Why We Quote on Site, Not Over the Phone

We get asked for a ballpark figure over the phone fairly often, and we understand why — you are comparing options and you do not want to book three site visits to do it. But we do not give one, and it is worth explaining what is behind that.

Floor area tells you almost nothing

Two rooms of identical size can be a day apart in work. What actually drives the time is none of the things you can say over the phone:

How much is still in the room. Offcuts, packaging, protective sheeting and pallets all have to come out before any cleaning starts. Clearance can be half the job.

Whether the ceiling is open. Exposed ductwork, cable tray and pipework hold a surprising amount of dust, and every bit of it has to come down before the floor is touched. A sealed ceiling removes that entirely.

What the finishes are. Polished concrete, vinyl, engineered timber and large-format tile all behave differently, and some need specific products. Grout haze on a large tiled area is a job on its own.

How much protective film is left. Stripping film from every pane of glass and every door, then dealing with the adhesive underneath, takes far longer than people expect.

Whether other trades are still working. If they are, we clean in stages and revisit areas. That is completely normal, but it changes the plan.

Whether furniture has been delivered. Cleaning around furniture is slower than cleaning an empty room.

None of that is visible from a description. It is all visible in ten minutes on site.

What you get instead

The visit takes under half an hour in most cases. We walk the space, note the above, ask about your handover date and who else is still on site, and then give you a fixed price in writing.

Fixed means fixed. If we misjudge how long something takes, that is our problem, not a variation on your invoice. The only thing that changes a price after it is agreed is if the scope itself changes — an extra floor, or a room that was locked when we visited.

There is no charge for the visit and no obligation.

The honest version

A phone quote would be a guess, and guesses have to be padded to be safe. You would either be quoted high to cover the unknowns, or quoted low and then told the real number once we arrived. Neither is a good way to start a job.

We would rather spend twenty minutes on site and give you a number you can actually plan around.

Ready when you are — send us a message with the property type, rough size and your handover date, and we will arrange a visit.