Quoting a bathroom renovation: how to build a quote that wins

When a homeowner asks for quotes on a new bathroom, she is often sitting with two or three in front of her. The quote that shows what will happen, in what order and at what price per part almost always beats the quote that just states one lump sum. Just as importantly, a well-worked structure protects you when the reality behind the tiles turns out to be different from what you expected.

A bathroom falls naturally into phases, and the quote should follow them. A typical breakdown looks like this:

• Demolition: removal of tiles, sanitaryware, floor build-up and any stud walls
• Plumbing: new pipework, drainage, underfloor heating and preparation for sanitaryware
• Electrical: sockets, spotlights, mirror lighting and the underfloor heating thermostat
• Membrane and tiling: wet room membrane, building up falls, tiling and grouting
• Installation: sanitaryware, taps and fittings, shower screen and fixtures
• Painting: ceiling and the wall surfaces that are not tiled

The phases give the customer a picture of the process, and they give you a management tool: you can see during the job whether a phase is slipping financially, instead of only discovering it at the end.

Split every phase into materials and labour. It makes the quote transparent, and it makes changes easy to handle: if the customer chooses a more expensive tile, only the materials line in the tiling phase changes - the labour stands. Without that split, every change turns into a fresh negotiation over the whole price, and both parties lose.

The three classics in bathrooms are hidden pipes, rot or mould behind walls and under floors, and an uneven base that needs levelling before the membrane and tiles can be laid properly. None of these can be seen before demolition is under way, which is why they do not belong in the fixed price. Write the reservations into the quote in concrete terms: what triggers them, and that any such work is charged as agreed with the customer before it begins. A precise reservation is not a sign of weakness - it shows the customer that you have done this before.

Wet room work is subject to special rules, and parts of the work in a bathroom - typically the electrical and plumbing work - may only be carried out by authorised firms. The membrane, the falls towards the drain and the build-up of the wet zone must meet the applicable requirements, and as the quoting contractor you carry the responsibility for getting it right. Make it clear in the quote who carries out what, especially if you use subcontractors for electrical or plumbing work. It reassures the customer and removes arguments about responsibility if anything needs remedying later.

Most quotes get the tiles and sanitaryware roughly right. It is the small items that leak:

• Waste disposal: skip hire, tipping fees and the time spent carrying the old bathroom out
• Protective covering: floors, stairs and access routes through the home for the whole build period
• Site power and water: access to electricity and water during the work, especially if installations are disconnected
• Wastage: cutting and fitting of tiles and membrane - wastage belongs in the materials line, not in your margin
• Clearing up and final cleaning: the half or full day at the end that nobody wrote down

Run through the list every time you price a bathroom. Five forgotten small items can together cost most of the profit on a smaller job.

On larger jobs the quote should include a payment plan in instalments, tied to phases rather than dates: for example one instalment at the start, one when the membrane and tiling are complete, and the balance on handover. It protects your cash flow along the way, and it is easy for the customer to understand, because each payment corresponds to something visible that has been done. Never tie instalments to calendar dates - if the job is delayed, your payment is delayed with it.

A lump sum can only be compared on one number, and then the cheapest wins. A phased quote moves the conversation from price to content: the customer can see what she gets in each phase, what is subject to reservations, and what changes will cost. It signals control of the process - and that is exactly what a homeowner is looking for when choosing who gets to break up her only bathroom. Structure takes time to write from a blank document. In Calco you describe the job and get a phased quote with materials, labour and reservations that you can adjust before it goes out.