Hatta villa renovation: contractor offer evaluation, round two

What changed after the first meeting

Retouch Decor answered six of the eighteen clarifications, and answered them with scope rather than words. They removed the duplicated plumbing line, put approvals in writing, and added three packages that were previously sitting in Tohfa's own budget: air conditioning, whole-villa aluminium, and internal doors.

Quote	Before	Was	Now	Is	Delta
Q1363 gypsum and paint	rev01	62,250	rev01, unchanged	62,250	0
Q1365 construction	rev00	272,900	rev01: duplicate plumbing line removed (−21,500), aluminium expanded from new-room windows to the whole villa (14,600 to 45,800), approvals note added	282,600	+9,700
Q1364 decoration	rev01	342,700	rev02: play bedroom added 24,500, six internal doors 15,900, four external aluminium doors 9,000, re-dressing of the existing villa door 6,500	398,600	+55,900
Q1366 air conditioning	not previously offered	0	New quote: three Carrier 5 TR concealed ducted split inverter units, supplied, installed, tested and commissioned	76,500	+76,500
Retouch Decor total		677,850		819,950	+142,100
Victorian Art Ref 1108	no AC offer	0	AC quote dated 2 Sep 2026: three concealed ducted units, 13 TR total, with zoning, thermostats and bathroom extract. Printed at 250,000; Victorian Art have since said verbally that this is a typing error and the figure is 150,000. A corrected quotation has not yet been issued	150,000	+150,000
Victorian Art total		815,150		965,150	+150,000

The headline price rose 21%, but the added scope is worth 153,700 on its own (AC 76,500, aluminium 54,800, internal doors and re-dressing 22,400). Against that, they gave back the 21,500 duplicate. Net of scope, the offer got cheaper, not dearer. That is a good-faith revision.

Cleared from the last reviewThe duplicate plumbing line is gone. The game or play room is now priced. Internal doors are now priced. Approvals responsibility is now written down (client's, which is a cost to Tohfa but at least it is no longer ambiguous). The new-room-only window line has become a whole-villa aluminium replacement.

Still not answeredMeasured quantities, programme and completion date, Hatta logistics and supervision, the validity wording, demolition disposal, joinery and hardware specification, warranty and defects period, and whether drainage is inside the plumbing line.

Confirmed verbally after the revisionneeds documentingWallpaper supply and fixing, the kids study desk and wardrobes, and the master wardrobe island are all inside the quoted lump sums. That closes the last three scope gaps against Victorian Art at no extra cost. None of it appears in the documents, and one of them is contradicted by the printed exclusion list.

VAT position confirmedsince this revisionRetouch Decor prices are exclusive of VAT, as they have been on previous jobs. All four quotes therefore carry 5% on top: 819,950 net becomes 860,948. Get it printed on the face of the reissued quotes with the TRN, so the contract and the invoices agree.

Summary

Retouch Decor is now close to a turnkey offer for the villa: structure, MEP, AC, aluminium, tiling labour, ceilings, paint, doors and all joinery in four quotes. Victorian Art has answered on one package only, air conditioning, quoted at 250,000 and since described verbally as a typing error for 150,000, which is still roughly twice Retouch Decor's price. The package-by-package differences have since been put to them and a revised quotation is expected, so their figure below is a current position rather than a final one. A second meeting with Retouch Decor is set for 5 or 6 September.

Retouch Decor, as quoted (4 quotes)860,948819,950 plus 5% VAT

Victorian Art, as advised1,013,408BOQ 815,150 plus AC 150,000, plus VAT

Retouch Decor, levelled≈ 868,000only an exhaust-fan allowance

Victorian Art, levelled≈ 1,278,600with VAT and fill-ins

Retouch Decor, revised

Four quotes, all dated 20 Aug 2026, totalling 819,950.
Now covers AC, all aluminium, internal doors, tiling labour, wall paint, bathroom joinery and the kitchen worktop.
Still lump sums with no quantities anywhere. Every line remains "1 LS" except doors and AC units.
Still 70% advance: about 574,000 net, or 603,000 with VAT, before work starts.
Approvals, permits and municipality fees explicitly excluded and placed on the client.
Excludes: light fittings, wallpaper, sanitary ware and mixers, kitchen appliances, door handles, porcelain and parquet materials.

Victorian Art, revision pending

Measured BOQ Ref 1103, 29 Aug 2026, 815,150, plus AC quote Ref 1108. The AC quote prints 250,000; they have since said verbally it should read 150,000. On the corrected figure, 965,150 plus 5% VAT.
Still no aluminium, no doors, no tiling, no wall paint, no worktop, no bathroom joinery, no powder room.
The AC quote is a lump sum with the quantity and rate columns left blank, and its payment term is "full payment".
The differences have been shared with them package by package; a revised quotation is expected.
Client name blank, location "UAE, Dubai" with Hatta not written.
Stronger where it does quote: 39 lm of wardrobes with glass doors and LED, bunk bed with slide, moisture and heat-rated ceiling boards, bulkheads.
20% charge on any cancelled item, advance non-refundable.

Levelled cost

Both offers topped up to one common scope. Allowances use the other party's price where one exists, otherwise a Tohfa estimate marked with a tilde.

Retouch Decor, filled to common scope

Item	AED
Four quotes as received	819,950
Wallpaper supply and fix: confirmed included	0
Kids study desk and wardrobes: confirmed included	0
Master wardrobe island: confirmed included	0
Bathroom exhaust fans with ducting and grilles (~)	7,000
Subtotal	826,950
VAT 5%	41,348
Levelled total	≈ 868,298

Victorian Art, filled to common scope

Item	AED
BOQ subtotal as received	815,150
Air conditioning, three ducted units (VA corrected figure)	150,000
Floor and wall tiling labour (RD price)	73,700
Whole-villa aluminium windows (RD price)	45,800
Bathroom vanities, mirrors, partitions (RD price)	37,300
Internal wall paint (RD price)	24,500
Kitchen porcelain worktop and splashback (~)	18,000
Internal doors, six (RD price)	15,900
Main entrance door (RD price)	15,600
External aluminium doors, four (RD price)	9,000
Re-dressing existing villa door (RD price)	6,500
External paint to new area (RD price)	6,250
Subtotal	1,217,700
VAT 5%	60,885
Levelled total	≈ 1,278,585

Retouch Decor is now scope-complete against Victorian Art on every package, and absorbs 153,700 AED of work that was previously a separate Tohfa procurement line. That is the real commercial news in this revision: it is not just a cheaper contractor, it is fewer contracts, fewer interfaces and less of Tohfa's own management time.

Still outside both prices: sanitary ware and mixers, light fittings, tile and parquet materials, kitchen appliances, door handles, wallpaper (RD), curtains and loose furniture, municipality approvals and fees, structural drawings for the new room, handover cleaning.

Group by group

Seventeen work packages. Retouch Decor figures are the revised ones; Victorian Art is unchanged.

