How to compare construction quotations without missing the scope
A practical method for comparing construction quotations: align drawings, quantities, inclusions, exclusions, assumptions and change procedures.
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Good decisions start before the works.
Practical guides to help you ask better questions, compare options and prepare your project.
Preparing a building plot: what to check before excavation
Before excavating a plot, review survey levels, access, buried services, ground information, water and the destination of excavated material.
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What information does a foundation quotation need?
Understand the documents behind a foundation quotation: ground investigation, design loads, drawings, reinforcement, concrete and construction access.
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Why drainage should be decided before paving a car park
Plan car park drainage before choosing the finish. Review levels, water routes, inlets, discharge arrangements and maintenance access.
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Refurbishment: diagnose the cause before choosing the finish
Plan a building refurbishment by distinguishing visible damage from its cause, checking hidden conditions and defining investigation and repair stages.
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Concrete wall, rockfill or gabions: what determines the choice?
Compare retaining solutions by ground conditions, loads, drainage, available space, access and maintenance rather than appearance alone.
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Planning hotel refurbishment around the operating season
A practical guide to hotel refurbishment phasing: room groups, shared services, guest routes, procurement, inspections and reopening decisions.
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Before demolition: identify materials and plan their destination
Prepare selective demolition by identifying retained elements, service isolation, material streams, specialist risks and traceable destinations.
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Recurring potholes on a rural road: look beyond the surface
Understand recurring rural road damage by reviewing water routes, drainage features, vehicle use, weak layers and the timing of maintenance.
Read articleIllustrative image generated with AI.
A construction guide for owners and project teams
The ECOSTA blog explains the decisions that often arise before a construction contract is defined. Its purpose is to make an initial conversation more productive: what information is needed, which alternatives deserve examination and which details can change the scope. Articles are organised around specific questions rather than repeated descriptions of our services. If you want to contract a particular activity, use the service catalogue. If you are still trying to understand a problem, begin with the guide closest to your situation.
From a question to an informed brief
Our initial collection covers quotation comparison, plot preparation, foundation information, drainage, refurbishment, retaining walls, hotel phasing, demolition materials and rural road maintenance. These subjects connect to projects in Girona, where coastal access, rural sites and existing buildings can demand different approaches. Each article explains the information to collect and the decisions to discuss with the relevant professionals. You will also find related services and links to official technical resources where these are useful. The articles avoid universal prices or guaranteed schedules because those would conceal important project differences.
How to use these guides
Start with the short answer at the beginning of an article, then read the sections relevant to your project. Make a note of the documents you already have and the questions that remain open. A photograph can illustrate a visible problem, but it does not replace a survey, calculation or site inspection when one is necessary. Technical design, permits and specialist assessments must be handled by the appropriate professionals. For a project outside Spain, the applicable local requirements must be checked independently rather than transferred directly from a Girona example.
An evolving editorial resource
The blog is designed to grow with new questions and more detailed explanations of construction processes. Publication and revision dates help readers assess the context of an article. Illustrations generated for the guides are identified as such and do not document a completed customer project. Where a topic refers to regulations, consult the linked official resource and the current project requirements before making a decision. If a guide raises a question about your own site, contact ECOSTA with the location, the intended work and the information you have collected so far.
Bring the questions to your project meeting
A useful way to read a guide is to turn its headings into a meeting agenda. Mark the points already covered by your drawings or reports and the points that remain undecided. Ask the relevant professional to explain those gaps in relation to your site. This keeps the discussion focused and prevents a general article from being treated as a design instruction for conditions it has never examined.