Design & Build · 2026 · 3 min
Turnkey, literally
The word gets used loosely. In its true sense, turnkey means there is no scope gap left for the client to manage.
“Turnkey” is one of the most overused words in construction. For many firms it means “we’ll manage the vendors for you.” Managing vendors is useful — but it is not the same as owning the outcome.
The gap you didn’t price for
A fit-out needs civil works, joinery and furniture, finishes, building services and low-voltage systems. When those come from different suppliers under different contracts, the seams between them — the coordination, the sequencing, the “that wasn’t in my scope” — become the client’s problem, usually at the worst possible moment.
One contract, one team
A true turnkey contract closes every seam. One house is responsible for the empty shell becoming a finished, functioning, audit-ready space. If the ceiling grid clashes with the ductwork, that is resolved inside one team’s programme — not in a meeting between three companies who each believe it is someone else’s job.
That is the test worth applying to any “turnkey” claim: when something goes wrong at the seam between two trades, whose problem is it? If the honest answer is “ours,” it is turnkey. If it is “the vendor’s,” it is vendor management with a nicer name.
This is how we work — one team, from drawing to door.