Home & InteriorsA homeowner hiring trades to renovate or fit out

When three quotes differ by a factor of two, I want to know which is reasonable, so I neither overpay nor pick the one that will cut corners.

Khi tôi nhận ba báo giá chênh nhau gấp đôi, tôi muốn biết cái nào hợp lý, để không trả thừa và cũng không chọn phải chỗ làm ẩu.

Job context

Every quote is written differently
High
One bundled, one itemised, neither comparable.
Root cause: There is no standard form for a quote
No idea what the market rate is
High
Nowhere publishes it.
Root cause: Every job differs, so nobody maintains a price list
A low price usually hides something removed
High
And the removed part is the invisible part.
Root cause: What the client can inspect is the surface
Extras appear once work has started
High
By which point stopping is not an option.
Root cause: Some work is only visible after the old part is opened up
Nobody to check the answer against
Medium
Everyone you can ask is bidding for the work.
Root cause: No role exists that advises without also taking the work

A solution is not the same thing as a product, a customer can hire a behaviour or a workaround too.

Collect several quotes
Behaviour
What everyone does, with three documents written three ways that do not compare.
Ask someone who has renovated
Behaviour
The most trustworthy source, from an older price in a different house.
Hire an independent supervisor
Service
Solves the actual problem, at a cost many begrudge.
Ask for a fully itemised breakdown
Behaviour
Makes quotes comparable, and some trades refuse.
Choose by the impression the tradesperson gives
Workaround
How most people actually decide, measuring something other than competence.

No standard form exists for a quote, so three documents for the same work cannot be laid side by side.
Why existing solutions fail: A standard form makes prices comparable and pushes the trade into price competition, so no bidder has any reason to go first, and no outside party is strong enough to impose one.
Potential opportunity: A quote template issued by the homeowner and required of every bidder, rather than waiting for the trade to standardise.
The only person who can explain a quote is the person bidding for the work, so the homeowner never gets an opinion free of interest.
Why existing solutions fail: A pure advisory role barely exists because it earns far less than taking the work, so anyone good enough to advise takes the job instead, leaving the homeowner only with people who have a stake in the answer.
Potential opportunity: A paid quote-review service that commits to not taking the work.