Why Most People Pay More Than They Should
South African homeowners who get three quotes and choose the middle one assume they are making a reasonable decision. They often are not — because the three quotes are frequently not for the same thing. One contractor priced with the cheapest materials; another included scaffolding, the third did not; one will start next week, another in six weeks. Without a standardised brief, you are comparing apples to vehicles.
The homeowner who gets genuinely competitive pricing writes a brief that forces all contractors to price the same job, then negotiates from a position of information.
Write a Scope of Work Before Inviting Quotes
A scope of work is a written description of exactly what needs to be done. For any project above R15,000, invest 30–60 minutes writing one before contacting contractors. It should specify:
- What is to be done — not "repaint the house" but "strip and repaint all exterior walls and fascia boards, two coats, colour TBC from Plascon range"
- What materials are to be used — brand, specification, grade. "Tile the kitchen backsplash with 300x600 ceramic tiles supplied by homeowner" is better than "tile the backsplash"
- What is excluded — are you supplying materials yourself? Does the contractor need to provide scaffolding, rubble removal, or temporary toilets?
- Access requirements — when will you be available; are there parking constraints?
- Timeline expectations — when do you need the work completed by?
Email this scope to every contractor you invite to quote. Ask each to price on this basis and to flag anything they would do differently with a separate line item. This makes quotes directly comparable.
Invite the Right Number of Contractors
Three quotes is the standard for projects up to R100,000. For larger projects, four to five quotes is appropriate. More than five is usually counterproductive — you will receive inconsistent quality of response and spend more time managing the process than the savings justify.
Invite contractors based on recommendation from people you trust or verifiable reviews. A quote from someone whose work you have seen (or whose work has been recommended by someone who has seen it) is worth more than the cheapest cold-call quote.
What to Do With the Quotes
When quotes arrive, build a comparison table:
- List every line item from the most detailed quote across the top
- Enter each contractor's prices in rows
- Flag every line where a contractor has omitted an item or offered a different specification
The cheapest total quote almost always has omissions. The right question is not "who is cheapest" but "who provides the best value for the same scope."
Negotiating Without Offending
Once you have identified your preferred contractor, it is entirely appropriate to negotiate — not by simply asking for a discount, but by targeting specific line items:
- "Your price for the drainage channel is R4,200 — I have another quote at R2,800 for the same spec. Can you match it?"
- "I can supply the paint myself at cost — how does that change the price?"
- "If I can give you four weeks to fit this in around your other jobs, what does that do to the price?"
Contractors who are not under schedule pressure, and who have time to plan a job properly, frequently discount. Flexibility on timing is often the most effective negotiating tool available to a homeowner.
Never Start a Project Without a Written Agreement
Once you have agreed terms, confirm the full scope, price, payment milestones, timeline, and materials spec in writing before any deposit is paid. This is not about distrust — it is about eliminating the "that's not what we agreed" dynamic that accounts for most contractor disputes.