Starting to renovate and quotes are wildly different between companies - is this normal?

lockmc on 25/06/2019 - 10:42

Hi guys.

I will be doing some renovation on my house in the next few months and have started getting quotes on various things.
Currently have received about 5 different quotes for the removal of our tiles and I am hugely surprised in the variation of price difference between quotes.

I've had anywhere from 20 sq/m up to 60 sq/m (we have 100 sq/m to remove). These are like for like quotes in terms of the service performed.

I understand you get what you pay for, but the quotes at the lower end are from people that we have been recommended or have good reviews online.
Are prices really this wildly different between companies when doing renovations?

I've always heard you should pick the middle quote, but why would I if I have lower quotes that have plenty of reviews and people I know talking them up?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • neil on 25/06/2019 - 10:51
    +4

    As I'm part of an owners corp, quotes can be all over the place. Sometimes they are ridiculously cheap and sometimes over the top. It may depend on how busy the contractors are or if they think there is more business to be made if they quote lower.

    We have 3 quotes for tiles at the moment. It's to remove and replace perhaps 8 or 9 tiles.

    One quote is a, 2nd quote is a + $150, 3rd quote is 3 times a. Way over the top for a simple job. We picked the cheapest because we've seen the previous work that a has performed and it was good. Just because it's the cheapest doesn't make it the worst and vice versa for most expensive.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 25/06/2019 - 11:45
      +2

      It may depend on how busy the contractors are

      Definitely this.

      A lot of tradies figure it's better to give an exorbitant quote for a job than to refuse to quote. All the high quotes are from those probably not keen for additional work or have active jobs and don't have the time.

      • gooddealmate on 25/06/2019 - 22:26

        Hit the nail on the head. I work for a tiling company and we're quite busy at the moment so if a call comes through for a small job like Neil mentioned above. We'll go in at a high price. Get it then great, we'll fit it in somehow. If not, no worries.

        Sometimes it's best to ask the tradesman how busy they are before you tell them what the job entails. That will give you an idea of whether you'll get a fair price. Won't always work, but worth a shot.

      • ozbjunkie on 26/06/2019 - 08:04
        +1

        I sure do wish that they simply said they are busy and not really interested rather than giving an exorbitant quote and wasting everyone's time.

        End of the day if they're happy to waste time, I'll help them out and post reviews of their out of touch with reality quote online. Just reporting on my experience for the wider community.

        • farknos on 26/06/2019 - 09:42

          I sure do wish that they simply said they are busy and not really interested rather than giving an exorbitant quote and wasting everyone's time.

          they dont see it as wasting time, because they dont want to put the effort in for normal rates but if its double or triple normal rates then the effort is well worth it.

          • ozbjunkie on 26/06/2019 - 14:42

            @farknos: I know they don't see it as wasting time, hence why they are standing in front of me. But if you stand in front of me and give me a BS quote I will report to the world that your quotes are BS, and that's gotta be bad for business. As I wrote on one business' page "with a quote that was 6 times the next competitor, if you don't want the work mate just tell me".

        • kiitos on 26/06/2019 - 12:49

          Agree, and also surely an unreasonably high quote would pretty much ensure they're not considered for any future with that comes up?

          • ozbjunkie on 26/06/2019 - 14:44

            @kiitos: Yep, never calling them again.

            But there are decent tradies who are just professionals doing good work for fair prices, knowing that they will never be out of jobs if they treat other people like human beings rather than marks/mugs.

            It just takes you about 10 tries to find the 1 or 2 honest workers. Annoys the bejesus out of me.

  • dcep on 25/06/2019 - 10:55
    +1

    depends what you mean by companies

    for companies with shopfront, you can go in and make a fuss on crappy workmanship till they fixed it

    for small time tradie, don't expect to find him if he decided to dodge you

  • Seraphin7 on 25/06/2019 - 11:10

    In short, yes, wild variations in quotes are to be expected. I've found that the smaller the job is, the wider the quotes are.

    My opinion, quite frankly, is there are simply a lot of guys who don't want to do small jobs. So they give a quote that is 2 or 3 times the "real price" not expecting to get the work, but if you're happy to pay it …

    • SnowDragon on 25/06/2019 - 11:20
      +3

      Basically this.

