How to Read a Roofing Quote
Before You Sign

A quote is not a quote unless it tells you what you are paying for. In the roofing trade more than most, vague or incomplete quotes lead to disputes, unexpected extras and work that doesn't match expectations. This guide explains what a legitimate roofing quote must contain and what to watch for when comparing quotes in Lancaster.

What a Legitimate Quote Must Include

1. Written format with your name and address. A verbal estimate or a number written on a business card is not a quote. A quote should be a document — digital or paper — with your name, property address, date and the contractor's contact details. This is the document you will refer to if there is any dispute.

2. Itemised breakdown of what is included. Materials, labour and third-party costs (scaffold hire, skip hire) should all be listed separately. A single total figure tells you nothing useful. An itemised quote tells you exactly what you are getting and makes like-for-like comparison between contractors possible.

3. Material specification. "New tiles" is not a specification. "Marley Eternit Modern concrete interlocking tile in Smooth Grey" is. "New lead" is not a specification. "Code 4 lead BS EN 12588 for step flashing" is. A contractor who cannot specify what they are fitting cannot be held to any standard of quality.

4. What is NOT included. Legitimate quotes state clearly what is excluded — typically any hidden damage discovered once tiles are stripped, which is quoted separately in writing before proceeding. Contractors who do not specify exclusions often use hidden damage as justification for significant cost additions mid-job.

5. Timescale. Start date (approximate is acceptable at quote stage), estimated duration, and what happens in the event of weather delays. You should know roughly when the work will happen and how long it will take.

6. Guarantee terms in writing. How long the workmanship guarantee runs, what it covers, and the process for making a claim. A verbal guarantee is unenforceable. Manufacturer product guarantees are separate from workmanship guarantees and should both be referenced.

Warning Signs in Roofing Quotes

Consumer protection regulations require traders to provide clear pricing information and prohibit misleading omissions in quotations to consumers.

Source: Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

No VAT registration number. Any roofing contractor turning over more than the VAT threshold (~£85,000) must be VAT registered. A contractor doing significant re-roofing work who cannot provide a VAT registration number is almost certainly below-threshold (very small operation, limited capacity) or trading illegally. This matters for your protection — VAT-registered businesses have a paper trail and can be found.

Cash-only payment. Legitimate contractors accept bank transfer. Cash-only is a consistent marker of grey-economy trading. It also means you have no payment record and no recourse through your bank if the work is poor or incomplete.

Pressure to sign immediately. "This price is only valid today" is a sales technique, not a reflection of genuine commercial constraint. A price that disappears if you take a week to consider it is a price designed to prevent you getting a second quote. Legitimate contractors hold quotes open for 30–60 days as standard.

Abnormally low price. In a 2025 Lancaster market, a quote to re-roof a 3-bed semi that comes in at £2,500 when two other quotes are at £6,500 and £7,000 is not a bargain. It is a contractor who is either planning to cut corners on materials, planning to ask for significant additional payments mid-job, or is planning to take a deposit and disappear. The lowest quote in a roofing comparison is frequently the most expensive outcome.

How to Compare Quotes Fairly

Two quotes for "re-roofing a 3-bed semi" can differ by thousands of pounds and still be quoting entirely different scopes of work. Before comparing prices, confirm that each quote includes: the same tile specification (or different ones that you are consciously choosing between), the same scaffold arrangement, new sarking felt and battens, new ridge tiles, lead flashings at all chimneys, and disposal of all waste. Add in any items that one contractor includes and another excludes before comparing the final figures.

Getting Comparable Quotes in Lancaster

Collecting three quotes for roofing work in Lancaster is good practice but only useful if the quotes are genuinely comparable. Two quotes can describe the same job in completely different levels of detail, making price comparison misleading. A quote that says "re-roof including all materials" for £5,500 and a quote that says "strip, new breathable sarking felt, new treated timber battens, Marley Eternit Modern tile in Smooth Grey, dry-fix ridge, lead flashings at chimney, scaffold, skip and all waste disposal" for £6,800 are not two prices for the same job. They are a partial description and a full description of potentially identical work, and the only way to compare them is to make both contractors specify the same elements in writing.

Ask every contractor you quote to specify: the tile manufacturer and product name, the lead code for any flashing work, whether the quote includes scaffold and skip, whether new sarking felt is included, and whether the ridge is mortar-bedded or dry-fix. When all contractors have answered these questions in writing, you can compare like with like. The contractor who initially quoted lowest often turns out to be quoting a subset of the required work, and the additional items bring the total to or above the more detailed quotes.

A contractor who cannot or will not provide this level of specification detail in writing is a contractor whose accountability to the quoted standard is limited to their word. In a trade with no formal licensing requirement and variable quality standards, the written specification is your main protection. Lancaster Roofing Experts provide fully itemised, specification-detailed quotes on every job as standard. Call 0152 474 5928 to request a quote.