Getting Comparable Quotes for Home Work
The standard advice to obtain three quotes is sound and incomplete, because three quotes for three different interpretations of the job cannot be compared.
Write the scope first
Describe what you want in writing, in as much detail as you can manage, before contacting anyone.
Include materials where you have a preference, finishes, and anything you specifically do not want.
State what you expect the contractor to supply and what you will supply.
Give the same document to every contractor. This single step is what makes the quotes comparable.
What a quote should contain
An itemised breakdown of labour and materials rather than a single figure.
A clear statement of what is excluded, which is where disputes originate.
A start date and expected duration.
Payment terms, including any deposit and stage payments.
Whether it is a fixed quotation or an estimate subject to change, which is a legally meaningful distinction in many jurisdictions.
Assessing the contractor
Ask for recent addresses where they did similar work, and visit or telephone. Photographs prove little.
Check registration with the relevant competent-person schemes for regulated work such as gas, electrical or heating.
Check public liability insurance and, where they employ people, employers' liability.
Look at how they communicate during quoting, since it predicts how they communicate during problems.
Reading the prices
The lowest quote is frequently the one that has omitted something, so identify what.
A quote much higher than the others may reflect a better specification or a contractor who does not want the job.
Ask each contractor to explain any large difference. Their explanation is informative.
Before work starts
Agree the scope, price and timescale in writing, however informal.
Avoid large deposits. A deposit for materials is reasonable; a substantial proportion of the price before work begins is not.
Agree how changes will be priced, since changes are the main cause of budget overruns.
Keep a written record of decisions made on site, since verbal agreements are remembered differently.
Payment protection and guarantees
Paying by credit card for part of the work gives protection in some jurisdictions if the contractor fails to complete.
Insurance-backed guarantees protect the warranty if the contractor ceases trading, which is worth asking about for substantial work.
A guarantee from the contractor alone is worth only as much as the contractor's continued existence.
When work is under way
Expect some disruption and agree working hours, access and site tidiness at the outset.
Inspect at each stage rather than only at the end, since problems are cheaper to correct before the next stage covers them.
Do not make the final payment until you have inspected the work properly and any snagging list is agreed in writing.
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