AI prompts for builders

Act as an experienced licensed builder writing a client estimate off a set of plans and a site walk-through.
Turn my rough notes into a clear, professional, itemised estimate in plain English.
Client: [client name]. Site address: [site address].
Scope in my words: [scope, e.g. single-storey extension off the back, 48sqm, existing brick veneer, demolish the old lean-to, waffle slab, beam through the back wall to engineer's details, tie into the existing roof, kitchen as a provisional sum].
Break it into stages a client understands (demolition, slab, frame, lock-up, fixing, practical completion), list the work as clear line items under each, add a short intro and a "what's included / not included" section.
Keep the pricing blank for me to fill in. Australian spelling.

Write up a variation for [client name] on their job at [site address], so it can be signed BEFORE the work starts.
Original contract scope: [what was in the contract, e.g. 2.4m opening to the rear with standard lintel].
Change requested: [what they asked for and when, e.g. client asked on site Tuesday to widen the opening to 3.6m].
What it actually involves: [the real work, e.g. bigger lintel to engineer's details, extra bricklaying, propping, extra day for the framer].
Set it out as: what's changing, why, what it adds in cost and program time [leave the numbers blank for me], and a clear line for their signature and date.
Plain English, no jargon, and make it obvious that work doesn't start until it's signed.

The single habit that saves the most margin. Four unwritten variations on one job and you've built somebody's extension for free at the edges.

Write a short, professional cover note to go with a progress claim.
Client: [client name]. Job: [job / site address]. Contract: [fixed price / cost plus].
Stage reached: [stage, e.g. lock-up], reached on [date].
What's been completed this stage: [list, e.g. frame up and braced, roof on, windows and external doors in, frame inspection passed].
Included with the claim: [e.g. progress photos, the claim schedule, approved variations 3 and 4].
Note the claim amount [$amount] is per the contract claim schedule, state the payment terms [terms], and keep the tone matter-of-fact and confident, not apologetic.

Act as a builder about to price a job off a set of drawings, and write me the email that pins down what's unclear BEFORE I estimate.
Job: [job type, e.g. knock-down rebuild / second storey addition / full reno] at [site address], for [client / architect name].
What the drawings show: [summary]. What I can't tell from them: [your list, e.g. is the existing slab staying, who's paying for the service relocation, is there an approved soil report, what's the allowance for the kitchen, who supplies the tapware].
Write a short numbered list of clarifications, framed as "so I can price this accurately", and note which ones will otherwise be carried as provisional sums or exclusions.
Professional, direct, no waffle.

Act as a senior estimator reviewing a builder's estimate before it goes out.
Job: [job type, e.g. 48sqm ground-floor extension on a 1950s weatherboard] at [site address]. My current line items: [paste your scope / line items].
List what's commonly left off this type of job — site costs, access and mud, temporary fencing, site toilet, skips and disposal, crane or truck hire, scaffold, engineer's inspections, certifier's inspection stages, waterproofing, making good to the existing, contingency where you can't see behind the walls, preliminaries and my supervision time.
Just a checklist of "did you allow for..." questions. Don't invent prices, and don't make building-code or compliance calls for me.

Great for catching the stuff that quietly eats your margin two months in.

Write a client update email for the end of a build stage.
Client: [client name]. Job: [site address]. Stage just finished: [stage, e.g. frame].
What we did: [list, e.g. frame up and braced, roof trusses on, frame inspection passed Thursday].
What's next and roughly when: [next stage and dates, e.g. roof and windows over the next fortnight, then lock-up].
Anything they need to decide or choose soon: [e.g. tile selections needed in 3 weeks, tapware by lock-up].
Anything they should know: [e.g. the truss delivery slipped 4 days but we've made it up].
Warm but businesslike, easy to read on a phone, and end with a note that photos are attached. Australian tone.

Send one at the end of every stage and the client stops ringing you about tiles at 4pm.

Write a friendly, professional reply to a new enquiry.
The client wrote: "[paste their message, e.g. we're looking at an extension off the back and a new bathroom, architect's drawn something up, wondering what it'd cost]".
I'm a licensed builder in [area]. Thank them, confirm we do this sort of work, and ask the 4-5 things I need before a site walk-through ([e.g. address, do they have drawings, is there an approval yet, rough budget they've got in mind, when they're hoping to start]).
Offer to come and walk the site. Keep it short and easy to read on a phone.