Work package	Retouch Decor	Victorian Art	Difference	Reading
1. Demolition and removal	15,600	42,000	+26,400	VA names twelve walls and removals with disposal. RD remains one line. Disposal and skips still unconfirmed on the RD side.
2. New room structure	65,000	48,000	−17,000	Unchanged. Different build-ups; neither prices structural drawings, and RD now states permits are the client's.
3. Aluminium windows and doors	54,800	Excluded	−54,800	New. RD now removes all existing aluminium and installs thermal-break double-glazed windows villa-wide (45,800), plus four external doors (9,000). No window schedule or count given.
4. Plumbing and waterproofing	47,500	54,000	+6,500	The 21,500 duplicate is gone, so RD now sits slightly below VA. But RD's single line says water pipes only; drainage is not named. VA names supply, drainage, floor drains, chasing and waterproofing to floors and walls.
5. Electrical first fix	35,000	26,500	−8,500	Unchanged. Neither includes accessories or fittings.
6. Air conditioning	76,500	150,000	+73,500	Both now quoted, and they still disagree by about two times. RD: three Carrier 5 TR units, 15 TR total, 5,100 per TR. VA: three Daikin or Carrier units, 13 TR total with zoning and bathroom extract, 11,538 per TR on the corrected 150,000. Their printed quote says 250,000 and has not been reissued.
7. Gypsum ceilings and paint	62,250	102,550	+40,300	RD unchanged and now carries a hidden risk: the ceiling price predates the AC package, so bulkheads for ductwork and grille openings may not be inside it. VA has no wall paint at all.
8. Tiling and parquet labour	73,700	Excluded	−73,700	Unchanged. Still the largest single gap in the VA offer.
9. Entrance	37,100	19,720	−17,380	RD includes the 15,600 main door; VA excludes all doors.
10. Majlis and dining	51,600	59,200	+7,600	Comparable intent. VA adds glass and steel-supported shelving.
11. Living room	29,000	58,250	+29,250	VA's TV unit alone is 24,200 against RD's 15,500 TV wall, and VA adds wallpaper and corner cladding.
12. Bathroom joinery	37,300	Not quoted	−37,300	Three vanities with porcelain tops, mirrors and shower partitions. VA has no bathroom furniture and no powder room.
13. Kitchen	63,500	111,800	+48,300	VA is Egger across six cabinet groups but excludes the worktop; RD is MR MDF with porcelain top and splashback included.
14. Master bedroom	84,700	158,520	+73,820	Driven by wardrobes: VA 39 lm at 2,550 with glass doors and LED plus an island (109,250) against RD's 52,500 dressing room.
15. Kids bedroom	39,500	82,740	+43,240	VA itemises bunk bed with slide, library, desk, wallpaper and 9.6 lm wardrobes. RD confirms the desk, wardrobes and wallpaper are inside their 39,500, which makes it the better-value line of the two by a wide margin. Get it written down.
16. Play or game room	24,500	51,870	+27,370	New on the RD side. RD offers cladding, desk and bench. VA offers cladding, a seating cabinet and 11.5 lm of wardrobes. Not the same room content; confirm which the drawing shows.
17. Internal doors and re-dressing	22,400	Excluded	−22,400	New. Six internal doors at 2,650 plus re-dressing the existing villa door. The door specification is a concern; see cautions.
Total before VAT	819,950	965,150	+145,200	Both exclusive of VAT. With 5% added: 860,948 against 1,013,408.

The two totals are now within 4,800 AED of each other, which is a coincidence and not a comparison. The scope behind them differs by roughly 300,000.

Item by item

Revised Retouch Decor lines paired with the closest Victorian Art equivalent. Rows shaded gold are new or changed since the first review.

Element	Retouch Decor, revised	AED	Victorian Art	AED
Enabling and civil
Approvals	Note added: all government approvals, permits and municipality fees are the client's sole responsibility and are not in the price	excluded	Government clearance and passes to be arranged and paid by the owner	excluded
Demolition	New wall openings per plan, strip bathroom floor and wall tiles, remove outer wall layer	15,600	Twelve named items: walls, openings, removal and disposal of bathroom finishes, wardrobes and kitchen	42,000
Additional room	Concrete, bricks, sandwich-panel ceiling with thermal insulation, plaster, paint preparation	65,000	Blockwork with plaster 18,500; sandwich panels with columns 22,000; lean concrete blinding with mesh 7,500	48,000
Aluminium windows	Remove all existing aluminium windows and doors; supply and install new thermal-break, double-glazed windows as per site requirement. Previously 14,600 for the new room only	45,800	Excluded	0
External aluminium doors	Single-leaf thermal break with double glass, 4 nos at 2,250	9,000	Excluded	0
Plumbing	Redistributing water pipes for bathrooms and kitchens. Second identical line at 21,500 withdrawn	32,000	Supply and drainage pipes, floor drains, supply and sanitary points, chasing and making good	in 54,000
Waterproofing	Bathroom floor insulation	15,500	Waterproofing to bathroom floors and walls	in 54,000
Concealed cistern	Not mentioned	0	Cement board enclosure to conceal WC cistern	in 54,000
Electrical first fix	Redistribute internal wiring, external kitchen and new room	35,000	Wiring, conduits, lighting, LED, downlight, track, decorative, power, AC, water heater and TV points, relocation of existing	26,500
Air conditioning	Carrier 5.0 TR concealed ducted split inverter, 3 units at 25,500, with FCU, condensing unit, refrigerant piping, controls, condensate drain, supply and return ductwork, insulation, grilles and diffusers, flexible connections, supports and vibration isolation, tested and commissioned. R-410A, 52°C ambient, 380 to 415 V three phase	76,500	Ref 1108: 3 concealed ducted, 13 TR total. Living, dining and majlis 6 TR; master and dressing 3 TR; kids, game room and hallway 4 TR. Daikin or Carrier, wall thermostats, insulated copper and drain piping, ducts with insulation, supply diffusers and return grilles, bathroom exhaust fans, gas charging and air balancing	250,000
Ceilings, paint and floors
Gypsum ceilings	Galvanised steel structure with Knauf board, all villa, as per drawing	31,500	Standard Knauf 190 sqm at 250; MR green 30 sqm at 275; HR red kitchen 25 sqm at 300; bulkheads 30 sqm at 375; 80 light openings at 75	80,500
Internal paint	Fenomastic, all villa	24,500	Two coats Jotun to ceilings only, 245 sqm at 90. No wall paint	22,050
External paint	Decorative paint matching existing, new area	6,250	Not quoted	0
Floor tiling and parquet	Fix ceramic or parquet to all areas with skirting; materials by client	42,500	Excluded	0
Wall porcelain	Fix porcelain to bathrooms and kitchen; materials by client	31,200	Excluded	0
Doors
Main door	Aluminium frame, double tinted glass, solid-core veneered leaf, hinges and closer; handle by client	15,600	Excluded	0
Internal doors	Solid wood frame and architrave, hollow chipboard core leaf with veneer, 6 nos at 2,650	15,900	Excluded	0
Existing villa door	Replace the old dressing to match the concept	6,500	Not applicable	0
Reception spaces
Entrance cladding	MDF laminated cladding, cabinet, clear mirror cladding	21,500	Marble-effect cladding, gypsum cladding, DB cabinet doors, corner cladding, LED cladding, backlit mirror or console	19,720
Majlis cladding	MDF laminated with porcelain	36,000	Marble-effect 4.5 sqm at 1,900; LED cladding 21 sqm at 1,150; two further panels	≈ 48,200
Buffet or console	MDF laminated buffet with shelves	15,600	Console with marble top 4,300; glass shelves 6 at 400; wooden shelves with steel supports 3 at 1,500	≈ 11,000
Living cladding	MDF laminated, gypsum cladding and porcelain	13,500	Cladding 22.5 sqm at 1,050; corner cladding 3 lm at 1,900; wallpaper 10.5 sqm at 450	34,050
TV wall or unit	MDF laminated TV wall with shelves and porcelain	15,500	Wooden TV unit with rounded edges	24,200
Bathrooms and kitchen
Powder room	Porcelain-top counter, built-in sink, wood shelf, mirror	10,500	Not quoted	0
Master bathroom	Counter with porcelain top, sink, drawer and shelf, mirror, wall cabinet, glass shower partition	14,500	Not quoted	0
Kids bathroom	Counter with porcelain top, sink, drawer and shelf, mirror, shower partition	12,300	Not quoted	0
Kitchen	MR MDF laminated kitchen and island, soft-close runners and hinges, porcelain top and splashback; appliances by client	63,500	Egger lower 26,750, upper 21,500, pantry 12,750, glass pantry 28,500, island with dining table 10,800, second pantry 11,500. Worktop excluded	111,800
Bedrooms
Master cladding	MDF laminated with porcelain	15,500	21.6 sqm at 1,050	22,680
Headboard	Solid frame with upholstered fabric wall	8,200	Fabric headboard 6 sqm at 1,200; wallpaper 4.2 sqm; wooden frames 100 lm at 30	12,090
Dressing desk or vanity	MDF laminated with mirror and porcelain top	8,500	Wooden vanity with mirror	14,500
Wardrobes or dressing room	MDF laminated dressing room, aluminium-framed doors with 6 mm tinted glass	52,500	39 lm at 2,550 with glass doors, LED, shelves and drawers = 99,450; island 3.5 lm at 2,800 = 9,800	109,250
Kids bedroom	Steel structure and MDF laminated bedroom, wall cladding, base bed with soft-close drawer	39,500	Bunk bed with slide 33,000; library 6,600; study desk 14,430; wallpaper 19 sqm at 450; wardrobes 9.6 lm at 2,100	82,740
Play or game room	Wall cladding, desk and bench in laminated MDF as per design	24,500	Cladding 17.4 sqm at 1,050; seating cabinet 9 lm at 1,050; wardrobes 4.5 lm and 7 lm at 2,100	51,870
Totals before VAT		819,950		965,150

