Nine questions to ask before you accept a tradie's quote
What should I ask a tradesperson before accepting their quote?
Ask what is excluded rather than what is included, who is actually doing the work, what happens if the price changes, whether the deposit is within the legal limit for your state, and for a certificate of currency for public liability insurance. Get the answers in writing.
Most disputes with a trade are not about dishonesty. They are about two people who agreed on a number while quietly assuming different things about what it covered, and only discovered it at the point where one of them had already knocked out a wall.
These are the questions that surface the assumptions early, while the only cost of finding a mismatch is an awkward conversation.
About the price
- What is excluded? Far more useful than what is included. Rubbish removal, making good, painting after patching, and scaffolding are the classic gaps.
- Is this a quote or an estimate? A quote is a fixed price. An estimate is a guess with no obligation behind it. People use the words interchangeably; the legal difference is substantial.
- What would make this price change, and would you tell me before it did? The answer you want is a written variation approved before the work happens.
- What is the deposit, and is it within the legal cap? Most states cap residential building deposits -- in New South Wales it is 10% on work over $20,000. A request for 50% up front is a reason to stop.
About the people
- Who is actually doing the work? The person quoting is often not the person turning up. That is fine, and it is better to know.
- Are you using subcontractors, and are they licensed and insured too? Your contract is with the head contractor, but an uninsured subcontractor is still standing on your roof.
- Can I see a certificate of currency for your public liability cover? One page, names the insurer and the amount, issued by the insurer for exactly this purpose.
About the work itself
- What does the warranty cover and how long does it run? Statutory warranties exist for most residential building work regardless of what the contract says, but the contract is what you will actually reach for.
- Can I speak to someone you did this exact job for? Not a general reference -- someone with the same job. A bathroom is not a deck.
Why the last one is the hard one
The reference question is the one people skip, because it feels rude and because a business will naturally hand you their best customer. That is why our listings are built the way they are: a job only appears on a profile after the customer it was done for confirmed it happened, by email, on a link we sent them and the business never sees.
It is a narrower claim than a star rating, and a much harder one to manufacture. A business cannot write it, cannot select which ones appear, and cannot remove the ones it dislikes.