What's in an Estimate?

I do hundreds of estimates every single year. There are some people who look for numerous estimates. Then there are others who have met me and receive the quote and accept it and do not look else where. People are different. It is my belief that those who accept my job as the first and only quote accept it because they trust me and believe I will offer the quality service I promise to deliver. The other group, who is looking around for the best price also want a quality job but are looking for who can get the job done the cheapest. This is good! However, you must remember that not all estimates are the same so questions must be asked.

I lost securing a job recently where I quoted on Eavestrough, Fascia, Soffit, capping a few hundred feet of trim, and gutter protection. I itemized it all for the customer. The customer has a car port and decided not to do that as it would add hundreds to the cost. I talked with the customer who told me that she decided to go with the other company because they matched my price and would do the car port as well (which had around 400 ft of soffit. I was absolutely dumb founded as I priced the 400 ft of Soffit on the house at $4.00 per ft., which is an excellent price. I tried to explain to the customer that there was no way another company would install her carport soffit for $2.00 per ft! No matter! The customer was looking at the bottom line and was sold on the other company. I drove by that house a while later and was doing an estimate near by. I noticed that the other company had not done what I had quoted on at all! The hundreds of feet of wood capping: NOT DONE. Gutter Protection: NOT DONE. The customer also had fewer downpipes and all small square pipes. All corners were pre-made corners and not mitered. But worst of all, the fascia on the house was extremely wide and all had to be made on site. I noticed that the other company capped the fascia only up to underneath the eavestrough and did not cap all the way up to the roof line leaving the top few inches of fascia board exposed. This was not visible from the ground. It was a job poorly done!

I also did a job in Binbrook recently where a man, at first, contemplated not going with my company because I was over $1000 higher than XYZ company but I was $200 cheaper than ABC company. I was dumb founded as this seemed to be quite an enormous difference! The job was extremely large but $1000 is quite a disparity. I did the math and I got back to Mr. Customer who really wanted to go with my company but could not wrap his head around $1000 more. What I discovered was that if XYZ company quoted on the exact same thing as I quoted on, they were installing his eavestrough for around $3.25 per ft. and installing Alu-Rex Gutter Protection for around $2.00 per ft. These prices barely cover materials and labour! They may not even cover materials and labour! I relayed this to Mr. Customer who had XYZ company come back out to his home. Mr Customer discovered that XYZ company had not quoted him on the eavestrough, soffit, fascia, and capping on his new detached 2 car garage! Now XYZ was $500 more than I was!

The confusion with Mr. Customer came because XYZ company and ABC company looked around his house and then wrote down on an invoice: "Eaves, Gutter Protection, Capping" and then their price plus the HST. There was no mention of the footage involved or how much material was going to be used. There also was no mention of the gauge of material that would be used! It was just a price. My estimates always itemize EVERYTHING. I explain to customers exactly how much eavestroughing they have, how much down pipe will be used, how many elbows will be required, the lineal feet of fascia and soffit, the exact lineal feet of gutter protection, how many squares of siding, how many windows and doors and the cost for capping them, etc.....  I then spend time with the customer explaining that we will be using only large square piping or in some cases the oversize 3x4 piping. I may point out problematic areas that require a 6" eavestrough. I point out problematic roof valley's that require us to make a customized splash guard. Also, of great importance to the homeowner is to attempt to help them with the colours they are choosing.

My belief is that people need to know EXACTLY what they are getting when they hire me to do the job. On a personal level, I dislike blanket quotes that merely give me a price with no specifics as to what the job will entail.

On numerous occasions, I have lost jobs, only to find out later when driving by that house that what I quoted them on is not what was done in the end! One job I recently quoted on had many second story down pipes that routed directly onto lower roofs. I ALWAYS route upper level downpipes directly into lower troughs to avoid excessive water channelling in one place, thus damaging the roof over time. The one company that beat me on price quoted on the job exactly as it was and thus had 40 feet of downpipe less than I did. Again, the homeowner was none the wiser because that company gave them a blanket price. Once the homeowner realized this, it was a different story!

I encourage estimates, however, just make sure that when you are comparing one companies quote against another, you may be comparing an apple with a banana! It may not be the same at all! If there are large disparities in the price, ask questions. You may find out like Mr. Customer, that XYZ company is cheaper for a reason!

When you ask me to do your estimate, I always quote on what it will take to get the job done properly! I use only .023 or .027 gauge aluminum, only large square pipes, the slope will be perfect, and all corners will be mitred. 

If you want a job done right. Contact The Eavestrough  Companyat 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com