everything you need to know about requesting a quote

When requesting a quote from a contractor it is important to request a minimum of three quotes from three different contractors. This will help you understand a high, medium, and low number for your work and give you options based on your budget. When reaching out to a contractor, it is important to let them know what exactly the scope of work is and the timeline you’re looking to complete the work within. It is also important to be as descriptive as possible.

Scenario 1

Paint a living room

Scenario 2

Paint a 200SF (square foot) living room with 10’ tall ceiling Sherwin Williams Promar 400 (or equal). Paint walls only, all trim and ceilings are excluded from the scope

You can see that scenario 2 provides a far more detailed description of the work. When providing a scope of work, think about the size or dimensions, and specifications of the work. These items will be helpful for the contractor to give you a more accurate quote.

Bonus tip: Is there work you want to have completed depending on the price that everything else comes in? You could request an add or deduct alternate. If you want to see the total all-in number, ask for deduct alternates. If you want to see more of a list that you can pick from, ask for add alternates.