The AC packages, head to head

Both contractors have now priced air conditioning. The printed Victorian Art quote reads 250,000; they have since said verbally that this is a typing error and the figure is 150,000. Even corrected, they sit 73,500 above Retouch Decor, close to double, for two tons less cooling. Neither price has been substantiated, and until a corrected quotation is issued and a heat load produced, neither should be ordered.

Point	Retouch Decor, Q1366	Victorian Art, Ref 1108
Price	76,500 net	150,000 net as advised verbally, 157,500 with VAT. The issued quotation still prints 250,000
Units	3 concealed ducted split inverter, 5.0 TR each	3 concealed ducted, 6 TR, 3 TR and 4 TR
Total capacity	15 TR	13 TR
Price per TR	5,100	11,538 on the corrected figure, 19,231 as printed
Brand	Carrier, named	Daikin or Carrier, "premium quality", not fixed
Zoning	Not stated	Living, dining and majlis 6 TR; master and dressing 3 TR; kids bedrooms, game room and hallway 4 TR
Controls	"Control system", count not given	Wall thermostats, one per unit
Ductwork	Supply and return ductwork, insulation, grilles and diffusers, flexible connections, supports, vibration isolation	Ducts with insulation, supply diffusers, return grilles
Bathroom extract	Not mentioned	Exhaust fans with ducting and grilles
Piping	Refrigerant piping and condensate drain	Insulated copper gas lines and water drain pipes
Commissioning	Testing and commissioning	Gas charging, air balancing, full system startup
Technical detail	R-410A, 52°C ambient rating, 380 to 415 V three phase	None given
Quantities on the quote	3 units at 25,500	Quantity and rate columns left blank; one subtotal
Payment	70% advance, 30% on completion	"Full payment", plus non-refundable advance and 20% cancellation fee

Victorian Art's document is the better specification. It states the zoning, names the thermostats, and includes bathroom extract, which Retouch Decor omits entirely. Retouch Decor's document is the better engineering disclosure: refrigerant type, ambient rating and power supply, none of which Victorian Art gives.

Neither price is verified, and both are outside the range you would expecthighFor a villa of this size, a three-zone concealed ducted system with full ductwork, insulation, grilles, copper, drains and commissioning would normally land somewhere between these two figures, not at either end. Retouch Decor at 5,100 per TR is low enough to suggest the ductwork scope is thinner than the wording implies, or the equipment tier is not what "Carrier" suggests. Victorian Art at 11,538 per TR now sits closer to a plausible range, which is itself the problem: a 100,000 movement described as a typing error, on a package with no quantities behind it, is not a price you can rely on until it is reissued.

What both offers still miss

The new external room. Retouch Decor confirm the additional room and the external kitchen are inside their AC scope. Victorian Art's zoning covers living, master, kids, game room and hallway only, so both spaces are still unpriced on their side.
Removal of the existing system. No line on either quote for stripping out and disposing of the old AC.
Bedroom comfort. Victorian Art puts all kids bedrooms plus the game room and hallway on one 4 TR unit with one thermostat. Retouch Decor does not say. Either way, children's bedrooms sharing a thermostat with a playroom is a comfort complaint waiting to happen.
Ceiling coordination. Both ceiling prices predate their own AC quotes. Duct bulkheads, grille openings and access panels must be confirmed inside the ceiling scope.
Warranty. Neither states a compressor warranty or offers a first-year maintenance contract.
Fresh air. Neither mentions fresh-air provision.

What to do about it

Keep the package with the main contractor and substantiate it there. Hatta is remote, and air conditioning touches ductwork, ceilings and electrical, all of which the main contractor already holds. A separate AC supplier would add a second mobilisation to Hatta and put the ceiling interface across two contracts, which costs more in coordination than a benchmark is likely to save.
Ask both for the heat load calculation, room by room, with the unit allocation and thermostat count. Whoever cannot produce one has not engineered the system, they have guessed it.
Level the scope before comparing again. Add bathroom extract and the new room to Retouch Decor; ask Victorian Art for refrigerant type, ambient rating, power supply and a fixed brand rather than "Daikin or Carrier".
Price-check the equipment rather than the package. Ask for the equipment schedule with model numbers and capacities, then check those models against dealer pricing directly. Equipment is the one part of an AC price that can be verified without another contractor, and it tells you whether the balance is ductwork and labour or margin.
Use the two offers as the cross-check. You already hold two independent AC prices for the same villa. Put each contractor's per-ton rate and cost split to them and let them justify it.

Scope gaps

Only Retouch Decor prices

Whole-villa aluminium windows (45,800)
External aluminium doors, four (9,000)
Internal doors, six (15,900)
Re-dressing the existing villa door (6,500)
Main entrance door (15,600)
Floor and wall tiling labour (73,700)
Three bathroom vanities with mirrors and partitions (37,300)
Internal wall paint (24,500)
External paint to the new area (6,250)
Kitchen porcelain worktop and splashback (inside 63,500)

Only Victorian Art prices

Bathroom exhaust fans with ducting and grilles
Room-by-room AC zoning stated on the quote
Game room wardrobes, 11.5 lm, against RD's cladding, desk and bench
Bulkhead ceilings, 80 light openings, MR and HR ceiling boards
Concealed WC cistern enclosures
Waterproofing to bathroom walls, not only floors
Named drainage and floor drain points
LED-lit cladding, backlit mirror, glass and steel shelving, DB cabinet doors
A stated six-month programme

Neither prices, Tohfa budget

Municipality approvals, permits and fees, now explicitly on the client
Structural drawings for the additional room
Sanitary ware, WCs, mixers, accessories
Light fittings, chandeliers, spots, switches and sockets
Porcelain, ceramic and parquet materials
Kitchen appliances
Door handles and ironmongery
Curtains, loose furniture, styling
Site power, water, storage, clearance
Handover cleaning, snagging, warranty terms

Exclusions register

Part A. Retouch Decor exclusions

Stated on the quotes

Item	Where stated	Does Victorian Art rescue it?	Action
Spot lights, chandeliers, wall lights	Q1364 rev02, Exclude	No. VA excludes electrical accessories	Tohfa supplies. Design-led choice, keep it in-house
Wallpaper	Q1364 rev02, Exclude	VA prices 33.7 sqm at 450	ContradictionConfirmed included verbally. Delete the line from the exclusion list in the reissue
WCs, mixers and sanitary fixtures	Q1364 rev02, Exclude	No. VA excludes the same	Tohfa supplies. See Part C
Kitchen appliances	Q1364 rev02, Exclude and the kitchen line note	No. Absent from the VA BOQ	Tohfa supplies. Confirm cut-out sizes with the joiner early
Door handles and ironmongery	Q1364 rev02, Exclude, and the main door line	No. VA excludes doors entirely	Tohfa supplies for 11 leaves. Confirm backset and hinge type with RD
Porcelain and parquet materials	Q1365 rev01, Exclude	No. VA excludes both supply and installation	Tohfa supplies materials, RD fixes for 73,700. Agree wastage percentage
Government approvals, permits and municipality fees	Q1365 rev01, Authorization note	No. VA places the same on the owner	Tohfa owns it outright. See Part C
Client-provided facilities	All four quotes, list left blank	VA specifies power, water, storage and clearance	OpenMake RD fill the blank list in before signature

