Does a quote mean fixed price?

Builders can add on costs to a job for extras but should always be discussed and run by the customers. there may have been an unexpected problem come up on the job which is going to cost to get over the problem which should be explained to the customer before going ahead to make sure they are happy with it and the extra money its going to cost.

If I was to give a written quotation, it would be final as I try to factor in all foreseeable problems into account when quoting. However if a customer was to change there minds and it occurred a extra cost I would look to charge extra.

If you have been given a quotation that is final cost unless you instruct the builder to carryout additional work over and above the works quoted, legally you are in a strong position, I deal with these disputes on a weekly basis, where I end up having to prepare a report for clients to take legal action, unfortunately the industry is full of rogue builders and dishonest builders, something I am working on, to get the government to support a system to ween out rogue builders. Dr Paul D Rogers PhD Construction Management Chartered Building Engineer Expert in Building defects and rectification

Yes & no. You would expect the builders to have a full understanding of the job on the initial visit and subsequent quote, however there can be problems and issues that need dealing with during the work that were not foreseeable. For example if the quote was to replace floorboards for new but once you remove you discover the joists are rotten/damaged then they would need replacing which is something we would advise however never 'bully into having the work done.