Requests for Quotation

Always remember to get a firm quote from one or preferably several tradesmen, whether the job is large or small! An estimate is fine if you need to get a feel for the budget, but is not enough when the job has to be done in reality.

Never pay in advance for a job! In the event of unforeseen circumstances or extra work, always remember to get a firm written quote for that particular limited task. No extra work should be started without the written permission of the client, nor before the price of the work is known. Otherwise, misunderstandings, excessive bills, and general dissatisfaction with the workman’s performance will arise.

The right price?

In principle, the client can reserve the right to choose freely between the offers received. However, in the case of subcontracting, the unwritten rule is to choose the cheapest, on the assumption that you will only get quotes from those contractors you have complete confidence in to do the job satisfactorily.

Typically, most serious offers will be fairly close to each other, within 10-15%. If one of the offers is very far below the others, likely, the craftsman in question has not understood the task. In this situation, the offer should be considered very carefully before being accepted. There will be an imminent risk of large extra bills afterward.

If the offers are within budget, all is well! But often the price is higher than expected. You may choose to negotiate with the winning contractor to reduce the overall price. At this stage, compromises may have to be made, such as choosing alternative (cheaper) materials or methods of execution, or the project may have to be scaled down. If you have had an advisor design the work and have agreed on a budget that the advisor must adhere to, the advisor must redesign free of charge if the budget is exceeded.

Contractor’s reservations

The contractor’s offer is usually made with some reservations about the performance of the work. These reservations are perfectly legal, but the client may reject the tender or the reservation at any time if the reservations deviate significantly from the tender conditions.

Several trade associations, such as the Danish Construction Association, have several standard reservations that their members can attach to tenders. These reservations do not derogate from AB92 and usually do not cause problems for the contractor.

The so-called individual reservations are immediately more difficult to deal with. For example, when getting the offers back from the tradesmen, one may have attached such a reservation while another has not. It is, therefore, necessary to examine the offers including these reservations to be able to estimate the correct price. The reservation may have financial consequences and contribute to the offer not being the cheapest after all, e.g. if the reservation is considered to lead to a higher extra cost.

If a tender is held under the Tendering Act, only the lowest bidder can be negotiated to waive reservations with financial consequences.