Short answer: a usable quote is a schedule of openings plus a specification, not a round number on a compliment slip. If you cannot see the system name, the glass, the colour and who is responsible after fitting, you do not have a price you can compare or enforce.
The short answer
Most arguments after a window job start from a quote that said “supply and fit windows and doors, £x”. Nobody wrote down the cill, the vent, the handle colour, or whether the plaster was included. The household remembers the showroom. The fitter arrives with what was ordered. Those are only the same thing when the paper matches.
We write quotes for homes across Staffordshire and Cheshire so a second company could, in principle, price the same list. If they cannot, the list is still a brochure. You should be able to reject a quote that hides the product inside a brand slogan.
The schedule of openings
Every window and door should be its own line: room, approximate size, style, and anything odd — a bay, a shaped head, a window that is a fire escape. “10 windows and 2 doors” is not a schedule. Sizes on a quote before survey are provisional. The quote should say they will be confirmed on site, and what happens if the opening is not the size you paced out in the rain.
Style words need translating. “Flush sash”, “mock sash”, “tilt and turn” and “bay bow” are different products. If the front bedroom is flush and the bathroom is a simple casement, both lines should say so. Mixing them silently is how the elevation surprises you.
The specification block
One block can cover the whole job if it truly applies to every line, with exceptions noted. It should name the profile system, the colour inside and outside, the cill, the handle, the hinge colour, and the glass. Glass means more than “double glazed”: low-iron or not, obscure where, laminated or toughened where safety glass is required, and any acoustic or solar coating you asked for.
Energy should be a whole-window figure for the specified glass, or a clear statement that the figure will be confirmed for the surveyed sizes. A centre-pane U-value from a manufacturer’s advert is not your window. Trickle vents, if they are in the price, should say where they sit. If they are excluded, the quote should say you are responsible for the ventilation route.
Installation, making good and rubbish
Supply-only and supply-and-fit are different contracts. If we fit, the quote should say we survey, we install, and we seal. Making good might mean external silicone and a tidy internal mastic, or it might mean full plaster reveals and decorating. Those are not the same afternoon. Scaffold, first-floor access, and removal of old glass and frames should be explicit.
Who protects floors and furniture, who moves the cars, and how long a typical elevation takes are fair questions. A quote that assumes an empty house when you have a piano and a new oak floor needs a line about protection. Damage is a specification failure if nobody mentioned it, and a household failure if the route was blocked on the day.
Money, lead time and change
The total should add up from the lines, with VAT stated. Deposit, stage payments and the balance on completion should be plain. Lead time should say “from survey sign-off” or “from deposit”, not a vague “six weeks” that starts before you have chosen the glass. A change of colour or a move from standard to flush after the survey is a variation, with a price, not a favour that appears on the final invoice unexplained.
Guarantees should name the product guarantee and the installation guarantee separately, and who you phone. An insurance-backed guarantee, if it is offered, should be the actual scheme, not a sentence. We do not suggest you treat marketing years as a reason to skip the schedule.
What to reject on sight
- One price, no opening list
- “A-rated” or “premium” with no system name
- Glass described only as double glazed
- Colour not stated, or “as discussed”
- No mention of who removes the old frames
- Verbal discount that is not on the paper
- Pressure to pay a large deposit before survey
When to book a survey
A written quote that survives contact with the building starts with a survey. You can tell us the products you are considering and we will measure, look at the lintels, the cills and the access, and send a schedule. Bring another company’s quote if you want it translated into comparable lines. We will not invent faults in it; we will show you what is missing.
Ask for the survey via the quote form. Across Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Cheshire, the useful conversation is the one that leaves you with paper you can keep, not a total you have to remember.
Questions we hear on survey
Is the cheapest quote usually hiding something?
Not always. Sometimes it is a genuine simpler specification. You can only know if both quotes list the same openings and the same glass. If one does not list them, treat it as incomplete, not as a bargain.
Should I accept a quote from a photo?
A photo can size a conversation. It cannot see a rotten subframe or a bay that has spread. Pay for manufacture after someone has measured.
Can I supply my own doors and ask you only to fit?
Only if we agree that in writing, including who warrants the product and what happens if the supplied frame is wrong. Mixed responsibility is where jobs stall.
What if the surveyed size differs?
The quote should say the surveyed size governs. A small difference is normal. A different style or a different opening is a new line.
