What should a carpentry quote include?

The checklist

Run any quote you receive, including ours, against this list.

• A clear description of the work, room by room or item by item.
• Materials named, including grade and finish rather than just timber.
• Who supplies what, so nothing is assumed.
• Whether making good (plaster, decoration, thresholds) is included.
• Waste removal and site protection.
• Ironmongery and fixings, which are easy to leave out and expensive to add.
• Start date, expected duration and how the work will be sequenced.
• Payment terms, including any deposit for bespoke materials.
• Insurance details and who will physically be on site.
• What happens if something unexpected turns up once things are opened up.

Quote or estimate, and why the word matters

A quote is a fixed price for a described scope. An estimate is a best guess that can move. Both are legitimate, but you should know which one you have been given, especially on older properties where hidden condition is a real risk.

Where scope genuinely cannot be pinned down until something is opened up, the right answer is a fixed price for the known work plus an agreed way of handling the unknown, not a vague number.

Questions worth asking before you accept

Three questions tell you most of what you need to know: who is actually doing the work, what happens if the job overruns, and what happens if something is not right after completion.

We use our own team rather than passing the work to subcontractors, we are fully insured, and we have been doing this for over fifteen years across Kent, London and Surrey.

Deposits and staged payments

Bespoke joinery is usually made specifically for you, so a deposit for materials is normal and reasonable. What is not normal is paying for the full job before it starts. Staged payments tied to visible progress protect both sides.

Questions we're asked about this