Why Your Builder's Quote Is £20k Less Than Ours

An honest look at what cheap quotes leave out, what professional quotes include, and why comparing numbers side by side rarely tells the full story.

8 min read

The Phone Call We Get Every Week

It usually goes something like this: "We love what you do. We have seen your work. But we have had another quote and it is £20,000 less."

We completely understand. That is a significant amount of money and nobody wants to overpay for anything. We would be asking the same questions if the roles were reversed.

But here is the thing. That cheaper quote is not comparing the same job. It never is. And we think you deserve to understand why before you make a decision you will be living with for the next twenty years.

What a Cheap Quote Actually Includes

We are not saying cheaper contractors are dishonest. Most of them genuinely believe they are giving you a fair price. The issue is what they are pricing for.

A typical low cost quote covers the visible work. The stuff you can point at and say "I want that to look like this." Units fitted, walls plastered, tiles on the floor. And for some projects, that might be enough.

But renovation is not just about what you can see. It is about what sits behind, underneath, and around the things you can see. And that is where the gaps start to appear.

A lower quote often leaves out project management entirely. It assumes trades will just "turn up in the right order." It rarely includes contingency for the surprises that every renovation throws up once you start opening walls. It may not include building regulations sign off, electrical certification, or proper waste disposal.

None of this is hidden. It is just not included. And that is a very different thing.

The "Hidden" Costs That Are Not Hidden at All

We call them "hidden" because that is the phrase everyone uses. But they are not hidden. They are just not on the other quote. Here is a side by side comparison of what you are actually comparing:

Typical "Cheap" Quote

Labour (day rate, no project management)
Basic materials
"Making good" (loosely defined)
Skip hire (maybe)

Full Service Quote

Dedicated project manager on site
Full trade sequencing and scheduling
Building regulations compliance
Electrical certification (Part P)
Gas Safe certification
Structural calculations where needed
Waste removal and site clearance
Dust protection and client care
Public liability and professional indemnity insurance
Contingency allowance (typically 10 to 15%)
Detailed scope of works document
Post completion snagging and aftercare
12 month workmanship warranty

When you look at it like that, the price difference starts to make a lot more sense. You are not paying more for the same thing. You are paying for a fundamentally different service.

Why "Like for Like" Does Not Exist

This is the bit that catches most people out. Two quotes for a "kitchen renovation" might look comparable on the surface. Both say "supply and fit kitchen" somewhere near the top. But one includes everything from first fix plumbing to final snagging, and the other assumes you will sort half of that yourself.

Here are just a few things that vary wildly between quotes:

Who manages the project? Some quotes assume you will coordinate trades yourself. Ours include a dedicated project manager who sequences every stage.
What happens when something goes wrong? Every renovation has surprises. Our quotes include a contingency allowance. Most cheap quotes do not, and you will be asked for extra money when the unexpected happens.
Who cleans up? Waste removal, dust sheets, daily site tidying. These are real costs that are either in the quote or they are on your doorstep.
What happens after handover? Our projects come with a 12 month warranty and aftercare support. Many builders consider the job done the moment they leave.

The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong

We have lost count of the number of clients who have come to us after a cheap renovation went sideways. Unfinished work. No certificates. Trades that disappeared halfway through. Walls plastered over dodgy wiring. Bathrooms leaking within six months.

The cost of fixing a bad renovation is almost always more than the cost of doing it properly in the first place. Not just financially, but in terms of stress, time, and the disruption to your life.

We wrote about this in detail in our post on why the installation team matters more than the kitchen itself. And if you want to understand how the industry got here, our piece on speed versus quality in construction explains the systemic pressures that push prices down and corners with them.

So What Should You Actually Do?

We are not asking you to just take our word for it. We are asking you to compare properly. Here is what we would suggest:

Ask every contractor for a detailed scope of works. Not a one page summary. A document that lists everything they will and will not do.
Ask who manages the project day to day. If the answer is "you," factor in the time and stress that involves.
Ask about contingency. If it is not in the quote, ask what happens when something unexpected comes up. Because it will.
Ask about certifications. Electrical, gas, building control sign off. If these are not mentioned, they are not included.
Ask about aftercare. What happens if something goes wrong three months after completion?

If another contractor can answer all of those questions and still come in significantly cheaper, then they may genuinely be better value. But in our experience, once you compare like for like, the gap closes very quickly.

Why We Price the Way We Do

We could strip out project management. We could stop providing contingency allowances. We could skip the aftercare and certifications. And our quotes would be £20k cheaper too.

But we would not be able to sleep at night. And more importantly, you would not get the renovation you deserve.

Every penny in our quote is there for a reason. We are happy to walk you through it line by line. No pressure, no sales pitch. Just an honest conversation about what your project actually needs.

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