      If they don't want a job they'll over quote knowingly. If they get the job, hurray, big profit. If they don't then they don't care it's what they wanted.

      Go for the people you trust. Give them a slab of beer as a thank you.

      • lockmc on 25/06/2019 - 11:41

        Makes sense!

      • Ozpit on 26/06/2019 - 10:29
        +1

        Big plus for giving a slab of beer at the end of a job well done, particularly if they’ve gone an extra yard to make you happy. Of course this would be for jobs costing at least a few grand. The cost of a slab is nothing in comparison, and a nice gesture of gratitude.

  • coin saver on 25/06/2019 - 11:47

    Are you talking about roof tiles if so some people used to remove some types for free if they could keep them.

    • lockmc on 25/06/2019 - 11:49

      Nah removal of floor tiles as well as removal of the underlying glue.

  • ColstonAUS on 25/06/2019 - 11:54
    +1

    My grandfather recently had some tiles laid in his new house he is building, he was quoted at around 7000 and given a timeframe of 6 weeks. He got another quote at 8000 and 5 weeks by another mob. Then he found this Asian bloke who didn't speak a lick of English and had to use a translator to talk to him, referred to him by his neighbour, he quoted at 3300 and 2 and a half weeks timeframe.
    He said he had never seen harder workers work so fast and do such a good job as these Asian blokes, at less than half the price and over doubly as fast.
    Sometimes the bigger the business means they have multiple work sites, and can be spread thinly across them so they charge more and might take longer, or could be as other guys have said the size of the job can be unappealing. Best thing to go off is references through word of mouth or from reviews online, if the cheaper option is well received and has good references, or has been referred by someone you trust, go for it

    • lockmc on 25/06/2019 - 11:57
      +1

      Nice story! Thanks for the comments. I know reviews can easily be made up but nothing beats word of mouth. Thanks

    • GG57 on 25/06/2019 - 13:28
      -6

      I don't think it mattered that the best workers were Asian.
      But the rest of your comments I support.

      • ColstonAUS on 25/06/2019 - 13:43

        Definitely didn't matter, just telling the story how he told it to me :)

        • GG57 on 25/06/2019 - 14:02
          -2

          Fair enough, but perpetuation isn't necessary. If you removed 'Asian' from your story, it would still be a good story.

          OP doesn't need to look for tradespeople of 'Asian' origins specifically, just some that are recommended (by someone he trusts) and work hard. They might be Polish.

          • owli on 25/06/2019 - 14:38
            +6

            @GG57: Why did you have to bring up the Polaks? Perpetuation isn't necessary.

      • purplelady on 25/06/2019 - 14:04
        +2

        I think what he meant is, eventhough they seemed to be not that credible given their english level, but nothing can beat word of mouth.

    • Ken1977 on 27/06/2019 - 11:56

      Until 2 years later when all your tiles fall off from using cheap adhesive.

  • hikaru78 on 25/06/2019 - 13:57
    +1

    the only thing I would add is to make sure the quote is properly itemized, done a few big jobs and they get u with variations

  • voiletmay on 25/06/2019 - 14:41
    +3

    I select tradies by chosing the ones that are thinkers, ones that can come up with solutions to complex problems, and who do the job themselves (yes I've had quotes before where person doing the quote doesn't do the job).

    Obviously this is not the only criteria, but it is the main one other than price.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/06/2019 - 09:31

    Quotes are really open to interpretation, some people are more thorough (come to site) and others more casual (guess and put on a mark up %). Also depends on the size of the operator as to what their costs are for ware removal and labour.

    Also if a trade is busy, about to schedule time off (school holidays are coming up) or just don’t want it they will over quote.

  • justdigi on 27/06/2019 - 19:25

    I recently renovated a kitchen. Got a quote to paint the laminex bench top and cupboard doors via HIpages quoting service. I thought it was outrageous the price quoted, so the rep suggested I get a quote for a new bench top and cupboards. I thought it would cost 10x as much, but was a pleasant $1000 more. If you’re having problems, I recommend using a quoting service as they will help you fit to your budget and recommend alternatives.

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