Silent: no line, no exclusion, simply absent

Item	Victorian Art price	Why it matters	Action
Bathroom exhaust fans with ducting and grilles	in Ref 1108	Bathrooms with no extract fail on damp regardless of how good the waterproofing is	Allowed at 7,000 in the levelling. Ask RD to price it
Drainage pipework	in 54,000	The RD line says "water pipes" only. Drainage is the larger half of the job	Confirm it is inside the 32,000, in writing
Bathroom wall waterproofing	in 54,000	RD prices floor insulation only. Shower walls need tanking	Confirm scope and product
Concealed WC cistern enclosure	in 54,000	Affects wall build-up and tiling setting-out	Ask whether cisterns are concealed or exposed in the design
Moisture and heat resistant ceiling boards	15,750	VA specifies green board to bathrooms and red to kitchen. RD says "Knauf board" throughout	Confirm board grades are inside the 31,500
Ceiling bulkheads and light openings	17,250	RD's ceiling price predates their own AC quote. Ductwork needs bulkheads	The highest-risk silent gap. Confirm in writing before ceilings start
Game room wardrobes, 11.5 lm	24,150	RD's 24,500 play room covers cladding, desk and bench only	Confirm what the drawing shows for that room
Demolition disposal, skips and waste fees	in 42,000	Hatta tipping and haulage is not trivial	Confirm inside the 15,600
Programme and completion date	6 months stated	No date means no delay remedy	Contract condition
Warranty and defects liability	Also absent	Neither contractor offers one	Contract condition. See Part C

Part B. Victorian Art exclusions

Stated on the quotes

Item	Where stated	Does Retouch Decor rescue it?	Action
Porcelain and parquet, supply and installation	Ref 1103	Yes. Fixing labour 73,700, materials by Tohfa	A third trade in wet areas VA waterproofs. Coordination risk sits with Tohfa
Kitchen marble, meaning the worktop	Ref 1103	Yes. Inside the 63,500 kitchen	Ask VA to price it or the kitchen is unusable as quoted
House doors and aluminium windows	Ref 1103	Yes. 45,800 plus 15,900 plus 15,600 plus 9,000 plus 6,500	92,800 of work VA leaves to others
Sanitary fixtures and bathroom accessories	Ref 1103	No. RD excludes the same	Tohfa supplies. See Part C
Electrical accessories, sockets and switches	Ref 1103	No. RD excludes fittings too	Tohfa supplies. See Part C
Any accessory not specified by the client	Ref 1103 and 1108	RD has no equivalent open clause	Open-endedThis is a blank cheque. Ask them to define it or delete it
Electricity and water at site	Ref 1103 and 1108	RD leaves the facilities list blank	Tohfa provides. See Part C
Storage area and site clearance	Ref 1103 and 1108	RD silent	Tohfa provides
Government clearance and passes	Ref 1103 and 1108	RD excludes the same	Tohfa owns it

Silent: no line, no exclusion, simply absent

Item	Retouch Decor price	Why it matters	Action
Internal wall paint	24,500	BOQ item 41 is two coats of Jotun to ceilings only. Not one wall is painted anywhere in the villa	The largest silent gap in the VA offer. Price it
Bathroom vanities, mirrors, shower partitions	37,300	Three bathrooms with MEP, ceilings and tiling but no furniture	Price all three
Powder room, in its entirety	10,500	The room does not appear anywhere in the BOQ	Ask whether it was in the drawings they priced
External paint to the new area	6,250	New blockwork left unpainted against an existing painted villa	Price it, matching the existing finish
Windows to the additional room	in 45,800	Follows from the aluminium exclusion but is easy to miss	Confirm who glazes the new room
AC to the additional room and external kitchen	Covered	Ref 1108 zoning names living, master, kids, game room and hallway. Not the new room or the external kitchen	Retouch Decor confirm both are inside their AC scope. Victorian Art must price them
Quantities on the AC quote	3 units at 25,500	Ref 1108 leaves the quantity and rate columns blank, which is how a 100,000 error survives to issue	Demand a breakdown
Warranty and defects liability	Also absent	Neither contractor offers one	Contract condition

Part C. Missing from both, regardless of who wins

These items sit outside every quote on the table. They are Tohfa's own budget and Tohfa's own risk, and they are the reason the contractor price is not the project price. Allowances are indicative Tohfa estimates for budgeting, not quotations.

Item	Why it falls out of both	Owner	Action needed	Allowance
Statutory and professional
Municipality permit, fees and NOCs for the additional room	Both exclude government approvals in writing	Tohfa	Decide who submits, before the new room starts	12,000
Structural drawings and engineer sign-off	Neither prices design for the new room	Tohfa	Appoint an engineer now, it is on the critical path	8,000
Testing certificates and authority inspections	Neither mentions electrical or plumbing certification	Ask contractor	Make it a handover condition	4,000
Contractor all-risk and third-party insurance	Absent from every quote	Ask contractor	Require a policy copy before mobilisation	8,000
Defects liability and warranty	Neither states any period	Contractual	12 months on works, longer on waterproofing and AC compressor	0
Materials Tohfa must supply
Porcelain, ceramic and parquet materials	RD excludes materials, VA excludes supply and installation	Tohfa	Specify and order early, long lead items	70,000
Light fittings: spots, chandeliers, wall, track, LED strip	RD excludes them, VA excludes electrical accessories	Tohfa	Freeze the lighting layout before ceilings close	45,000
Kitchen appliances	Both exclude, both note client supply	Tohfa	Give cut-out sizes to the joiner before manufacture	40,000
Sanitary ware: WCs, basins, mixers, bidet sprays, shower sets	Both exclude sanitary fixtures	Tohfa	Select before first fix so points land correctly	35,000
Switches, sockets and DB accessories	Both exclude electrical accessories	Tohfa	Confirm finish and gang counts with the electrician	12,000
Water heater units	Both price the points, neither prices the units	Tohfa	Confirm capacity and location per bathroom	8,000
Door handles and ironmongery	RD excludes handles, VA excludes doors entirely	Tohfa	11 leaves. Match backset to the door spec	6,000
Bathroom accessories: towel rails, hooks, holders	Both exclude accessories	Tohfa	Fix positions before tiling	6,000
Works neither contractor priced
Fresh air provision	Neither mentions it	Ask both	Confirm whether the design requires it	0
Smoke detectors and fire safety	Absent from both electrical scopes	Tohfa	Check the Hatta requirement	5,000
Labour mobilisation and accommodation in Hatta	Neither prices it separately	Ask contractor	Confirm it is inside the price, not a later claim	0
Site and handover
Site electricity and water	Both place it on the owner	Tohfa	Arrange supply before mobilisation	6,000
Storage area and site clearance	VA states it, RD leaves the list blank	Tohfa	Allocate a secure store on site	3,000
Handover cleaning	Neither prices it	Tohfa	Budget a deep clean after snagging	4,000
Curtains, blinds, tracks and pelmets	Outside both scopes	Tohfa	Coordinate pelmet details with the ceiling contractor	35,000
Loose furniture, rugs, art and styling	Outside both scopes	Tohfa	Separate budget, separate programme	separate
Identified allowance, excluding loose furniture and styling				307,000

What this means for the project budget

Awarding Retouch Decor at the levelled 868,298 does not cost 868,298. Add the 307,000 identified above and the real figure is about 1,175,000 AED before any loose furniture. The contractor's quote is roughly 74% of the spend.

Three of these items sit on the critical path and should be started this month regardless of who wins: the municipality permit and structural drawings for the additional room, the tile and parquet selection, and the lighting layout. The first delays the build, the second delays the wet trades, and the third has to be frozen before any ceiling closes.

Where we are

We took the approved design to market, reviewed both offers line by line, and pushed each contractor to close the gaps. We are not yet ready to award.

