How to get builder quotes
You'll receive up to three quotes from vetted builders, side by side, in your dashboard. Here's how the flow works.
How builders find your project
When your project is ready for quotes, it’s listed on the Beams marketplace — visible to vetted builders in your area whose track record fits the size of your job. Builders browse the live jobs and choose the ones they want to quote for. Up to three can take a quoting slot on your project.
This works in your favour: every builder who quotes has actively chosen your project, rather than been assigned to it. If the slots are slow to fill — usually capacity or specialism — we boost your project’s visibility across the network, or talk to you about whether you’re happy to proceed with two. The aim is comparable quotes, not a number.
How builders assess your project
When a builder takes a slot, they book an assessment with you. Most visit your home for around an hour — they measure, take photos, ask about your priorities, and form a view on what the project involves. The article How to prepare for your builder site visits covers what to expect and how to get the most from them.
Some builders can assess remotely instead — from a video walkthrough you record, a live video call, or a phone conversation. It’s the builder’s call whether remote assessment suits your project; where it does, it’s a faster route to the same answer.
The quotes
Each builder sends you a quote through the platform. You’ll see them side by side in your dashboard, with a breakdown of labour, materials, prelims, Value Added Tax (VAT), and any provisional sums.
Quotes are due within four working days of the assessment — each builder commits to their deadline when they mark the assessment complete (longer for larger projects). If a quote is taking longer than expected, your planner will chase.
The quote review
When all the quotes are in, your planner or build advisor will offer to walk you through them — a quote review. They’ll explain the differences in scope and approach, flag anything that looks underpriced, and help you compare the substance rather than just the headline number. The article How a quote review works covers this in detail.
Choosing
You choose based on whatever matters most to you: price, scope, communication style, the conversation at the assessment, the builder’s track record on similar projects. Sixty per cent of customers don’t choose the lowest quote.
You have time. There’s no pressure to decide on the day. If you want to talk to a builder again, that’s fine. If you want to ask for a revised quote on a different scope, that’s also fine — though scope changes can take a few days to come back through.
After you choose
You pay the £1,000 build deposit to secure the builder. We generate the Home Improvement Contract (HIC) from the agreed scope and price, and you both sign digitally. Two weeks before break ground, you fund the construction fee into the Beams Account.
What this means for you
Take your time on the assessments and the quote review. The choice you make here shapes the next several months of your life — and getting it right at this stage is worth more than rushing to start.