The cheapest lesson in construction is a properly prepared BOQ. Here is what it protects you from.

Most cost overruns on private projects in Nigeria are not caused by inflation. They are caused by a project starting without an agreed measure of what is being built.

A bill of quantities turns a drawing into measured items — concrete by cubic metre, blockwork by square metre, reinforcement by tonne. Once each item has a rate, a variation becomes a calculation instead of an argument.

It also lets you compare contractors honestly. Three quotes against the same BOQ are comparable; three lump sums are not.

Our surveyors prepare the BOQ, administer the contract, and run monthly valuations so that money leaves your account only against work that has actually been done and measured.