What should I check in a contractor quote before I say yes?
Ten points: the quantities, the scope, what is excluded, tax, materials, the schedule, payment, extra work, validity and the company's registration. If the quantities are missing, it isn't a quote — it's just a number.
Short answer: check that the quote states the quantities it is priced on (m² of wall, floor, ceiling and the number of openings), what is and isn't included, whether the price is with or without tax, materials and the number of coats, the schedule, the payment plan, the hourly rate for extra work, the validity period, the company name and registration number — and whether it is stated to be a binding quote or an estimate. If the quantities are missing, the quote can be neither verified nor compared.
1. Does it say whether this is a quote or an estimate?
That is the single most important line in the whole document. A quote is a firm price the contractor is bound by. An estimate is a forecast that may shift. If the word appears nowhere, ask — and get the answer in writing.
2. Are the quantities included?
A usable quote shows what it is priced on: "painting 33.8 m² of net wall and 15.1 m² of ceiling in two coats" can be checked. "Painting the living room" with one lump sum afterwards cannot — there you can neither see what was allowed for nor what was forgotten.
The quantities serve two purposes. They let you compare quotes from several contractors line by line. And they mean that a later discussion about extra work is about a deviation from an agreed figure, rather than about what someone had imagined. If the quantities are missing, ask for them before you sign.
3. What is included — room by room, surface by surface?
Go through the list as a checklist and tick off each point:
- Walls? Ceilings? Skirting boards? Frames and door leaves? Radiator recesses?
- Covering of floors and furniture?
- Moving furniture?
- Clean-up and waste disposal?
- Filling and preparing the surface?
Each of them is hours of work. If they aren't mentioned, they probably aren't included.
4. What is explicitly NOT included?
The best quotes have a section of reservations. That is a good sign, not a bad one: a contractor who writes "the price assumes the subfloor is level to within 2 mm over a 2 m straight-edge" has actually looked at the job. A quote with no reservations at all is either very thoroughly documented — or not thought through.
5. Is the price with or without tax?
This is the single most common misunderstanding between a private client and a contractor. As a private individual, you need to see the price you will actually pay — that is, with any tax added on top. If a figure is given without stating this, ask before doing any further sums or comparing it with another quote. Two quotes where one is stated with tax and the other without cannot be compared.
6. Materials and quality
Number of coats of paint, product type, floor type, moulding profile and wood species. "Two coats of washable wall paint, sheen 5" is an agreement. "Good quality paint" is not. If the materials aren't specified, contractors will pick what they usually use — which can turn out both better and cheaper than what you had pictured.
Also state who buys the materials. If you supply them yourself, the contractor's responsibility for the material's suitability falls away, and that should be stated.
7. Schedule
Start date, expected duration in working days, and what happens if there is a delay. For larger jobs: when is each phase due to finish? For smaller ones: is it three days in a row, or three days spread over a month because other jobs come in between?
8. Payment plan
When is payment due, and what triggers each instalment? Watch out for large upfront payments: a certain amount on account for materials can be reasonable for a large delivery, but paying for work not yet carried out shifts the risk onto you. A final payment that only falls due on approved handover is the strongest tool you have for getting the last details finished.
9. Hourly rate for extra work — and when you are to be asked
Agree the hourly rate up front, while you still agree on everything. And agree a limit: "Extra work only starts after my written approval." Without that sentence, a phone call on site can turn into a line on the invoice.
10. Validity, company and insurance
- Validity period: most quotes hold for a few weeks to a month. Material prices move.
- Company name and business registration number should be on the quote. Look the company up in the public business register, and see how long it has existed.
- Liability insurance — ask whether the company has one, and what it covers.
- Warranty or defect-claim terms for the work.
- For larger jobs, most places have a set of standard terms for building work for consumers that you can agree as a shared basis. These rarely apply automatically — they need to be agreed in writing. If you are unsure what applies where you live, ask a professional; this is not legal advice.
Two things that must not be left unresolved
Load-bearing walls. If a wall is to be removed or broken through, the quote must not rest on an assumption that the wall "is probably just a partition." Neither a tape measure, a LiDAR scan nor an app can determine that — it takes a building surveyor or an engineer, and altering a load-bearing structure also needs approval from the authorities before work starts. If the matter is unresolved, it should be listed as an open item in the quote.
Regulatory requirements. Who applies for permits, and who pays the fees? For work on the structure, in wet rooms, on installations, or where a room's use is changed, the authorities generally need to be involved before work starts. Get that placed in the quote rather than assumed.
How to check the quantities in a quote
If you have taken your own measurements, you can check a quote against them in ten minutes. Take the net wall area in the quote and hold it up against your own: if there is more than a 5% difference, ask why before you sign. That is not distrust — it is exactly the conversation that prevents a dispute later.
HouseSense gives you the figures to hold a quote up against. Whether you scan the home with LiDAR on an iPhone Pro — or draw it yourself on the app's graph paper — the app's takeoff gathers net wall areas with doors and windows subtracted, floor and ceiling areas, ceiling heights and a window-and-door schedule of every opening. Send that PDF along with your request, and quotes will come back priced on your quantities — leaving only the contractor's price and approach to the job to compare.