A proper quotation lets you see exactly what you are buying before you sign. It names the drawings, lists the work in each room, describes the materials, and sets out the exclusions and assumptions in plain words. A single figure with “renovate kitchen and bathroom” underneath is a statement of intent, not a quotation.
The detail matters more in older Edinburgh homes. Tenements and villas hide things until the work opens them up: lath and plaster that comes away when a wall is cut, floors that are not level, old pipe runs, and services shared with the rest of the stair. A good quotation says how each of these is treated. A vague one leaves them to be argued about once the job has started.
What a proper quotation itemises, and what a vague one leaves out
| Item | A proper quotation | A vague quotation |
|---|---|---|
| Drawings priced | Names the drawing or schedule revision used | Says “as per drawings” or nothing |
| Scope by room | Lists the work in each room or area | One line per room, or one total for the whole job |
| Materials | Names the products, grades or codes included in the price | Uses “allowance” or “to client choice” with no specification |
| Strip-out and making good | Says what is removed and where the making good stops | Silent, so the edge of the work is unclear |
| Decoration | Names the rooms and surfaces included | Mentions “decorate” without saying where |
| Protection, access and waste | Covers the common stair, deliveries and waste removal | Not mentioned |
| Consents | Shows which items wait for a building warrant or other consent | Treats all the work as ready to start |
| Assumptions | States what was assumed where nothing could yet be seen | Assumptions stay in the contractor’s head |
| Provisional sums | Says what each one covers and how it will be firmed up | Several sums with no description |
| Exclusions | A named list of what is not included | No list, or “anything not mentioned” |
| VAT | States clearly whether VAT is included | Leaves you to guess |
| Payment and changes | Points to the contract terms for payments and variations | No mention of how changes are agreed |
A provisional sum is a figure for work that cannot yet be fully defined, such as repairs behind a wall that has not been opened. A few are normal in an old building. A quotation made mostly of provisional sums has not really priced the job.
Start with the drawing it was priced from
We start there. For Sweet Homes, “architect’s drawings” is too vague when several revisions have circulated and the engineer’s detail arrived later. Our quotation names the drawing or schedule revision used.
Sweet Homes prices the construction information issued to us. The homeowner appoints the architect, structural engineer and warrant professional, so their appointments and application work do not drift silently into our construction scope.
Sweet Homes supplies and fits the materials it installs, so the products and the work are priced together in one quotation. That keeps responsibility for both in one place.
For a room with equipment and fitted cabinetry, the media wall service and bespoke home office service show why the product and equipment brief needs to be defined before pricing.
Check what waits for consent
In Scotland, a building warrant must be granted before work starts on structural alterations, on forming or closing an opening in a load-bearing wall, on a loft or garage conversion, or on a change of use. Planning permission and listed building consent are separate permissions. A listed building, or a flat in a conservation area such as the New Town, may need one of those as well.
A good quotation shows which items depend on a warrant or consent. It does not present that work as ready to start before the permission is in place. Our guide to when a building warrant is needed for interior alterations covers the common cases.
Trace one altered wall through the quotation
When we review a quotation, we take one wall from the drawing and find it in the scope. If it is being removed, we look for the support, the service diversions and the making good around the opening. “Alter wall as shown” may leave the connection between those entries unclear.
The structural detail might still be missing when quotations are requested. The contractor can then state an assumption, or leave the work unpriced while the connection detail stays with the engineer.
We read the exclusions against the same wall. Decoration outside the altered area or a specialist survey may sit elsewhere. The wording may place the contractor’s stopping point at the new plaster edge in the adjoining room.
Do the same exercise on competing quotations before comparing their totals. One may follow the engineer’s issued detail while another still relies on the architect’s earlier opening.
How to compare two quotations
Work through this list before you look at the totals:
- Check both were priced from the same drawing revision.
- Line up the rooms and the work listed in each.
- Compare the materials: the same product, a similar one, or an allowance.
- Read the exclusions side by side. Decoration, making good, waste and protection of the common stair are the usual gaps.
- Count the provisional sums and ask what each one covers.
- Check that VAT is shown the same way in both.
- Ask how changes will be agreed and priced before the extra work is done.
- Ask for any omission or unclear item to be resolved in writing.
A conversation about plastering does not, by itself, mean that every wall is included in the quotation. Read the named areas and the preparation and finish allowed for. The cheaper total is often the one with the longer list of things left out.
Payment and changes
The project contract records payment and change terms. Sweet Homes does not apply a percentage schedule or variation wording drawn from this article. Whatever the contractor, a change to the agreed work should be described, priced and approved in writing before it is carried out.
Talk it through
Request a call about a defined construction scope. Include the property type, Edinburgh area and the drawing stage reached. Send your enquiry by form or email. We will reply and arrange a follow-up call to talk through the project.
For the work a whole-property quotation can cover, see our managed home renovations in Edinburgh. If the property is a flat, our page on flat renovations in Edinburgh explains how the scope is put together, and our tenement renovation page covers the shared stair and building constraints that a tenement quotation needs to reflect. The construction scope is priced from the agreed design and specification.