How to read a contractor quote
The things a complete quote contains, why each one matters, and the exact sentence to send when it is missing — generated from the rules engine, so it cannot describe a check we do not run.
Guides
Short answers to the things people want to know before they sign. Every number here carries the source it came from and the date we checked it, and where the honest answer is that nobody has measured something, we say that instead of filling the gap.
The red flags worth acting on
Deposit caps by state with the statute for each, the five things summaries of this routinely get wrong, and the refrigerant rule that most content written in 2024 and 2025 now has stale.
When we will not tell you whether your quote is fair
Three tests decide whether we give a price verdict or refuse one, and this is the arithmetic behind them. Every threshold is read from the live model, so the published rule cannot drift from the code it describes.
What margin do contractors actually make?
37.0% of revenue, computed from the 2022 Economic Census rather than from an industry survey — with the arithmetic, the Census variable names, and the six identity checks the parse had to pass.
What does emergency service actually cost?
Nobody publishes a number, and we do not either. What can be established is a ceiling — and the usual justification for an after-hours rate turns out to be weaker than the industry implies, because federal law requires no premium for evenings or weekends at all.
Is my quote fair?
One page per trade, and they do not all say yes. 2 of the 6 can price the job well enough to be worth something today; the rest tell you what is missing and what we can still check without a price. Each card says which before you open it.
Gives a number
Is my HVAC quote fair?
$7,350 to $14,500 nationally for hvac replacement, of which $4,900 to $8,250 is parts and labour before anybody's margin — with every input named.
Gives a number
Is my plumbing quote fair?
$1,500 to $3,150 nationally for water heater replacement, of which $1,000 to $1,850 is parts and labour before anybody's margin — with every input named.
Explains why we will not
Is my roofing quote fair?
We will not call a roofing quote fair when, for roof replacement, we have not measured a single component of it yet. What is missing, what we can still check, and the threshold that decides it.
Answers in some metros
Is my electrical quote fair?
We will not call an electrical quote fair when, for electrical panel replacement, only 25% of it is priced from figures we have measured. What is missing, what we can still check, and the threshold that decides it.
Explains why we will not
Is my window quote fair?
We will not call a window quote fair when, for window replacement, we have not measured a single component of it yet. What is missing, what we can still check, and the threshold that decides it.
Explains why we will not
Is my pest control quote fair?
We will not call a pest control quote fair when, for pest control service, we have not measured a single component of it yet. What is missing, what we can still check, and the threshold that decides it.