How to read a contractor quotation (before you sign it)

A quotation is not a price. It is a list of assumptions wearing a price tag. Two documents can differ by thirty percent and still be quoting the same job — or differ by five percent while describing two completely different levels of work.

After sixteen years of reviewing quotations from both sides — writing them as a contractor, checking them as a project manager — here is what I tell clients to look at before the total.

“A cheap quotation is not cheaper. It is just a bill you receive later, in pieces.”

Check what is excluded, not what is included

Included items are marketing. Exclusions are the truth. A quotation that lists marble supply but stays silent on wastage percentage, adhesive grades, or waterproofing behind wet areas is transferring every one of those costs onto you later.

Ask for the exclusion list explicitly. A confident contractor sends it without hesitation. Hesitation there tells you something.

Brands matter more than quantities

Forty square metres of tiles means nothing without a brand and grade. 'Waterproofing included' means nothing without a manufacturer. The gap between a grade-one and grade-two material is invisible on paper and obvious within two summers in this climate.

If a quotation names generic descriptions instead of brands, ask for specifics. If the price drops after you ask, you have learned which item was carrying the profit margin.

Payment terms reveal confidence

Read the payment schedule as a character statement. Heavy deposits upfront mean the contractor needs your cash to start someone else's work. Payments tied to completed, inspected milestones mean the contractor can fund progress and expects to earn each payment.

My preference is simple: small mobilisation amount, then payments against finished work. Contractors who trust their delivery never fear milestone-based payment.

Compare scope line by line, not totals

Put two quotations side by side and build a simple three-column comparison: item, included by contractor A, included by contractor B. Within twenty minutes the 'expensive' quote usually reveals extra scope the cheap one quietly left out — demolition disposal, MEP modifications, approvals, protection of existing finishes.

This exercise takes half an hour and regularly saves clients tens of thousands of dirhams in variations. It is the highest-paid half hour in any renovation.

One last thing

The best quotation is not the cheapest or the most detailed. It is the one whose writer clearly understood what you are trying to build, priced it honestly, and left nothing important unsaid. Everything else is negotiation with your future self.