Published: 25 August 2026
Say you need a bathroom redone and three quotes come back at R18 500, R21 000 and R11 500.
Most of us are going to look twice at the R11 500 one. That is a meaningful saving, especially when you are already paying for tiles, taps, a shower door and all the other things that somehow appear once a renovation starts.
There is nothing wrong with choosing the cheapest quote. Plenty of good contractors price competitively, and an expensive quote is no guarantee that the work will be better. The trouble starts when the three totals look comparable but the actual work behind them isn't.
One contractor may have priced for removing the old tiles, waterproofing, tiling, plumbing changes and rubble removal. Another may have allowed for tiling labour only. A third might simply write "bathroom renovation" next to a number.
On your phone, those can look like three quotes for one job. They aren't.
Work out what you are actually comparing
A quote should give you enough detail to understand what happens once the contractor arrives. It doesn't need to read like a tender document, but you should be able to tell who is supplying the materials, what preparation is included, what will be removed, and what happens to the rubble afterwards.
This matters more on some jobs than others. If somebody is replacing a straightforward internal door, the scope may be obvious. A bathroom, roof leak, waterproofing problem or renovation has more room for assumptions.
Take painting. "Paint bedroom" could mean two coats on the walls using paint supplied by you. It could also include crack repairs, primer, ceiling, skirting, doors and the paint itself. Both contractors can honestly say they quoted to paint the room while pricing very different amounts of work.
The same thing happens with plumbing fittings, electrical components, adhesives, boards, timber and waterproofing products. You don't need to become an expert in every product being used in your house. You do need to know whether two quotes are allowing for roughly the same thing before deciding that one contractor is expensive.
Some problems only show themselves once the work starts
Home repairs are messy in a way that a quotation cannot always predict. A damp patch on a wall may turn out to be a small leaking fitting. It may also lead to damaged plaster, failed waterproofing or pipework that nobody could see before opening the area.
That kind of extra cost is different from vague quoting.
A contractor who finds an unexpected problem should be able to show you what was found and explain what needs to change before carrying on with the additional work. If the job suddenly grows by R4 000 or takes another day, you should know about it while there is still a decision to make.
The uncomfortable version is discovering the extra work on the final invoice.
This is also where photos and videos help, but only up to a point. A good set of WhatsApp photos can save everybody time and may be enough for a contractor to price a simple job. They cannot show what is behind a tiled wall or under a damaged section of floor. If somebody says they need to inspect the job before committing to a final price, that can be the sensible answer.
Watch what happens when the extras start
The quote that looked like a bargain can move quickly if ordinary parts of the job were never included.
You accept the price, work begins, and then you learn that taking out the old material wasn't allowed for. Rubble removal has another charge. A delivery needs to be added. Preparation takes longer than expected. Something you assumed was part of the finish was never in the price.
Any one of those costs may be reasonable. The issue is when the original quote was low because too much was left unsaid.
Homeowners change the scope as well. You may decide that while the tiler is there, you want the second wall done too. You might add another plug point or replace a fitting you originally planned to keep. That is additional work, and it is fair for the contractor to charge for it.
The cleaner way to handle it is simple: agree on the change and the extra price before the contractor does it. A WhatsApp message is better than trying to remember a conversation you had in the passage three days earlier.
The cheapest job can become expensive months later
There is another cost that doesn't show up on quote day.
Maybe the paint starts peeling because the wall wasn't prepared properly. A joint begins leaking. Tiles lift. A cupboard door never closes properly. You call the person who did the work and suddenly getting hold of them becomes much harder than it was when they wanted the job.
Now you may be paying someone else to repair work you have already paid for once.
That is why references, previous work, communication and some idea of who you are dealing with still matter. None of those things guarantees a perfect job. They do give you more to judge than a number on a WhatsApp message.
It is worth saying the opposite too. A contractor with a branded bakkie, smart quotation and polished social media can still disappoint you. Looking professional and working professionally are not the same thing. Price is one part of the decision, not a ranking system where the middle quote automatically wins.
Ask about the difference instead of only asking for a discount
When one contractor is R6 000 or R8 000 more expensive than another, asking why is reasonable.
You can say: "I have another quote that is quite a bit lower. Can you take me through what you've allowed for so I can compare them properly?"
That gives the contractor a chance to explain the difference. Maybe their quote includes materials that the other one leaves to you. Maybe they have included waterproofing or disposal. Maybe they have simply priced the job higher. Once you understand the reason, you can decide whether the difference is worth paying.
You may also find a sensible way to reduce the cost. Supplying certain materials yourself could help. A non-essential part of the job might be done later. There may be an existing fitting that doesn't need replacing after all.
That conversation is usually more useful than trying to push every contractor down to the lowest number without knowing what has to come out of the job to get there.
Before you accept, read the quote once as if the work has already gone wrong
This sounds pessimistic, but it is useful. Imagine the contractor is halfway through and you disagree about what was included. Would the quote or WhatsApp conversation settle it?
You should be able to find the basic scope, who supplies what, the major exclusions, the payment arrangement and how additional work will be approved. For larger or more complicated jobs, more detail is obviously better.
You are not trying to catch the contractor out. You are making sure you both started with the same picture of the job.
If the cheapest quote still makes sense after that, take it. Saving money is a good thing. Just make sure the saving is real before the first tile comes off the wall.
Finding a contractor through DadBod
DadBod Contractors helps South African homeowners find verified contractors through WhatsApp. You can explain the job, send photos, videos or a voice note where useful, and move into the contractor journey without downloading another app.
Getting the right person matters, but so does giving them enough information to quote properly. A clearer job at the start usually means fewer surprises once the work begins.
