Can this wallcovering package be procured, coordinated and handed over predictably? It can when the tender defines seven things: the scope, the measurement basis, the substrate handover, the programme, how changes are handled, how snagging is closed and what spares are kept. A package becomes difficult when decisions, materials and site readiness arrive in the wrong order. This checklist puts them in order, and the blank package schedule records them room by room.
Scope: what is in the package?
List every area with its material reference, drawing revision, quantity basis and required date. State whether the package is wallcovering only or wallcovering within a decorating package; at Brown’s Hotel and 15 Old Bailey Mr Wallcover was main decorating contractor, while at The OWO the wallcovering package stood alone. Say whether preparation, lining, primers, paper on joinery, protection, access equipment and waste removal are included, so quotations can be compared on the same basis. Our guide to what changes the cost explains each line.
Measurement basis: what is being priced?
State whether areas are measured net of openings, whether returns, reveals and joinery faces are measured separately, and whether the contractor or the client confirms the purchase quantity. The labour measure and the order quantity are different numbers: the order has to cover full drops, the repeat and the batch. Where the repeat is demanding, the allowance is often in the region of 20%. See the quantities page.
Substrate handover: when is a wall “ready”?
Define ready for the specified product: sound, dry to a stated reading, filled and sanded to an agreed standard, primed or not, lined or not. Name who inspects, how defects are recorded and how unresolved preparation affects the programme and the price. Period walls and new plaster both carry risk; our wall preparation guide lists what has to be checked, and the survey is a judgement on the wall as well as a measure.
Programme: what has to finish first?
Sequence wallcovering after wet trades, first-fix joinery and ceiling finishes, and before second-fix items that would damage a finished wall. Show target dates per area, the working hours and access rules, and whether the building is occupied. Delivery of free-issue goods is timed to the hang and paper is not stored in corridors; where the site is a working hotel, the hotel specification guide covers room release and phasing. A tender deadline is not the requested start date.
Changes: how are substitutions and variations handled?
Decide who approves a substitute product, and require appearance, installation implications and the supporting documents to be reviewed before approval. Where the project carries fire, acoustic or environmental requirements, obtain the document for the exact product and have the responsible project professional accept it; a family name on a schedule is not evidence. Keep a dated revision on the schedule and the affected elevations, and agree how additional preparation is authorised once walls are opened up.
Sample area and snagging: how is acceptance recorded?
Agree a sample area or mock-up before the repeating rooms start, in the permanent lighting where possible, record its acceptance and measure every later room against it. Agree who protects finished walls from following trades, how snags are recorded, and what counts as a material characteristic rather than a defect: visible seams and shading in natural weaves, for instance, are the material and should be settled at the sample stage. The designer checklist covers the design side of that record.
Spares and handover: what does the client keep?
Hand over a room-by-room record of product, colourway, batch and care sheet, together with spare material from the same batch, stored as the maker recommends. State the limits of a later repair, since a different batch will show. The handover pack should also say what aftercare is included; our aftercare page sets that out for the work we deliver.
When does this checklist stop being enough?
It defines the package; it does not certify compliance, insurance or contract terms, which are confirmed with current documents for the specific project. For a tender, send the drawing revisions, the room and material schedules, areas and quantities, supply responsibility, substrate information, programme, access rules, documentation requirements and the tender deadline to the developers and main contractors page.
Your next step
Bring it back to your room.
Send the material reference and what you already know. A photograph and a short note are enough to start.
Send drawings and schedule