A frame package can be 20 to 30 percent of a build’s value and sits on the critical path. These are the twelve questions that separate a safe pair of hands from a programme risk.
Key Takeaways
- •A frame package is often 20 to 30 percent of build value and sits on the critical path, so it warrants harder vetting than almost any other trade.
- •The strongest signals are recent comparable projects, references you actually call, financial standing, and directly employed core labour.
- •A defensible pour cycle, a credible crane and temporary works strategy, and named site management separate a safe pair of hands from a priced risk.
- •A curated network does the first-pass checks for you, so you start from a credible shortlist instead of a cold market.
Why The Frame Package Deserves Extra Scrutiny
A concrete frame is frequently 20 to 30 percent of a build’s value, and unlike most packages it sits squarely on the critical path. A weak frame contractor does not just cost money, it costs time you cannot recover, because everything else is queued behind the structure. That combination, high value plus critical-path exposure, is why the frame package warrants harder vetting than almost any trade on the job.
The lowest tender is the wrong place to start. A keen number from a team that cannot hold its cycle, cannot resource the deck, or is one bad month from insolvency is the most expensive bid on the table once it lands. The questions below are how you tell a safe pair of hands from a programme risk wearing a competitive price.
The Twelve Questions, And What A Good Answer Sounds Like
1. Recent Comparable Projects
Has the contractor built your kind of frame, at your scale and height, in the last couple of years? A team that does ten-storey PT towers is not automatically the right team for a heavily loaded industrial RC frame, and vice versa. You want recent, relevant and finished, not a portfolio of jobs from a different decade.
2. References You Can Actually Call
Names and numbers of main contractors and clients who have used them recently, and the willingness for you to phone them. Ask those references the awkward questions: did they hold programme, how did they handle change, would you use them again. A contractor confident in their work hands these over without flinching.
3. Financial Standing
A frame contractor that fails mid-job is a catastrophe, not an inconvenience. Check accounts, run a credit review, and look at the ratio between this package and their typical turnover. A package that is a large multiple of their normal workload is a risk even if the team is good.
4. Directly Employed Versus Subcontracted Labour
Who actually pours your slabs? A core of directly employed, supervised labour gives you control over quality and continuity. A contractor who subs out the whole deck to whoever is available is selling you a name, not a team. Some subcontracting is normal; a fully bought-in workforce on a critical-path package is a flag.
5. Safety Record And Accreditations
Frame work is among the most dangerous on site: working at height, lifting heavy loads, temporary works under load. Ask for accident statistics, relevant accreditations, and how they manage temporary works and lifting. A poor safety culture is both a moral problem and a programme one, because incidents stop the job.
6. The Proposed Pour Cycle And Its Basis
Make them defend the floor-on-floor cycle. What is the number, and what crane time, labour and striking criteria sit behind it? Our guide on reading a frame programme and protecting the pour cycle sets out exactly what a credible answer contains. A contractor who cannot explain their own cycle has not really planned it.
7. Crane And Temporary Works Strategy
How many cranes, placed where, lifting what, and who designs the temporary works and back-propping? The crane strategy underpins the whole cycle, and an under-resourced lifting plan is one of the most common reasons a frame slips.
8. Design And PT Coordination Capability
On a design-and-build frame or a post-tensioned job, can they coordinate the design, manage the stressing specialist, and own the interfaces with the engineer? PT in particular needs a contractor who treats stressing as routine, not as something they will figure out on the first floor.
9. Concrete Supply Arrangements
Where is the concrete coming from, is supply secured for the programme, and what is the plan if a plant goes down or a pour is rejected? A frame is only as reliable as the concrete arriving on the day, and supply gaps stall the cycle directly.
10. Quality And Testing Regime
How do they confirm concrete strength before striking, manage cover and tolerances, and deal with non-conformance? A clear, documented quality regime is the difference between a frame you can sign off and one you spend the rest of the job remediating.
11. How They Handle Delay And Change
No job runs perfectly. Ask how they price and manage variations, how they recover lost time, and how they communicate when something slips. The honest answer involves a process, not a promise that nothing will ever go wrong.
12. Who, By Name, Will Run Your Job
The contracts manager who wins the work is not always the one who runs it. Ask for the named site manager and engineer who will actually be on your project, check their track record, and make their continuity part of the deal. People build frames, not logos.
Any One Of These Can Be A Deal-Breaker
Read individually, each question screens out a specific failure mode. Read together, they paint a picture: a contractor who answers all twelve crisply, with numbers and names, is a fundamentally different proposition to one who is vague on half of them and keenest on price. The pattern of the answers tells you more than any single response.
A Useful Rule
Weight your decision toward the contractor who can defend their pour cycle and name their site team, even at a slightly higher number. On a critical-path package, certainty is usually worth more than the saving.
Let The Network Do The First Pass
Running all twelve checks properly takes time most pre-construction teams do not have, especially across several tenderers at once. That is the point of a curated network. The first-pass screening on experience, accreditation and financial standing is already done, so you start from a shortlist of credible teams rather than a cold market, and you spend your time on the questions that are specific to your scheme.
Tell us about your frame package and we will match you with vetted RC and PT contractors who have already cleared the basics, so your vetting starts from a stronger position.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of a build’s value is the concrete frame?
The frame package is commonly 20 to 30 percent of total build value, and it sits on the critical path, which is why it justifies harder vetting than most other trades.
What is the single most important thing to check?
There is no single check, but the strongest combination is recent comparable projects plus references you actually call plus financial standing. Together they tell you whether the contractor has done your kind of job, done it well, and is solvent enough to finish yours.
Is it a problem if a frame contractor subcontracts its labour?
Some subcontracting is normal. The flag is a contractor with no directly employed core team who buys in the entire deck workforce. On a critical-path package you want continuity and supervision over the people pouring your slabs.
Should I just take the lowest frame tender?
No. On a critical-path package the lowest number from a team that cannot hold its cycle or is financially fragile is the most expensive bid once it lands. Weight the decision toward the contractor who can defend their programme and name their site team.
How does a frame network speed up vetting?
A curated network completes the first-pass checks on experience, accreditation and financial standing before you ever see the contractor, so you start from a credible shortlist and spend your time on the questions specific to your scheme rather than screening a cold market.
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