Do you know the difference between a quote and an estimate? Let’s break it down.

S C E N A R I O # 1*:

You want to renovate your main floor so you reach out to multiple construction companies. They come and meet with you, listen to your wishlist, and provide an estimate of how much your renovation project will cost you.

You sign a contract with them after they promise that your project won’t exceed your $300,000 budget, and then start working on the design process. As you make your way through their process and they start getting accurate quotes based on the actual design plan you realize that you’ve exceeded your $300,000 budget. Uh oh!

You end up cutting some items that you love from your design plan and moving forward with construction but keep getting larger and larger bills that you weren’t expecting. Now you’re spending $400,000 instead of your original $300,000. You’re angry, stressed, unhappy, and feel like you’ve been taken advantage of.

S C E N A R I O # 2**:

You want to renovate your main floor so you reach out to an interior designer first because you know that you need a design plan before you can get an accurate quote on the construction.

The interior designer sits down and gets to know you. They ask not only about your project wishlist, but also how you currently live in your home, how you want to live in your home and what’s most important to you.

The interior designer presents you with a design fee proposal outlining everything that you’ll receive from working with them, concluding with detailed, quotable design plans. They do not make any promises that your budget will be able to cover the construction of everything on your wishlist, however, they assure you that they will do everything in their power to give you as many items on the list as possible.

You start working with the interior designer and through the design process they help you see that your preferred budget may not cover everything on your wishlist. They give you two options: One, you continue with designing everything to ensure cohesiveness and then break the construction down into phases that allow you to save more money in between, or Two, they work with you to reduce the scope by eliminating spaces instead of design elements to make sure that you maintain the integrity and quality of the project. Either way, you make the choice based on what makes you most comfortable.

Let’s say you move ahead with option one and design the entirety of your project and then break it down into two phases. The interior designer reaches out to their trusted preferred trades, trades that they work with again and again due to a high level of quality, customer service,

You move ahead with phase one knowing that your budget is being respected, you won’t be spending more than you’re comfortable with, and your project is in capable hands that have your best interests in mind. Sure, things may come up during construction that couldn’t have been anticipated, but you know that you are the one making the decision on whether or not to move forward with those things. Phase one of your project is completed a bit over budget due to some issues that arose during construction, but you complete the phase feeling happy, taken care of, and looking forward to phase two.

Now, which scenario would you prefer? We’re guessing scenario two. Well, that’s the difference between estimates and quotes.

Scenario one uses a system based on estimates and allocations. Basically, it’s a guessing game. Builders* take previous projects that they’re worked on that are similar to yours and apply allocations to each item in your project without knowing the details that make your project unique. This has been common practice for years and has worked fine for a long time, however Covid and inflation has made this method less reliable.

Scenario two uses a system based on actual costs. Trades price out the specific details, the materials and labour needed to complete the construction of your project, and then it’s presented to you as the actual cost of your renovation. This is the system that we use as interior designers**. You can’t have a successful, low-stress renovation without thorough planning. We thoughtfully plan out the renovation first so that when we send the project out for pricing the numbers that come back are accurate to your specific project and not an allocation. It is only once you’ve approved the design plan and the budget that we move forward with construction.

“An estimate is a best guess of how much a job might cost. A quote is more exact. Once you’ve accepted a quote, the contractor has to do the work for that price.”
- Consumer Protection

Don’t waste your money repeatedly trying out various contractors discovery methods. Instead, make an informed decision and work through the process with an interior designer. Reach out to us at Bungalow Interior Design to plan your project accurately, and start loving your home again.

* This is not indicative of every builder.
** This is not indicative of every interior designer.