Get three quotes, everyone says — sensible advice that dies on contact with the paperwork: one page of handwriting, one glossy PDF, one text message with a number in it. They're not three prices for one job; they're three different jobs wearing the same name. Here's how to make them comparable, from people who write quotes for a living.
Start with the boring advice, because it's right: get at least three written quotes. That's Citizens Advice's guidance rather than ours, and we're perfectly happy to be one of the three. They also set out what a quote should actually state — the total, what's included, whether VAT is in it, how long the price stands, and the circumstances in which it can change.
Read that list again and you'll notice it's a scope checklist, not a price checklist. That's the whole point. Ask all three of us the same question — "is this fixed, and what happens if you find something behind the bath?" — and you'll learn more from how quickly each of us answers than from the numbers at the bottom.
Citizens Advice, Before you get work done on your home — Scotland.Why Quotes Differ So Much
Three legitimate reasons and one bad one. Legitimate: different material specs (a £90 valve vs a £300 one), different labour models (employed teams vs piecework subcontractors — the difference our fitters page explains), and different overheads (showrooms cost money; see showroom vs home visit). The bad one: scope-stripping — quoting low by leaving out work the job will definitely need, then charging for it as "extras" once you're committed.
Compare Scope Before Price
Before looking at any total, list what each quote actually includes. A full refit involves: strip-out and waste removal; first-fix plumbing and electrics; wall prep, boarding and finish; floor prep and finish; suite and brassware supply; second fix; sealing; making good; certification; and clean-up. Ten categories. Mark each quote against them and watch cheap quotes get expensive: the £600 saving often turns out to be the skip, the certificate and the floor prep, sold back to you later at distress prices.
The Six Commonly Missing Lines
- Waste removal — a stripped bathroom is a ton of rubble; someone pays to move it
- Electrical certification — the BS 7671 paperwork you'll need when selling (why it matters)
- Subfloor prep — level, dry, ply-lined; every floor finish depends on it
- Making good — the hallway paint, the boxed pipework, the threshold trim
- Sealing and silicone — sounds trivial, is the room's waterproofing
- Contingency handling — what happens if the floor's rotten under the bath? Fixed-price firms own it; day-rate quotes meter it
Five Questions That Sort the Field
- "Is this price fixed, and is that in writing?" — estimates drift; fixed quotes don't
- "Who fits it — employed team or subcontractors?" — decides accountability when it matters
- "What's the payment schedule?" — money following work is safety; money preceding work is risk (how to pay, safely)
- "What's the guarantee, and can I read it?" — a real one is a document, not a sentence (ours is here)
- "When something unexpected turns up mid-job, what happens?" — the answer tells you who carries surprises
Red Flags That End the Conversation
Price-only quotes with no itemisation. Big cash deposits "for materials". Today-only discounts — a price that expires when the salesman leaves was never a price. No written guarantee. And a quote wildly below the field: in a market where materials cost what they cost, an outlier isn't generosity, it's a missing scope you haven't found yet. More patterns in how to choose fitters.
The Like-for-Like Checklist
Same room, same scope list, same spec level, same payment terms, same guarantee in writing — then compare totals, and let the remaining difference be what it honestly is: the price of the outfit's overheads and the quality of its people. On that comparison we're happy to be judged: book the free visit and put our written quote in your pile.
Related reading: How to choose the best fitters, Finance vs cash vs card, Supply & fit vs self-supply, What adds cost to a quote.
Not sure which way to go in your own bathroom? Call 01236 801802 — a five-minute conversation usually settles it.