines

The pre-decision agenda

Before you decide

7 questions this round leaves open. Put them to the builders, and the decision usually makes itself.

Copy the agenda

For the round

  1. 1Share the soil report with every builder so all prices rest on the same ground conditions.
  2. 29 trades are treated differently across the round. Confirm each builder priced the same scope before comparing numbers.

CBFor Corten Build Co.

  1. 3Ask for the escalation clause in writing, and whether they will cap it.
  2. 4Ask which allowances they would fix if the documents were finalised now.
  3. 5Ask them to re-price the allowances from the drawings and schedules.
  4. 6Ask for their rock rate per cubic metre now, not when it happens.
  5. 7Ask for their estimate of the fees for this project.
Module by moduleThe full recordEvery disclosed answer, question by question, exactly as submitted.
The buildersOverviewThe tendersSide by sideIdeasQuestionsThe record
The reportThe quick read

Every builderis vetted.

Nobody prices your job anonymously. Every builder is vetted before they see it, and the rules they price under are published before the round opens.

01

Every builder is vetted

We check each builder’s ABN against the Australian Business Register, and their licence against the state register where one connects and by our team where it does not. A builder takes a spot on an open round only once both have passed. Insurances are declared under signature with the tender.

02

Every scope item is referenced

Each line points to the document, page and revision it came from, and anything we cannot trace is removed. The pack cannot be approved while anything is unread, and nothing reaches a builder until you approve it.

03

Every tender is scored the same way

Every tender is read against the same six things: how firm the price is, how much of the scope it covers, how well it is prepared, who the builder is, how they deliver, and how believable the programme is. Each one shows its working, so you can see why one tender sits above another.

The contract is signed directly between you and your builder.

Preferred Partner register

Need a designer,builder or broker?

Our Preferred Partner register covers building designers, builders and finance brokers we know and work with. Tell us what you need and we will point you to the right one. No charge.

Request an introductionBrowse the register

Every side ofthe same build.

One platform, where Australia’s residential builds get organised.

Homeowners

bring the project

Plans in, tenders back, compared properly.

Building designers

bring the design

Tenders run under the practice’s name.

Builders

bring it to life

One list to price, no commission.

Finance brokers

back the build

Introduced when a client needs lending.

— Kate & Tom Fletcher · New build · Point Cook, VIC

“We’d already been quoted by two builders and the numbers were pages apart, impossible to line up. Putting the plans up here and getting everything back in the same format is what finally let us pick one without second-guessing.”

3

quotes to compare

$89k

high to low

$0

it cost us

A BuilderHQ publication

The Build Brief

A short weekly read on the economics of getting homes built in Australia. Plain language, every figure attributed to its source, and no opinion dressed up as news.

  • 01What building is costing
  • 02What the rules now require
  • 03What it means for your project
Read issue 010Browse every edition
Issue 010Friday, 11 September 2026

Victoria announces 10 business day assessments for eligible developments of up to four homes

Victoria has announced a faster planning assessment pathway for eligible developments of up to four homes on a block. A new report finds that a median-income household can afford around 12% of the homes sold nationally. And the Reserve Bank has signalled that another rate rise remains possible in September.

Read this issue

Your questions,and our answers.

If yours isn’t here, email info@builderhq.com.au and a human answers.

See beyondthe price.

Upload your plans and find out what each builder has actually allowed for.

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  • One scope, priced by every builder
  • You approve it before anyone sees it
  • Free, and no commission