Two estimators, two prices for the same house
A builder wants a price for a scaffold on a semi for a loft conversion: front and rear elevations, a gable end, a loading bay, maybe a tin hat roof. Your estimator walks round, counts the lifts, paces out the lengths, notes the conservatory in the way, and prices it in his head on the drive back. The quote is a short email with a figure.
If the other estimator had gone, the figure would have been different. Neither would have been wrong exactly. But one of them left out the boarded return, and neither mentioned what happens after the included hire weeks.
Why scaffold pricing wanders
Experienced estimators price well by feel, and that is also the problem. The build-up behind the figure is never written down, so it cannot be checked, repeated or handed to someone newer. Extras and hire terms are the first things to be forgotten when a quote is done quickly.
- Measurements are paced out and kept in the estimator's head or notebook.
- The price is a single figure with no build-up behind it.
- Extras such as sheeting, loading bays, fans and ladder access are priced inconsistently.
- Hire periods and extension rates are left off the quote.
- Access problems like conservatories and neighbours' land are not recorded.
What inconsistent pricing costs
Underpriced scaffolds lose money on labour and transport. Overpriced ones lose the job to the firm down the road. Missing hire terms lead to arguments about extension weeks. And when a quote is questioned, nobody can explain how the figure was reached, which makes negotiating harder.
It also makes growth harder. If only one or two people can price a scaffold reliably, every new estimator needs months of shadowing before their prices can be trusted, and the owner stays the bottleneck on quoting.
The pricing build we set up
- A site visit form on the estimator's phone records each elevation: length, height or number of lifts, returns, boarded lifts and ties or buttress needs as your team notes them.
- Extras are ticked from your list: loading bays, sheeting or netting, fans, stair or ladder access, tin hat roofs, bridging.
- Access notes and photos are captured: obstructions, restricted parking, neighbouring land, pavement use.
- A pricing sheet built from your own rates turns the elevations and extras into labour, transport and material lines.
- Your standard hire terms, included period and extension rate, are added automatically, and the estimator can change them per job.
- The quote is produced as a PDF with the build-up summarised, and sent from the system with the date logged.
- Quotes are stored against the builder and address, so repeat work and price questions can be checked quickly.
| Recorded on the visit | Priced as |
|---|---|
| Elevations and lifts | Erect and dismantle labour |
| Returns and boarded lifts | Additional labour and materials |
| Loading bays, fans, sheeting | Extras from your list |
| Distance and access | Transport and handling |
| Hire terms | Included period and weekly rate |
Your estimators still decide the price. The build-up makes their decisions consistent and visible.
What changes in the office
Quotes come out the same whoever does the visit. Newer estimators can price with the rates behind them. Hire terms are on every quote, so extension weeks are expected. And when a builder asks why a price is higher than last time, you can see exactly why.
Is your pricing like this?
- Quotes are a single figure in an email.
- Two estimators would price the same job differently.
- Hire terms are often missing from quotes.
- Extras are added or forgotten depending on the day.