Picking hardware and material shops

Over a house build you will buy from the same few shops again and again: cement and steel, bricks, sand and aggregate, then plumbing, electrical and finishing items. Choosing them well saves money and many arguments.

Find a few good shops

• Prefer authorised dealers and distributors of the cement, steel, pipe and wire brands you have chosen. Brands list their dealers, and a dealer can show you the certificate.
• Ask your engineer and neighbours who have built recently where they bought, and what went wrong.
• Visit the shop. A good store keeps cement dry and off the floor, stores rebar off the ground, and shows its prices clearly.

Compare quotes properly

• Give three shops the same list: item, brand, grade or size, and quantity.
• Ask for the delivered price, including transport, loading and unloading, and carrying to upper floors.
• Cement and steel prices move, so agree how long a quote is valid.
• Agree the payment terms in writing. Don't pay for the whole project in advance; buy in phases.

Always take a proper bill

• Nepal's VAT rate is 13% (since the Finance Act 2083 the government can set lower rates for some items). A VAT-registered shop must give you a VAT invoice; a smaller business registered only for PAN gives a PAN bill. A handwritten chit is not enough.
• The bill should show the shop's name and PAN, the date, and each item's brand, grade or size, quantity and rate.
• You can check a shop's PAN with the Inland Revenue Department's PAN search.
• Keep every bill. You will need them for warranty claims, disputes, your own cost records, and sometimes a bank loan.

Check every delivery

• Count and weigh. Count the cement bags and weigh a few at random (50 kg each). Weigh rebar or check the bars' weight per metre (see Choosing cement, rebar, bricks and sand).
• Bricks. Count them by the stack and look for broken or under-burnt bricks before you sign.
• Sand and aggregate. Measure the truck box before unloading and look at the material: mud, lumps of clay or too much dust are reasons to refuse it.
• Match the bill. The brand, grade and size on the material should match the bill and your order.
• Have someone you trust on site to receive deliveries, and note what arrived each day.

Avoid fakes and short measures

• Look for the NS mark. Cement, rebar, GI wire, corrugated roofing sheets and PVC-insulated copper cable for house wiring are all on the list of products that must meet a Nepal Standard. Check the maker's labels, batch numbers and seals too.
• For wires, switches, pipes and fittings, buy known brands from authorised outlets, keep the warranty cards and check the size printed on wires. Under-size or poor-quality wire is a fire risk. See Electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning basics.
• Be wary of a price far below other shops for the same brand: the difference usually comes from somewhere.
• For tiles, paint and sanitary ware, buy each item from one batch, and agree beforehand whether unused, unopened boxes can be returned.

If something goes wrong

• Take it up with the shop first, in writing, with the bill and photos.
• If a shop sells you fake, under-weight or over-priced goods and won't put it right, you can complain to the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection through its online consumer complaint form. Attach the bill.

Keep simple records

A notebook or spreadsheet with the date, shop, item, quantity, rate and amount paid shows where the budget is going, and makes a missing delivery or a double bill easy to spot.