Most quote requests get ignored. Not because tradies are rude, but because they get too many messages that waste their time. “Hi, how much for a bathroom?” is a message they’ve seen a hundred times, and they’ve learned it rarely leads to a job. The customers who get quick, serious quotes are the ones who send a quote request that’s easy to price.
Writing a proper quote request takes five more minutes than a bad one and gets you better pricing, faster replies, and tradies who actually want your job. Here’s what to include.
Say what the job is in one sentence
Start with the specific work, not a long preamble. “Full bathroom renovation in a 1970s weatherboard, about four square metres, currently gutted” tells a tradie everything they need to form a mental picture. “Hi, I’ve been thinking about doing some renovations” does not. The tradie will read the first line and decide whether to keep reading. Make the first line do real work.
Give the location
Suburb at minimum. Most tradies work within a radius, and if you’re outside it, there’s no point in either of you pretending. A suburb also tells them about access, parking, and what kinds of houses they’re likely to be working on. “Bathroom reno in Marrickville” is a different job to “bathroom reno in Berowra”, even if the spec is identical.
Include the constraints up-front
If there’s a deadline, say so. If you’re strata and need approvals, say so. If there’s no off-street parking, say so. If you work from home and can’t have noise between nine and eleven, say so. These things affect the price. Telling the tradie after they’ve quoted is how you end up in an argument. Telling them before they quote is how you end up with a realistic number.
Say what finishes you want, or that you don’t know
A quote for a tiled bathroom is different from a quote for a bathroom with waterproofed microcement. A quote for builder’s-grade tapware is different from a quote for Brodware. If you’ve decided, say what you want. If you haven’t, say so, and ask the tradie to quote on a sensible mid-range option. “I haven’t chosen tiles yet, can you quote for a standard ceramic tile in the $40 to $60 a square metre range” is a professional request. “I’m not sure yet” is a reason for them to assume the worst.
Add photos
Three photos will save everyone an hour. A wide shot of the space as it is now, a close-up of anything unusual, and a photo of anything you’re keeping. If it’s plumbing or electrical, show the switchboard or the under-sink area. Tradies can see things in photos that would take a half-hour site visit to establish. The tradies who are busy enough to be worth hiring are the ones who’ll triage quotes based on the photos, and the requests with no photos tend to get parked.
Say what you’re actually asking for
Are you after a ballpark number, a firm written quote, or a site visit? These are three different asks. A ballpark is free and fast, a written quote takes a proper look at the job, a site visit takes an hour of their day. Ask for what you actually need. If you’re comparing three tradies, say that too. Tradies prefer honesty about this. They’d rather know they’re quote number two of three than find out later.
Don’t hide the budget
People think sharing a budget invites tradies to “use up” the whole thing. Usually the opposite happens. A budget lets a tradie tell you quickly whether the job is achievable for that money, or whether you’re out by fifty per cent and need to rescope. A tradie who hears a budget and pads the quote to hit it is one you wouldn’t want to work with anyway. An honest budget gets you honest advice.
Reply to the reply
When a tradie replies with questions, answer them. Fast. The longer the back-and-forth takes, the lower you move in their priority list. Tradies are running a business with ten other quotes in the pipeline. The customers who respond within a day get quoted within a week. The customers who take a week to answer a question are remembered as being slow, and the quote reflects that.
Be polite, but don’t over-explain
You don’t need to apologise for asking for a quote. You don’t need a three-paragraph introduction about your family or your house history. You don’t need to justify the budget or the timeline. A professional quote request is short, specific, and treats the tradie as a tradesperson rather than a favour you’re hoping to receive. The customers who write like that tend to be the customers every tradie wants. Not coincidentally, they’re also the ones who build strong Passports and get the best prices, because the whole transaction runs straight from the first message.