You've got two quotes. One is meaningfully cheaper. The obvious question is whether the cheaper firm is a bargain or a risk.
Usually it's neither. Usually the two quotes are for different work, and the price gap is explained by something one of them doesn't include. Here's what to check before you compare the totals.
This isn't a list designed to make anyone else look bad. Ask us the same questions.
1. Is scaffolding included?
The most common reason two quotes differ. Scaffolding is a genuine cost and on some properties a substantial one. If one quote includes it and the other says "scaffolding not included" in small print, you aren't comparing like with like.
Also worth asking: skip hire and waste removal, and a welfare unit on a larger job. Somebody has to arrange and pay for those.
2. Strip off, or overlay?
Ask both firms which they're quoting for and why. On a flat roof this is the single biggest difference in scope. An overlay is legitimate and often the right answer when the deck is sound — but it's cheaper than a strip-off, so a cheaper quote may simply be for less work.
The honest version of this answer references the deck condition. If nobody mentions the deck, that's the thing to push on.
3. What happens if there's rot underneath?
There are three possible answers and only two of them are acceptable.
- "We inspected it and here's what we found" — best.
- "We couldn't see it, so here's a priced contingency" — also good, and honest.
- Silence — the risk hasn't gone anywhere. It's just been left for later.
A quote with a stated contingency isn't hedging. It's the firm telling you the number now rather than during the job.
4. VAT — shown, or not shown?
Easy to miss and it can account for the whole difference between two quotes. Check whether each figure includes VAT.
For what it's worth: our quotes for homeowners are inclusive of VAT. Commercial quotes usually show it excluded, because commercial customers generally reclaim it. Either way, our written quotation says which.
5. The guarantee — how long, and from whom?
Three separate questions hiding in one word.
- How long? A number, in writing.
- On what? Workmanship, materials, or both?
- Given by whom? This is the one people skip.
Ours is a workmanship guarantee of ten to twenty-five years on a re-roof, depending on the materials and system used, given by us directly and written into the quote.
If a quote says "insurance-backed", ask what the scheme is and whether it's still operating. Those schemes have largely gone or aren't fit for purpose, and a guarantee is only ever worth as much as whoever is standing behind it.
6. Which materials, and which system?
"New roof" covers a lot of ground. On pitched work you want to know:
- The covering — natural slate, clay, concrete interlocking?
- The breathable membrane going underneath it.
- Whether the battens are being replaced. They should be, every time. Ours always are.
- Ridge and gable: dry system, or wet bedded in mortar?
On flat roofing: which system, and how many layers? A two-layer overlay and a three-layer built-up system are different jobs.
7. How long will it take — and does that sound plausible?
An unusually short timescale is worth a question, not because faster is bad but because it may mean less work. For reference, a standard three-bedroom semi takes around 10 days in new interlocking concrete tiles, and nearer 15 days if its original slates are being reclaimed and relaid.
8. Credentials you can actually check
Not logos — checkable references. A membership number you can look up on a public register is worth more than a badge on a website. Ask about public liability insurance too, and whether staff working at your home or business are DBS-checked.
9. Is it in writing, with terms?
A price on the back of a card isn't a quote. You want the figure, what it covers, payment terms, full T&Cs and the guarantee, in a document you can keep.
The short version
Before you compare two numbers, confirm they cover the same scaffolding, the same scope, the same materials, the same VAT treatment and the same guarantee. Most of the time the gap explains itself once you do.
And if one quote is still cheaper after all that — fair enough. At least you'll know what you're choosing.
Ask us for a written quote and hold it up against the others.