Scope: UK-wide planning guide. Practical considerations to adapt to your own home and circumstances.
Give every contractor the same starting point
Prepare one description of the proposed work, supported by relevant plans and specifications. Explain access constraints and which materials you intend to supply. If the brief changes during a conversation, share the change with everyone whose price you are comparing. Otherwise the lowest quote may simply cover a smaller job.
Read the exclusions first
Look for preparation, disposal, making good, decorating, protection of occupied areas and any specialist work. Ask how tax is presented in the quote. If an allowance is used for an item not yet chosen, ask what happens when your selection costs more or less.
Understand the commercial arrangement
Ask whether the document is an estimate or a fixed quotation and what could change the price. Clarify start dates, expected duration, payment stages and the procedure for agreeing extra work. Put meaningful changes in writing before they are carried out.
Compare the service too
- Who will be on site and who supervises the work?
- How are questions and concerns handled?
- Can you see relevant previous work or speak to a past client?
- What insurance and qualifications are relevant to the job?
- What documents and aftercare are included at handover?
Make a short comparison sheet
Use columns for included work, exclusions, allowances, programme, payments and outstanding questions. Do not turn an unanswered question into an assumed inclusion. Ask for clarification before choosing. A detailed conversation is not a substitute for an appropriate written agreement, but it helps reveal whether you and the contractor understand the job in the same way. The useful comparison is the cost of the whole agreed result, not just the figure at the bottom of the first page.