Design issued to tenderApproved drawings sent to Retouch Decor and Victorian Art.
Offers receivedBoth priced, but not on the same scope, so they could not be compared as they stood.
Offers levelled and reviewedBoth rebuilt onto one common scope and every figure checked against the quotations.
First round of clarificationWe met both, challenged the gaps, and asked for revisions.
Retouch Decor revised their offerFour revised quotations. They withdrew a duplicated line in their own favour and added air conditioning, all windows and internal doors.
Victorian Art priced air conditioningQuoted at 250,000, then told us it was a typing error for 150,000. Corrected quotation requested in writing.
Differences shared with Victorian ArtPackage by package, where their pricing sits high and what their offer still excludes.
Second meeting with Retouch Decor5 or 6 September. Open items to be priced, payment terms restructured.
Revised quotation from Victorian ArtAwaited. Their figure below will change.
Air conditioning to be substantiatedHeat load, equipment schedule and cost split required before any order. The package stays with the main contractor, since Hatta is remote and the ductwork, ceilings and electrical sit in the same contract.
Award and mobilisationSubject to your budget approval and the decisions below.

The two offers

Both shown on the same scope, so each figure includes an allowance for what that contractor leaves out.

Retouch Decor

868,300

Victorian Art

1,278,600

Levelled, including VAT. Victorian Art is 410,300 higher, about 47%, and will move again on their revision.

Some of the gap is specification: Victorian Art carry longer wardrobe runs and a heavier ceiling build-up. Most of it is price level. Their offer also excludes seven packages the villa needs, from tiling to doors to wall paint.

By work package

A missing bar means that contractor does not price the package at all.

Retouch Decor Victorian Art

Joinery and fit-out

351,600~~542,100~~

Air conditioning

76,500~~150,000~~

Ceilings and paint

62,250~~102,550~~

Structure and new room

80,600~~90,000~~

Plumbing and electrical

82,500~~80,500~~

Doors, windows, aluminium

92,800~~not priced~~

Tiling and porcelain

73,700~~not priced~~

Before VAT. Totals 819,950 and 965,150.

Joinery drives most of the gap at 190,500. Air conditioning is 73,500 higher for two tons less cooling, and only after a 100,000 verbal correction. On structure, plumbing and electrical the two are within a few percent, so the rates are close and the difference sits in fit-out and equipment.

The budget picture

A contractor's quotation is not the project cost. We buy some items directly, so the design choices stay with you and are not marked up.

Contractor works, including VAT Items we supply directly

868,300 270,000

Working total about 1,138,300 AED, before loose furniture and styling. Municipality permits and professional fees are handled separately.

Contractor works, by package

Joinery and fit-out369,18042.5%

Doors, windows, aluminium97,44011.2%

Air conditioning and extract87,67510.1%

Plumbing and electrical86,62510.0%

Structure and new room84,6309.7%

Tiling and porcelain77,3858.9%

Ceilings and paint65,3627.5%

Total868,297100%

The contractor half of the split above, levelled and including VAT, on Retouch Decor's figures. Joinery is over two fifths of the contract, and the commitment most affected by a change of mind once manufacture starts.

Inside the items we supply directly

Materials and fittings

222,000

Curtains, site and handover

48,000

Indicative allowances for planning, not quotations. Hover a bar for what it covers.

What we need from you

The first three sit on the critical path. The rest can follow once the contract is signed.

Decision	Why it matters	When we need it
Budget approval	Confirms the working total and lets us close the award	Before award
Permit for the additional room	No contractor includes municipality approval. Building without it carries a fine and removal risk	Immediately, it delays the build
Tile and parquet selection	We supply the materials. Long lead items, and the wet trades cannot start without them	Within two weeks
Lighting layout	Must be frozen before ceilings close, or changes become chargeable	Before ceilings start
Sanitary ware and mixers	Selections drive the position of first-fix pipework	Before first fix
Kitchen appliances	Cut-out sizes are needed before the kitchen is manufactured	Before joinery manufacture

Next steps

How we are protecting you

Air conditioning substantiated before it is ordered: heat load, equipment schedule and cost split. The package stays with the main contractor, so one company owns the ceilings, ductwork and electrical together.
A written completion date, a defects liability period, and a warranty on the air conditioning.
Every item a contractor says is included confirmed in writing, so nothing rests on a conversation.

Programme

Second meeting with Retouch Decor: 5 or 6 September.
Revised quotation from Victorian Art: expected shortly.
Air conditioning substantiation: in parallel.
Award and mobilisation once budget and permit are settled.
Construction: around six months, to be confirmed in a written programme.

The villa will not be habitable during the works.

Commercial terms side by side

Term	Retouch Decor, revised	Victorian Art
Pricing basis	Lump sums, "as per drawing". Only doors and AC units now carry a count	Measured BOQ with sqm and lm rates on most lines
VAT	Not printed, but confirmed exclusive as usual. 5% adds 40,998, giving 860,948	5% shown, 40,758
Advance	70%, now about 574,000 across four quotes	428,000, about 50%, non-refundable
Balance	30% on completion	Four further payments on the BOQ, not tied to milestones. The AC quote says simply "full payment"
Duration	Still not stated	Six months estimated
Approvals	Explicitly excluded and placed on the client, in writing on Q1365 rev01	Government clearance and passes by the owner
Validity	"35 days from advance payment", wording still illogical	Not stated
Variations	Anything not listed is a variation; extra per sqm for changes after ceilings close	20% fee on any cancelled item
Exclusions listed	Spot lights, chandeliers, wall lights, WCs, mixers, kitchen appliances, door handles, porcelain and parquet materials. The printed list still says wallpaper, which the contractor has since confirmed is included; the document needs correcting	Porcelain and parquet, kitchen marble, doors and aluminium, sanitary fixtures, electrical accessories
Location on document	Dubai, Hatta on all four	"UAE, Dubai", Hatta not written; client name blank
Warranty and snagging	Not mentioned, including for AC	Not mentioned

Clarification lists

For Retouch Decor, round two

Duplicate plumbing line. Withdrawn in rev01.
Game or play room. Now priced at 24,500.
Internal doors. Now priced, six at 2,650.
Approvals. Now written as the client's responsibility.
AC heat load and build-up. Provide the calculation behind 15 TR, the room-by-room split across the three units, thermostat count and zoning, and whether the new external room and external kitchen are served. With it, the equipment schedule with model numbers and a cost split between equipment, ductwork and labour.
AC and ceiling coordination. Are duct bulkheads, grille openings and access panels inside the 62,250 ceiling price, or a variation? Confirm in writing.
Electrical supply. Does the villa have three-phase, and is any DB or supply upgrade needed for three condensing units? Who pays?
Old AC removal. Who strips out and disposes of the existing system?
Internal door specification. "Halo cheep board" reads as hollow chipboard core. At 2,650 a leaf that is an entry-level door in a villa where the dressing room alone is 52,500. Price a solid-core or engineered-core alternative and confirm the count of six is right against the plan.
Aluminium schedule. 45,800 covers "all" windows with no schedule. Provide the window count, sizes, system brand, glass build-up, thermal break profile, colour and whether mosquito screens are included.
Aluminium overlap. Q1365 says remove all aluminium windows and doors and install new windows. Q1364 prices four external aluminium doors separately. Confirm there is no double-count and that every removed door is replaced.
Drainage. The plumbing line says water pipes only. Is drainage, floor drains and chasing inside the 32,000, and is bathroom wall waterproofing included or only floors?
VAT on the document. Confirmed exclusive verbally. Have the reissued quotes print the net, the 5% and the gross, with the TRN, so the contract matches the invoices.
Master wardrobe island, in writing. Confirmed inside the 52,500 dressing room. Add it to the description.
Quantities. Reissue with measured quantities and rates. Our benchmark areas are roughly 245 sqm of ceiling, 22.5 sqm of living room cladding and 39 lm of master wardrobes; we will check the reissue against those.
Programme. Total duration, completion date, and the sequence across the four packages including where AC sits before ceiling closure.
Hatta logistics. Mobilisation, accommodation, transport, and how often the engineer is on site.
Kids bedroom, in writing. Confirmed the study desk and wardrobes are inside the 39,500. Have the line description say so, and confirm what the 24,500 play room covers separately so the two rooms do not overlap or leave a gap.
Wallpaper, in writing. Confirmed included verbally, but Q1364 rev02 still lists "wall paper" under Exclude. Delete it from the exclusion list in the reissued quote and state the rooms and areas covered.
Disposal. Skips, transport and municipality waste fees inside the 15,600?
Warranty. Defects period on joinery, waterproofing, aluminium and AC, plus compressor warranty and a first-year AMC price.
Validity. Correct the wording to run from the quote date.