Help me write an honest, calm message to [client name] about a delay on their job at [site address].
What's happened: [the real reason, e.g. the truss supplier's put us back two weeks, so the roof and everything behind it shifts].
What it means for the program: [impact, e.g. pushes practical completion out by about 10 working days].
What I'm doing about it: [your plan, e.g. bringing the sparky's rough-in forward so we don't lose the fortnight, chasing a second supplier].
Tell them straight, don't over-apologise, don't blame anyone, give them the new date and reassure them I'm on it. Steady and professional.

Clients forgive delays. They don't forgive finding out about them three weeks late.

Explain [technical thing, e.g. why the beam over the new opening needs the engineer's details and why that changed the price / why we can't sheet until the waterproofing's inspected / why a cost-plus contract works differently to a fixed price] to a client who's never built before.
Use a simple everyday comparison, keep it to a short paragraph, and end with what it means for them (cost / program / why it matters) without scaring them. Plain, friendly Australian English.

A client says my estimate for [job, e.g. the rear extension] is dearer than another builder's. Help me write a polite, confident reply.
My estimate covers: [key inclusions and quality points, e.g. site costs and prelims priced properly rather than hidden, a realistic kitchen provisional sum instead of a lowball one, scaffold and temporary fencing allowed, licensed and insured, my supervision on site].
Don't be defensive and don't drop the price. Offer to sit down and walk them through the two estimates line by line so they can see what's actually in each — the gap is usually what the other one left out. Short and respectful.

Write the message I send my subbies to lock in next week.
Job: [site address]. Week starting: [date].
Who's needed and when: [list, e.g. Mon-Tue framer to finish the back wall; Wed sparky rough-in; Wed-Thu plumber rough-in; Fri plasterer to measure up].
Anything they need to know: [e.g. skip's on site Monday, no parking out front after 8, frame inspection Thursday morning so keep it clear].
Write it as one short message per trade, so I can send each of them theirs. Ask each one to confirm by [day] so I know if the week's real. Direct, friendly, no fluff.

Write a firm but friendly message chasing [subbie name / trade] for their paperwork before they start on my site at [site address] on [date].
What I still need: [list, e.g. current public liability certificate of currency, workers comp, their licence number, a SWMS for their high-risk work].
Make it clear it's not personal and not negotiable — they can't start without it, and I'd rather sort it now than turn them around at the gate Monday morning.
Short, no lecture, easy to reply to with attachments.

Send it the week before, not the morning of. Nobody's expired certificate is ever convenient.

My [trade, e.g. plasterer] hasn't shown up to [site address] and the site's stopped.
Write me two things:
1. A direct message to the subbie asking where they are and whether they're coming, without burning the relationship if there's a real reason.
2. A short message I can send to [2-3 other subbies in that trade] asking if anyone can pick up [scope, e.g. sheeting the extension, about 3 days] starting [date].
Keep both short. Number 1 firm but fair, number 2 straight to the point about the work, the dates and the site.

Write a short email to [certifier / building surveyor] booking a mandatory inspection.
Job: [site address]. Permit / approval number: [number]. Inspection stage: [stage, e.g. frame].
We'll be ready from [date]. Ask them to confirm a day and time, and ask what they want available on site or sent ahead ([e.g. the engineer's details for the beam, the truss layout, the frame certificate]).
Brief and businesslike. Just the booking — I'm not asking them to pre-approve anything.

Write a friendly follow-up to [client name] about the estimate I sent for [job, e.g. the rear extension] at [site address] on [date].
Check they got it, offer to walk them through the staging and where the provisional sums sit, and keep it low-pressure — they're weighing up a big decision, not haggling.
2-3 sentences, sounds like a real person, not a chase-up bot.

Three days after you send it. This one message wins more jobs than dropping your price ever will.

Write a short, warm message asking [client name] for a Google review now their [job, e.g. extension] at [site address] is finished and handed over.
Thank them, mention it genuinely helps a small local building business, and make it easy: say I'll send the link.
Humble and no-pressure. 2-3 sentences.

