How a quote review works

Once your builder quotes are in, your planner or build advisor will offer to walk you through them. We call this a quote review. It exists because the quotes you get back will look different in places, and the differences usually matter more than the headline numbers.

What the quote review covers

A typical review walks through:

• General feedback on each builder. First impressions, how the visits went, anything we noticed alongside you.
• The headline numbers. What each builder has quoted in total, with a sense of the spread.
• Scope differences. Where one builder has included something another hasn't — waterproofing detail, floor preparation, electrical scope, decoration scope, materials supply.
• Provisional sums and risk allowances. Where each builder has carried risk vs where they've priced firmly.
• Our read on which quote looks tightest. Where the scope is fullest, where the pricing looks most robust, where the risk allowances make sense. This is a planner's view to help you compare, not a recommendation to choose — the choice is yours.

What you can ask for

A few things customers don't always realise they can ask for:

• A line-by-line cost breakdown. Most builders will provide one if you ask. It makes comparing quotes meaningfully easier.
• A standardised cost template across all three builders. We can put a template together that maps each builder's pricing onto the same line items, so you can compare apples to apples. This takes a few days to come back but it's worth it on bigger projects.
• A phase-1-firm / phase-2-indicative split. If your project is large or has elements that aren't fully scoped yet, you can ask the builders to firm up Phase 1 (the part that's ready to go) and price Phase 2 indicatively. This is unusual but available — your build advisor can put it in motion.

What you're looking for

A few things tend to separate a good quote from a less-good one:

• Specifics. Detailed scope, line-item pricing, named products. Vague language usually hides surprises.
• A sensible spread between labour and materials. Both builders' figures should make sense for the work involved.
• Realistic provisional sums. Provisional sums set well below typical market values can mean the builder will quote up later.
• Programme detail. A timeline broken into phases is more useful than a single end date.

Indicative pricing during quote review

Quotes at this stage can contain indicative pricing alongside firm prices. Some prices in a quote may be indicative rather than firm. Builders are allowed to use indicative figures for items where the spec isn't fully locked yet — for example, a finish you haven't selected, or a structural item that depends on a survey. You can still select a builder and pay the build deposit on a quote that contains some indicative pricing.

A few things to know:

• Read carefully to spot which items are indicative. Builders may flag this in the cost numbers themselves and in the quote description. If something is indicative and you're not sure, ask.
• Factor indicative items into your comparison. A quote with several large indicative items has more room to move than one priced fully firm.
• All indicative prices must be firmed up before the Home Improvement Contract (HIC) is signed. The HIC only ever contains firm prices — never indicative ones. The firming up usually happens during the design stage.
• After the HIC is signed, price changes go through the change-order process. That keeps the document you signed binding and any later changes properly scoped and approved.
• Phasing isn't done by carrying indicative prices forward. If you want to start a bathroom now and finalise the kitchen later, that's handled through two separate HICs, not one HIC with placeholders.

In short: indicative pricing belongs to the quote stage. The HIC you eventually sign will only contain firm prices.

What the headline price doesn't tell you

The lowest quote isn't always the cheapest project. The article Comparing builder quotes covers what to look for beyond the number — the majority of customers don't choose the lowest, and that's not because they're being extravagant.

What this means for you

Don't make the choice until you've had the quote review. The quotes look more comparable from the outside than they often are, and the review is where the differences become visible. Ask questions. Ask for a line-by-line breakdown if something doesn't add up. The right builder for your project is rarely obvious from the headline number alone.

Related articles

• How to get builder quotes
• Comparing builder quotes
• How quotes change after design is locked