For Victorian Art

Duplicate demolition line. Items 11 and 12 are identical. Is 42,000 double-counting?
Tiling. Price the fixing labour, or accept that another contractor tiles over their waterproofing and say how they will coordinate it.
Kitchen worktop. Price porcelain or quartz with splashback.
Wall paint. Item 41 is ceilings only. Price walls.
Bathrooms. Price three vanities, mirrors and shower partitions, and confirm whether the powder room was in the drawings they priced.
Wardrobe measure. Justify 39 lm at 2,550 against the plan, with height and depth.
Egger specification. Board thickness, decor codes, edge banding, hardware brand, LED driver brand.
Payment. Map the five payments to milestones and reduce the advance.
Cancellation. Remove or cap the 20% fee.
Programme. A bar chart for the six months with material lead times.
Clean BOQ. Several section totals are mislabelled. Reissue before it becomes a contract document.
Warranty. Defects period and Hatta supervision arrangement.

Cautions

Retouch Decor

70% advance on a bigger numberhigh, now worseThe advance is now about 574,000 AED net, 603,000 with VAT, up from 474,000, still against lump sums with no quantities, no programme and no completion date. This is the single item to fix before anything is signed. It has grown precisely because the offer improved.

AC priced at a third of the competing quotehigh, reframed76,500 for 15 TR looked competitive on its own. Beside Victorian Art's corrected 150,000 for 13 TR it still looks like a different scope wearing the same words. No load calculation, no bathroom extract, no zoning statement, no allocation for the new room. A price this far below the only other bid is a warning, not a win. No calculation and no equipment schedule, no order.

Ceiling price predates the AC scopehighThe 62,250 ceiling quote is unchanged from before AC existed, and the terms charge extra for any modification after ceilings close. Ductwork, bulkheads, grille openings and access panels must be confirmed inside the ceiling price now, in writing, or this becomes the most predictable variation on the job.

Three inclusions exist only in conversationhighWallpaper, the kids desk and wardrobes, and the master wardrobe island are confirmed included, and together they are worth roughly 45,000. None appears in the documents, and Q1364 rev02 still lists wallpaper under Exclude. As it stands, the signed paperwork says the opposite of the agreement. Fix this in the reissued quotes before award, not after.

Internal door specification is below the room it opens intomediumA hollow chipboard core leaf at 2,650 sits in a villa with a 63,500 kitchen and a 52,500 dressing room. Either upgrade the door or accept the mismatch knowingly. Handles are excluded too.

Aluminium is a 45,800 lump with no schedulemedium"All windows as per site requirement" with no count, no sizes, no system and no glass spec. This is the easiest line on the whole offer to argue about later.

Possible aluminium overlapmediumQ1365 removes all windows and doors; Q1364 separately prices four external aluminium doors. Confirm the boundary.

Drainage still unnamedmediumRemoving the duplicate plumbing line was right, but the surviving 32,000 line only mentions water pipes. Do not assume drainage is inside it.

Approvals moved to TohfamediumClear, but it is now an unpriced Tohfa line. Budget the permit, the structural drawings and the consultant, and settle who submits before the new room starts.

Still no programme, quantities or warrantymediumFour revisions and none of these appeared. They respond to scope requests readily and to commercial requests not at all. Read that as a negotiating signal.

Victorian Art

A 100,000 error in the AC quote, corrected verballyhighThe issued quotation prints 250,000. Victorian Art now say it should read 150,000, a 40% movement on a single line, described as a typing error. Blank quantity and rate columns are why nobody could catch it. Take nothing on this package as settled until a corrected quotation is issued in writing, and treat it as a warning about the checking behind the rest of the BOQ, which already carries a duplicated demolition line and mislabelled section totals.

"Full payment" on the AC packagehighThe AC quote's payment term is two words, with the non-refundable advance and 20% cancellation clauses still attached. Read literally it means paying the whole amount before a unit is installed. Do not treat this as a typographical slip; ask them what it means and get it replaced with milestones.

The offer is still materially incompletehighAC is now covered, but roughly 252,000 AED of work remains excluded: all aluminium, all doors, tiling, wall paint, worktop, bathroom joinery and external paint. Their BOQ still reads complete, which is the risk.

20% cancellation fee plus non-refundable advancehighUnchanged and unacceptable while drawings are still moving.

Partial response to round onemediumRetouch Decor turned a meeting into four revised documents. Victorian Art produced one new quote for the single package with the largest margin in it, and left the seven items that would have cost them money untouched. That is a choice, not an oversight.

Document quality and project identitymediumBlank client, "Dubai" not Hatta, duplicate demolition line, mislabelled section totals.

Both

The cover totals still do not compareThey now read 860,948 against 1,013,408 on the corrected AC figure, and that gap understates the position, because Victorian Art's total excludes aluminium, doors, tiling, wall paint, worktop, bathroom joinery and external paint. Only the levelled view, 868,300 against 1,278,600, compares like with like.

Municipality approval for the new roomNow formally nobody's but Tohfa's. Building without it in Hatta carries fine and demolition risk.

Recommendation

Award to Retouch Decor, subject to four commercial conditions. Give Victorian Art one final deadline, then close them out.

Retouch Decor now offers a near-turnkey villa at roughly 868,300 levelled against Victorian Art's 1,278,600, and they demonstrated something no document can show: they took a meeting, went away, removed a line that was in their own favour, and came back with three new packages in days. The one part of their offer this evaluation cannot yet endorse is the air conditioning, which Victorian Art's quote has now called into question from the opposite direction.

What has not improved is the commercial paperwork. Four revisions produced no VAT position, no quantities, no programme and no warranty. That is now the entire remaining negotiation.

Conditions before award

Payment restructure. Milestone payments in place of 70% up front: 25 to 30% on mobilisation, then first fix complete, ceilings closed, joinery delivered, handover, with 5 to 10% retained for 90 days. This is the one condition worth losing the contractor over.
AC substantiated before it is ordered, and kept with the main contractor. No order on Q1366 until five things arrive: the heat load calculation room by room, the equipment schedule with model numbers, a cost split between equipment, ductwork and labour, the zoning and thermostat allocation including bathroom extract and the additional room, and written confirmation that duct bulkheads and grille openings sit inside the ceiling price. Splitting this package to a separate supplier is not the answer in Hatta; substantiating it is.
Quantities and schedules. Reissue the four quotes with measured quantities, plus a window schedule for the 45,800 and a door schedule for the 15,900. Benchmark against the VA BOQ where it helps.
Programme and warranty. A completion date, and a defects period covering joinery, waterproofing, aluminium and AC. VAT is settled as exclusive; have it printed with the TRN on the reissued quotes.

How to run the negotiation

Do not open by asking for a discount. The price is already well positioned and pushing on it invites specification erosion in exactly the places that are already thin, the internal doors and the AC. The scope questions are now closed, so spend the leverage on payment terms and on upgrading the internal door cores at the same price, which costs them perhaps 10,000 and costs Tohfa nothing in quality.

Victorian Art

Their AC quote has been useful in one specific way: it proved that Retouch Decor's AC price needs checking. Beyond that, they answered one package out of eight and priced it at a level that is hard to explain. Send the unified scope list with a firm date. If they come back complete, competitive and with Hatta confirmed, reopen. Otherwise thank them and close.