Send it the day after handover, while they're still walking around their new space grinning.

Write a genuine, friendly reply to this 5-star review for my building business: "[paste review]".
Thank them by name if given, mention something specific from their build (e.g. how the new opening changed the whole back of the house, or that they lived in it through the reno and were great about it), and keep it warm and human. Don't sound copy-pasted.

Help me reply to a negative review for my building business. The review says: "[paste review]".
My side / what actually happened: [your notes, e.g. the delay was the truss supplier and we told them at the time; the extra cost was a signed variation they asked for].
Write a calm, professional public reply: acknowledge their experience, don't get defensive, don't argue the contract or the variations in public, and invite them to contact me directly to sort it. Short and level-headed.

Write a casual message I can send to past clients asking them to keep me in mind for anyone thinking about an extension, a reno or a new build.
Their neighbours watched my trucks for [duration, e.g. six months], so there's a natural in there.
Friendly, not pushy, no discount gimmicks. Sounds like a local builder who does good work and appreciates word of mouth.

Write a short email I can send to several suppliers asking them to price the same list, so I can compare properly.
Job: [job / site address]. What I need priced: [paste your list, e.g. structural timber for a 48sqm extension frame, LVL beam to schedule, roof trusses to the attached layout, bracing and tie-downs].
Ask each for: trade pricing line by line (not a lump sum), lead time on each item, whether they can deliver to [site address / suburb] and on what days, and how long the price holds.
Make it clear I'm comparing quotes. Brief and businesslike.

Ask for it line by line or you can't compare — a lump sum hides which item is the dear one.

Write a polite but firm email to [supplier name] chasing an order that's holding up a site.
Order: [what you ordered, e.g. roof trusses to the attached layout] placed on [date], order ref [number], on account [account name].
It was due [date]. The frame's up and the roof can't go on without it — every day it slips, the whole program behind it slips.
Ask for a firm delivery date today, and to be called the moment anything changes. Professional and to the point, but leave them in no doubt this one's costing me.

I'll paste my rough site notes and I want a proper defects list.
Job: [job / site address]. Stage: [e.g. pre-handover walk-through with the client].
My notes: [paste notes, e.g. paint touch-up in hallway, cornice gap in the corner of bed 2, back door not latching properly, tile grout in the ensuite, kitchen cupboard door not sitting flush, scratch on the sliding door glass].
Turn it into a table: item number, location, the defect, which trade it's on, and a blank column for target date and sign-off.
Group it by trade so I can send each subbie just their bit. Don't add defects I didn't mention, and don't decide for me whether something's actually a defect or fair wear.

Sorting it by trade is the whole trick — one list per subbie instead of one list everyone ignores.

Write a polite reminder to [client name] about an overdue progress claim on their job at [site address].
Claim [number] for the [stage, e.g. lock-up] stage, amount [$amount], was due [date] under the contract.
Assume it's an honest oversight, keep it friendly, restate how to pay, and ask them to let me know if there's an issue at their end.
Firm but respectful — I want to be paid AND still be working on their house tomorrow.

Write a short, professional email asking for a retention release.
Job: [job / site address], completed [date]. Contract: [contract type]. Amount held: [$amount].
Defects liability period: [period], which ended / ends on [date]. Defects: [status, e.g. all items on the handover list were completed and signed off on X date].
Ask for the release to be processed and confirm the payment date. Polite, factual, and make it easy to say yes to.

The last slice of the job is the one everyone forgets — including you, because by then you're three jobs down the road.

I'll list what I spent on a job and I want a tidy cost summary.
Job: [job / client]. Costs: [list each item and amount, e.g. trusses $6,400, structural timber $3,900, framer 5 days $4,250, concrete pump and slab $9,800, skip x2 $780, scaffold hire 6 weeks $2,100, temporary fencing $340].
Group them (materials / subbies / plant and hire / site costs / disposal), total each group and the whole job, and show each group as a percentage of the total so I can see where it actually went.
Format it so I can drop it straight into my records.

Don't paste anything you wouldn't want stored — keep client bank details and the like out of it.