"Fixed price" is only as fixed as the scope
A fixed price means: this money, for this work. If the work is described as "extension as discussed", the price is fixed to nothing in particular. The contract must define scope by reference to documents — drawings by revision, a specification, the tender — and identify any provisional sums (allowances for items not yet priced, like kitchens or glazing) so both sides know what is inside the price and what is not.
The homeowner's contract checklist
- Builder identified precisely — company or individual — with tax reference and insurance details attached
- Scope by documents, with provisional sums and PC sums listed
- Deposit modest and justified; stage payments tied to completed milestones, never dates
- A written variations procedure — no change built until priced and signed
- Programme with a start date, completion date and agreed grounds for extension
- Insurance: builder's public liability and employer's liability confirmed in writing; clarity on who insures the works and your existing structure
- Defects liability period with retention or a holdback until defects are made good
- Termination clause that works for both sides — and what happens to materials on site
- Irish governing law and a sensible dispute route
Your consumer rights sit underneath the contract
As a consumer you have statutory protection: under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 services must be provided with due skill and care, and unfair terms in the builder's standard conditions may not bind you. If the contract was concluded away from the builder's premises — at your kitchen table — cooling-off rights can also arise. But statutory rights are remedies for after things go wrong. The contract is what stops the going-wrong: it is much easier to point at a signed stage-payment schedule than to litigate "due skill and care".
How we help
Two fixed-fee options: we review and mark up the contract your builder has produced, or we draft a plain-English fixed-price building agreement for your job that a reasonable builder can sign without friction — most are glad to see one, because it protects them too. If your builder resists any written contract at all, treat that as information.
How our fees work
You get a fixed quote in writing before any work starts — no hourly-rate surprises and no meter running while you think. If the scope changes, the quote is revised in writing before we continue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. How contract solicitor fees work in Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
The builder says his insurance covers everything. Does it?
Ask for the certificates and read the limits and exclusions. Public liability covers injury and third-party property damage — it is not a guarantee of the work itself, and it rarely covers defective workmanship. The contract's defects and retention provisions do that job.
Should I pay a deposit before work starts?
A modest deposit tied to genuine upfront costs is normal. A large deposit — a quarter of the price or more — moves the builder's cash-flow and insolvency risk onto you. Stage payments against completed work protect both sides better.
What if the builder wants to use his own contract?
That's fine — builders with proper paperwork are usually the better builders. Have it reviewed before signing: builder-drafted terms fairly commonly cap liability, loosen the programme and accelerate payment. A fixed-fee review tells you which clauses to push back on.
We're halfway through and there's no contract. Too late?
No — a mid-job agreement recording price, remaining scope, stage payments and defects terms is far better than nothing, and both sides usually welcome the certainty. If the relationship has already broken down, our construction disputes practice can advise instead.
Talk to a solicitor who reads contracts for a living. Call Mary Molloy Solicitors today.
Whether you are drafting terms for your business, handed a contract to sign, or unsure what a clause commits you to, an early conversation costs little and prevents a lot.
📞 Call 01 5827148Try the Contract Risk Checker
richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · Dublin: The Ormond Building, 31–36 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7, D07 EE37 · Kilkenny: 2 Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny, R95 W58D
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