How to compare builders’ quotes before a home renovation

Three builders can visit the same house and return three very different prices. The first task is to find out whether they have priced the same job. A cheaper total may reflect a different specification, an omitted task or an allowance that has not yet been settled.

A useful comparison puts the scope, assumptions and exclusions beside the price. Here is a practical way to do that before committing to renovation work.

Give every builder the same brief

Prepare one version of your drawings and a room-by-room description of the work. State which finishes and fittings you have chosen and which remain undecided. If you change the brief during a site visit, send the change to everyone quoting.

For a bathroom, for example, “replace the suite” leaves important questions unanswered. Does it include removing tiles, repairing the substrate, moving pipework, fitting the shower screen and redecorating? Identify those tasks individually, even if the eventual quotation groups them together.

Clarify whether the price is a quote or an estimate

Citizens Advice’s guidance for England distinguishes a quotation at an agreed price from an estimate that gives a rough indication. It recommends written quotations and explains the circumstances in which a quoted price can change. Ask the builder what is fixed and what remains uncertain rather than relying on the heading of the document alone.

Use a comparison sheet

Create a column for each builder and a row for each important element. Mark each item as included, excluded, an allowance or unclear. An empty box is a question to resolve, not evidence that the work is free.

Preparation, protection and removal of existing fittings.Labour, materials and the specified finish.Access equipment, deliveries, skips and waste removal.Design input, specialist trades and inspections.Making good adjoining surfaces and final decoration.VAT treatment, the total payable and how long the offer remains valid. A worked example: why the lowest figure may change

Suppose Builder A quotes £18,000 and Builder B quotes £20,000. These are illustrative figures, not market prices. A excludes floor finishes and disposal; B includes both. You have not yet established a £2,000 saving. Ask A to price the missing items and ask B to confirm the product allowances before comparing the revised totals.

Now suppose A allows £500 for a fitting that you expect to cost £1,200. Record that £700 difference separately. Do the same exercise for every undecided item. This makes the exposure visible without pretending that a rough allowance is a final price.

Ask how changes will be handled

The RICS home improvement guide recommends agreeing a process for changes before building starts. Ask for written confirmation of the extra cost and programme effect before authorising a variation. Keep a running list of approved changes so the final account does not depend on remembered conversations.

Compare the builder as well as the document

Ask about recent projects similar to yours, who will supervise the work and who will be your day-to-day contact. Check references and insurance information. Discuss the proposed start date, likely duration and payment stages. Citizens Advice also recommends checking insurance and obtaining a written contract before work starts.

Use the clarification process as a working test. Can the builder explain an exclusion clearly? Do revised documents match the conversation? A proposal you understand is easier to manage than one built around vague promises.

Finish with one agreed version

Before accepting, assemble the final quotation, drawings, specification and clarifications into a consistent set. Check that an earlier assumption has not survived in one document after being changed in another. Keep a dated copy of what you and the builder agreed.

Sources checked on 21 October 2026. The comparison method and worked example are editorial illustrations; take project-specific advice on substantial or complex contracts.

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seen at 10:36, 21 October in LTG Development Consultants.