Single contract, deliberately

The villa goes to one contractor, air conditioning included. Hatta is far enough that every extra trade means another mobilisation, another supervision visit and another party to chase for a snag. A split award doubles the interface risk exactly where it hurts, in the bathrooms and kitchen where wet trades, ceilings, ductwork and joinery all meet, and it is Tohfa that absorbs the coordination in time. The AC price gets substantiated inside the contract instead: heat load, equipment schedule, cost split.

Tohfa's own lines to budget now

Municipality approval and structural drawings for the new room, sanitary ware and mixers, light fittings and switches, tile and parquet materials, kitchen appliances, door handles, curtains and styling. Keep these under Tohfa's own procurement rather than letting either contractor mark them up.

Negotiation views

Price and scope review

Internal, full picture

Group	Retouch Decor	Victorian Art	Difference	Variance	Note
Enabling and structural	80,600	90,000	+9,400	VA +11.7%	Nets out. VA demolition is 169% higher, RD's new room is 35% higher
MEP first fix	82,500	80,500	−2,000	VA −2.4%	The only group where the two effectively agree
Air conditioning	76,500	150,000	+73,500	VA +96.1%	Corrected verbally from 250,000. Neither figure verified; benchmark before ordering either
Doors, windows and aluminium	92,800	not offered	n/a	n/a	VA excludes the whole group
Ceilings, paint and finishes	62,250	102,550	+40,300	VA +64.7%	VA is genuinely more specified: MR and HR boards, bulkheads, openings. But no wall paint
Tiling and porcelain labour	73,700	not offered	n/a	n/a	VA excludes the whole group
Joinery and fit-out	351,600	542,100	+190,500	VA +54.2%	The largest group in the project. VA is higher in every room except the entrance
Total before VAT	819,950	965,150	+145,200	VA +17.7%	VA's total also excludes two entire groups

Joinery and air conditioning account for 264,000 of the 145,200 headline difference, offset by the two groups Victorian Art does not price at all.

What sits behind the joinery group

Room	Retouch Decor	Victorian Art	Variance
Entrance	21,500	19,720	RD +9.0%
Majlis and dining	51,600	59,200	VA +14.7%
Living room	29,000	58,250	VA +100.9%
Kitchen	63,500	111,800	VA +76.1%
Master bedroom	84,700	158,520	VA +87.2%
Kids bedroom	39,500	82,740	VA +109.5%
Play or game room	24,500	51,870	VA +111.7%
Bathroom joinery	37,300	not quoted	n/a
Joinery total	351,600	542,100	VA +54.2%

Read the room differences with care. Victorian Art's kids bedroom and play room include wardrobes, a study desk, a library unit and a bunk bed with slide that Retouch Decor's lines describe more briefly. Some of the gap is content, not margin. The kitchen gap runs the other way: Victorian Art is 76% higher and still excludes the worktop.

Price groups, Victorian Art

Price comparison by work group

Groups where the offer sits above our benchmark

Group	Quoted	Above benchmark	Difference	What we want from the conversation
Air conditioning	150,000	+96.1%	+73,500	Reissue the quotation with the corrected figure, then a breakdown by equipment, ductwork and labour, and the heat load behind 13 TR. The package cannot proceed on a verbal correction
Play or game room	51,870	+111.7%	+27,370	Confirm the wardrobe run against the plan. Price the room without the wardrobes as an option
Kids bedroom	82,740	+109.5%	+43,240	The bunk bed at 33,000 and the desk at 14,430 drive this. Show us the design that justifies them
Living room	58,250	+100.9%	+29,250	The TV unit at 24,200 is the outlier. What changes if it is simplified?
Master bedroom	158,520	+87.2%	+73,820	39 lm of wardrobes at 2,550. Walk us through the measure on the plan, with height and depth
Kitchen	111,800	+76.1%	+48,300	76% above benchmark and the worktop is still excluded. Include it and revisit the cabinet rate
Ceilings, paint and finishes	102,550	+64.7%	+40,300	We accept MR and HR boards add cost. Wall paint is missing entirely, which has to be added
Demolition	42,000	+169.2%	+26,400	Items 11 and 12 are identical. Confirm this is not double counted
Majlis and dining	59,200	+14.7%	+7,600	Broadly acceptable. Confirm the line order, the printed sequence does not read cleanly

Scope in our requirement that your offer does not cover

Item	What we need priced	Status in your offer	Priced by the other party
Aluminium windows, whole villa	Remove the existing units and install thermal break, double glazed windows throughout, including the additional room	Excluded	Q1365 rev01, 45,800
External aluminium doors	Four single leaf, thermal break system with double glass	Excluded	Q1364 rev02, 4 x 2,250
Main entrance door	Aluminium frame with double tinted glass, solid core leaf, hinges and closer	Excluded	Q1364 rev02, 15,600
Internal doors	Six leaves with solid frame and architrave, to a core specification we will agree	Excluded	Q1364 rev02, 6 x 2,650
Existing villa door	Re-dress to match the new concept	No line	Q1364 rev02, 6,500
Floor tiling and parquet, fixing labour	All areas including skirting. Materials supplied by us	Excluded	Q1365 rev01, 42,500
Wall porcelain, fixing labour	Bathrooms and kitchen. Materials supplied by us	Excluded	Q1365 rev01, 31,200
Kitchen worktop and splashback	Porcelain or quartz, matched to the cabinets you have already quoted. Without it the kitchen cannot be handed over	Excluded	Q1364 rev02, inside 63,500
Internal wall paint	All walls not clad or papered. Your item 41 covers ceilings only, so no wall in the villa is currently painted	No line	Q1363 rev01, 24,500
External paint	The new area, matched to the existing villa finish	No line	Q1363 rev01, 6,250
Powder room	The room does not appear anywhere in the BOQ. Confirm whether it was in the drawings you priced	No line	Q1364 rev02, 10,500
Bathroom joinery, three rooms	Counters with porcelain tops and built-in sinks, drawers and shelves, wall mirrors, a wall cabinet to the master, and glass shower partitions	No line	Q1364 rev02, 37,300

Additional scope we need priced

Item	What we need priced	Status
AC to the additional room and external kitchen	Your zoning covers living, dining and majlis, master and dressing, and kids, game room and hallway. Neither external space is served, and the new room has a sandwich panel roof	Price

Not a price question, but on the agenda

Seven packages are still excluded: aluminium, all doors, tiling labour, wall paint, kitchen worktop, bathroom joinery and external paint. We need a yes or no on each.
The powder room does not appear anywhere in the BOQ.
"Full payment" on the AC quote has to become milestones.
The 20% cancellation fee and the non-refundable advance are conditions of award, not details.
The clause charging for "any accessory not specified by the client" is open-ended. Define it or delete it.
Several section totals are mislabelled. Reissue clean before it becomes a contract document.

Price groups, Retouch Decor

Price comparison by work group

Groups where the offer sits above our benchmark

Group	Quoted	Above benchmark	Difference	What we want from the conversation
Additional room structure	65,000	+35.4%	+17,000	Break it into blockwork, roof and slab so we can see the build-up. The roof specification drives the number
Electrical first fix	35,000	+32.1%	+8,500	Give us the point count by type. At this level we expect a schedule, not a lump sum
Entrance joinery	21,500	+9.0%	+1,780	Marginal. Confirm the mirror and cabinet extent and we will leave it

Three groups, 27,280 in total. The rest of the offer is at or below benchmark, so this is a short price conversation by design. Do not push harder than this: pressure on a well-priced offer buys specification erosion, not savings.

