What a Modular Woodwork Quotation Must Say, Line by Line

Which Four Lines Actually Matter?

These are the ones where a vague line and a precise line produce visibly different furniture at the same headline price.

A brand name alone is the most common gap. Every major hardware manufacturer sells ranges at very different performance points, so "Hettich" could mean almost anything. The model is the specification; the brand is the family it belongs to.

What Does a Vague Line Actually Cost You?

The ability to tell whether you got what you paid for, and the ability to compare one firm against another.

Consider two quotations with the same total. One says "BWP ply, branded hardware, premium laminate". The other names the board brand and IS 710, the hinge model with its load rating, and the laminate decor code and thickness. These describe potentially very different furniture, and only the second can be checked against what arrives on site.

It also costs you later. When a hinge fails in year four, a quotation naming the model lets you buy the same one. A quotation saying "branded hardware" leaves you guessing, and a replacement that is close but not identical is how a run of doors ends up feeling inconsistent.

What Should a Renovation Quotation Show That a New One Does Not?

What is being kept. This is the single biggest difference and the one most often missing.

In a renovation the value is as much in what stays as in what is supplied. A quotation that lists only the new items tells you what you are buying but not what you are saving, and it makes the price look arbitrary.

A renovation quotation should list retained items explicitly at zero: carcass retained, wall fixing retained, loft box retained, internals retained. Seeing those lines is what makes the rest of the number make sense, and it is also a record of what was inspected and judged sound.

It should also state the warranty split plainly, because no firm can warranty a carcass it did not build. Everything supplied and fitted carries a written warranty; the retained structure does not. A quotation that offers blanket cover across both has either not read the job or is not planning to honour it.

Which Exclusions Are Worth Reading Twice?

Exclusions are where the surprises live, and the useful ones are specific rather than general.

• Civil, wet and electrical work. Ours excludes all of it. If yours does not say, ask
• Wall preparation. Who corrects a wall that is out of plumb or has loose plaster
• Making good. Who repairs the wall surface where an old unit was removed
• Debris removal. Whether it is included and where it goes
• Society deposit. Normally the owner's, but it should be stated
• Appliances and sanitaryware. Supply and fitting are different lines
• Transport and lift charges where a society levies them

None of these is unreasonable to exclude. All of them are unreasonable to leave unstated, because an unstated exclusion is discovered at the worst moment.

How Do You Compare Two Quotations That Look Different?

Normalise before you compare. Two quotations are rarely for the same thing, and the totals mean nothing until they are.

1. List the units covered in each. Often one includes the loft or the utility and the other does not
2. Compare board grade per element, not overall. One may specify BWP in the kitchen base and MR elsewhere; the other may use MR throughout
3. Compare hardware model, not brand
4. Check edge banding coverage and thickness
5. Check what is retained versus replaced, if it is a renovation
6. Read both exclusion lists side by side
7. Only then compare totals

Most of the time this exercise reveals that the cheaper quotation is cheaper because it is for less work or lesser specification, which is useful to know and is not an accusation against anyone.

What Should You Simply Ask For?

Five requests, all reasonable, and a firm's response to them tells you a great deal before any work starts.

• The IS standard on the board line, not a description
• The hardware model number and count per unit
• The reveal gap in millimetres, so the finished work has a number to meet
• Retained items listed at zero, on a renovation
• The warranty split in writing, stating what is covered and what is not

A firm that supplies all five has thought about the job. A firm that cannot supply them does not yet know what it is buying, which means neither do you. That is a more useful signal than anything in a brochure.

Key Takeaways

• A quotation you cannot compare is a number, not a quotation.
• Four lines are the specification: board, finish, hardware, edge banding, each named.
• A brand name is not a hardware specification. The model and load rating are.
• A renovation quote must list retained items at zero or the price looks arbitrary.
• No firm can honestly warranty a carcass it did not build. Expect that split in writing.
• Unstated exclusions are the ones discovered at the worst moment.
• Normalise two quotes line by line before comparing totals. Usually one covers less.
• A firm that cannot give you a model number does not yet know what it is buying.