How detailed should my quote be?

mumlady1

I'm having an extension built shortly (starting within the next couple of weeks). I have planning permission & a building warrant has now been granted.
I have the initial estimate from my chosen builder but would now like a more detailed quote.
Should he be able to provide me with this at this stage (within reason, as I know certain details may change) ?
I did ask him for a breakdown a few weeks ago but he fobbed me off! Obviously I want to be prepared for the costs & I don't want to be caught out!
Anyone out there have experience of having an extension built & how detailed was your quote & what information did it show?
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks

Doozergirl

mumlady1 wrote: »

I'm having an extension built shortly (starting within the next couple of weeks). I have planning permission & a building warrant has now been granted.
I have the initial estimate from my chosen builder but would now like a more detailed quote.
Should he be able to provide me with this at this stage (within reason, as I know certain details may change) ?
I did ask him for a breakdown a few weeks ago but he fobbed me off! Obviously I want to be prepared for the costs & I don't want to be caught out!
Anyone out there have experience of having an extension built & how detailed was your quote & what information did it show?
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks

The quotes I produce usually consist of three pages plus a cover letter, but the spacing is big and I split it into sections! For an extension, I try to detail all measurements of walls, windows (including style and materials), rooflights, detail the exact brand and style of brick and tile, explain how walls are finished - plastering, skirting, decoration etc. -basically as much as I can think that a customer will see. I'll put in a budget for sanitaryware so that the customer can price any upgrade themselves.

I personally have a huge breakdown of what is priced, but just summarise the ugly building stuff for customers stating that work will be done satisfaction of the Building Control Officer. It's hard to say what isn't included but we try to be very clear about what is and run through what customers want in a lot of detail before quoting so that we avoid 'extras'.

Some builders work on gut with experience as a guide.

Some builders price purposely low and will evade detail as they make it up later with extras. If you check references personally with someone who has had similar work, you can ask what their 'extras' bill was like.

mumlady1

Doozergirl, you're a star!! :T Thank you so much for your reply. I'll speak to my builder again for a more detailed quote.

mymedi

Well, technically, your quote should be as detailed as possible, down to the preferred door handles prices if you can provide the type you like... In reality, of course, this never happens. But still the quote should be detailed enough to give you an idea of what exactly gets done in each and every room/area, what they expect to use in terms of materials & fittings, and what design/layout they will be following. Otherwise even with the best and most honest builders you will run into the issue of misunderstanding where you thought they were doing this, but they actually thought they were doing that, and that will inevitably lead to significant "extras". That being said, you should still allow at least 5-10% over your budget...

keystone

I think what you are actually looking for is a detailed scope of work / job specification rather than a detailed quote.

Cheers

PS Thats the fewest words way to agree with Post 4 which is spot on.

McKneff

Don't get an estimate....

Make sure the word Quote is used.

mumlady1

thanks everyone, I've just asked builder this morning for a detailed quote and for him to get that to me within the next 7 days. I appreciate you all taking the time to reply, thanks again :T

mumlady1

How detailed should my quote be?
This was my query from a week ago -
I'm having an extension built shortly (starting within the next couple of weeks). I have planning permission & a building warrant has now been granted.
I have the initial estimate from my chosen builder but would now like a more detailed quote.
Should he be able to provide me with this at this stage (within reason, as I know certain details may change) ?
I did ask him for a breakdown a few weeks ago but he fobbed me off! Obviously I want to be prepared for the costs & I don't want to be caught out!
Anyone out there have experience of having an extension built & how detailed was your quote & what information did it show?
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks

This is what I've received from my builder (shortened version) -
Per the drawings that went through planning & building warrant (yada yada) we can still offer this price to you of £xxxxx + vat however there are increased costs for blah blah & blah of £xxxx
He then goes on to list what will be done at each stage i.e.
foundations & drainage/timber frame/roof etc etc.
However, there isn't a breakdown of costs for each section (i.e. labour & materials cost for actually digging & creating the foundations & drainage etc) Should there be?
I just have a total price for the job which is what I had before. Any builders out there or anyone had an extension built who can advise please.

System

if you want a more detailed quote, ask for a quote fully broken down into the sections you want, it's not what there should or shouldn't be - if you are unhappy with the way the quote has been done, ask for it to be done the way you want, however it wouldn't surprise me if the builder a) wants paid for doing another, more detailed quote, as it does take some time to put them together, or b) doesn't want the job anymore

Doozergirl

the_r_sole is correct to say that quotes are time consuming as it is.

There's little gain in a long list of numbers for anyone. There might be if you were considering not having a roof or foundations on your extension, but you can't choose that!

You need 'one extension' so people will, in the main, provide a price for 'one extension' and, for clarity, a list of what that includes. As I said before, if something is likely to be changed for personal choice reasons, then I'd show the budgeted sum for that. Some builders don't price scientifically either; it's swings, roundabouts and experience.

There's often changes that take place before agreeing. I've repriced three different sizes of a current customer's extension (and then other additional items) before they finally decided on the right one for them. Adding a metre changes every single element of the costings in that build - change one thing, it all changes. I'd be more inclined to break out the prices once the budget is agreed, as part of the contract.

Is there a particular reason you want it like that?

mumlady1

Hi, thanks again for replies. I haven't had any large building works done before so was unsure what to expect from a quote. You are quite right, I don't need to know the exact cost of every item, it just seems odd to be handing over (eventually) tens of thousands of pounds without knowing a breakdown of costs but if that's the norm, I'm happy to accept it just wanted to double check. Thanks all :T