Scope in our requirement that your quotes do not name

Item	What we need	Ask	Priced by the other party
Bathroom exhaust fans	Extract fans with ducting and grilles to all bathrooms. Nothing in the AC quote covers extract	Price	Ref 1108, in 250,000
Bathroom wall waterproofing	Your line covers floor insulation. Shower walls need tanking to full height	Confirm or price	Ref 1103, in 54,000
Drainage pipework	Your line names water pipes. Drainage, floor drains, sanitary points and chasing must all be inside it	Confirm	Ref 1103, in 54,000
Concealed cistern enclosure	Cement board enclosure wherever cisterns are concealed within the wall	Confirm or price	Ref 1103, item 35
Moisture and heat resistant ceiling board	Moisture resistant board to bathroom ceilings and heat resistant board to the kitchen ceiling, not standard board throughout	Confirm	Ref 1103, items 37 to 38, 15,750
Bulkhead ceilings	Bulkheads where the design requires them and wherever your own AC ductwork needs to be concealed	Confirm	Ref 1103, item 39, 11,250
Ceiling openings for track and LED lighting	Openings with support boards, roughly 80 positions across the villa	Confirm	Ref 1103, item 40, 80 at 75
Wardrobes to the play room	Your line covers cladding, a desk and a bench. The design also shows wardrobe runs in that room	Price	Ref 1103, game room, 11.5 lm
Rounded corner cladding	Corner cladding at the entrance, majlis and living room	Confirm	Ref 1103, items 45, 47, 56
Cabinet doors to the electrical boxes	Concealment doors to the distribution boards, finished to match the surrounding cladding	Confirm or price	Ref 1103, item 44, 13 at 340
Demolition disposal	Skips, haulage and municipality waste fees	Confirm	Ref 1103, items 9 to 12
AC zoning and thermostats	Room by room allocation across the three units, and the thermostat count. Bedrooms sharing a thermostat with living space will not be accepted	Confirm	Ref 1108, items 1 to 2
LED-lit wall cladding	Cladding with integrated LED lighting at the entrance and majlis. Your lines describe laminated cladding with porcelain and do not mention lighting	Confirm or price	Ref 1103, items 46, 49
Backlit mirror	Entrance mirror with backlit LED. Your line specifies clear mirror only	Confirm or price	Ref 1103, item 51

Additional scope we need priced

Item	What we need priced	Status

Points to verify

Group	Quoted	Why we are asking
Air conditioning	76,500	Well below what we expect for three zones with full ductwork. We need the heat load, the room-by-room unit allocation, the thermostat count, bathroom extract, and cover for the additional room. We are not asking you to reduce this, we are asking you to prove it is complete
Ceilings and ductwork	31,500	Priced before the AC package existed. Confirm in writing that duct bulkheads, grille openings and access panels are inside it
Plumbing	32,000	The line says water pipes. Confirm drainage and bathroom wall waterproofing are included
Internal doors	15,900	A hollow chipboard core leaf sits below the rest of the specification. What does a solid core cost, and is six the right count?
Aluminium	45,800	A lump sum for "all windows". We need a schedule with counts, sizes, system, glass build-up and colour

Documentation and commercial

Three items are included by conversation only: wallpaper, the kids study desk and wardrobes, and the master wardrobe island. The exclusion list still contradicts one of them. Put all three into the reissued quotes.
Reissue with measured quantities and rates, not lump sums.
70% advance becomes milestone payments with retention.
A completion date and a programme across the four packages.
Defects liability period, plus compressor warranty on the AC.
VAT printed with the TRN on the face of each quote.
Fill in the blank "facilities to be provided by client" list.
Correct the validity wording to run from the quote date.

Meeting preparation

Retouch Decor, second meeting

What you must leave with

Agreement in principle on milestone payments and retention
The AC heat load and zoning split, and the ceiling and ductwork confirmation in writing
Window and door schedules behind the two lump sums
A completion date, and VAT printed with the TRN on the reissued quotes

Agenda

Acknowledge the revisions and confirm the four totals: 282,600, 398,600, 62,250, 76,500 (5 min)
AC: load, zoning, thermostats, new room, three-phase supply, old system removal, ceiling coordination (20 min)
Aluminium and doors: schedules, specification, the Q1365 and Q1364 overlap, the door core upgrade (15 min)
Open items: drainage, disposal, and getting the three verbal inclusions written into the quotes (10 min)
Commercial: payment structure, programme, warranty, validity (20 min)

Questions to press on

"Show me the heat load. Which rooms sit on each of the three units?"
"Is the ductwork bulkhead inside the 62,250, yes or no, in writing?"
"How many windows does the 45,800 cover, and at what glass build-up?"
"Q1365 removes all doors. Q1364 replaces four. What happens to the rest?"
"A hollow-core door into a 52,500 dressing room. What would solid core cost?"
"Does the 32,000 include drainage, or only supply?"
"Where are the bathroom exhaust fans, and which unit serves the new room?"
"Your exclusion list still says wallpaper. Delete it and describe what is covered."
"When do you finish, and what do you want on each milestone?"

Levers

Four packages awarded together, a full turnkey contract for one contractor
Tohfa handles approvals and supplies materials, which frees their working capital
A completed Hatta villa reference and repeat work across Tohfa's pipeline
Their own revision has already shown the flexibility; ask them to finish the job on terms

Red lines

No advance above 30% without security
No AC order without the load calculation, the equipment schedule and the cost split
No signature while the ceiling and ductwork boundary is verbal
No contract without a completion date and a defects period

Victorian Art, decision meeting

What you must leave with

A reissued AC quotation at the corrected figure, with a heat load and a rate breakdown behind it
"Full payment" replaced with milestones
A yes or no on aluminium, doors, tiling, paint, worktop and bathroom joinery
Hatta confirmed, client name corrected, a clean reissued BOQ
Removal of the 20% cancellation fee and a milestone payment map
A date by which the revised offer arrives

Agenda

Where the tender stands: scope has grown, their offer has not moved (5 min)
The unified scope list, package by package, in or out (25 min)
BOQ corrections: the two page-2 lump sums, the duplicate demolition line, the 39 lm wardrobe measure (15 min)
Commercial: advance, cancellation fee, programme, warranty (15 min)

Questions to press on

"The quotation says 250,000 and you now say 150,000. Send the corrected document, then break it down by equipment, ductwork and labour."
"What does full payment mean on this package?"
"Will you take aluminium, doors and tiling, or not? A clear no is useful to me."
"How do you propose to warrant waterproofing that someone else tiles over?"
"Walk me through 39 metres of wardrobe on the plan."
"Which lump sum is bathrooms and which is electrical?"
"Is the 20% cancellation fee negotiable? It is a condition of award."

Levers

Roughly 252,000 of additional work still available if they price it
Their own unit rates make it easy to show where a line is high
Tohfa as a repeat specifier across future villas

Red lines

No award with tiling sitting outside their waterproofing
No non-refundable advance without milestone protection
No 20% fee on items not yet started
No further extensions after this deadline

Unified scope list, updated

Package	Retouch Decor	Victorian Art
Demolition and disposal	QuotedDisposal?	QuotedDuplicate line
Additional room	Quoted	Partly
Aluminium windows and doors	QuotedNo schedule	Excluded
Plumbing and waterproofing	QuotedDrainage?	Quoted
Electrical first fix	Quoted	Quoted
Air conditioning	QuotedLoad?	Quoted3.3x the price
Ceilings and paint	QuotedBulkheads?	QuotedNo wall paint
Tiling and parquet labour	Quoted	Excluded
Internal and external doors	QuotedSpec	Excluded
Bathroom joinery	Quoted	Not quoted
Kitchen with worktop	Quoted	CabinetsNo worktop
Bedrooms and play room joinery	QuotedDescribe in the line	Quoted
Reception spaces joinery	Quoted	Quoted
Wallpaper	IncludedFix the exclusion list	Quoted
Commercial: milestones, retention, warranty, programme	All open	Partly

Meeting notes

Tohfa Design LLC · Internal procurement document, round two, not for client distribution. All four Retouch Decor totals were recalculated line by line and reconcile to the printed figures. Victorian Art line-level pairings in the entrance and majlis sections remain a best reading of a scrambled layout.

Tohfa Design LLC · Prepared for discussion. Figures are transcribed from the quotations received and are subject to written confirmation.