A customer accepts a quote for a kitchen floor. On fitting day the old vinyl comes up, the boards underneath are uneven and there is old adhesive across the whole area. The job now needs a day of preparation and materials that were not in the price.
She thinks she is being charged twice. The fitter thinks he is being asked to work for nothing. Both were set up by a quote that never mentioned the subfloor.
What customers ask
They usually ask whether the old floor needs to come up, what is underneath, whether the floor needs levelling, what levelling costs, whether damp is a problem, whether they can lay over the existing covering, how long preparation adds, whether doors need trimming and whether furniture moving is included.
Raise it before the quote, not after
A line in every quote explaining that subfloor condition is unknown until the old covering is lifted, with an indication of what preparation typically costs, turns a dispute into an expectation.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a fitter might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Customer: Can you give me a price for a kitchen floor? Assistant: The page explains how flooring is priced per square metre by type, and that subfloor preparation is quoted separately because the condition is only visible once the old covering is lifted. Could you tell me the room size, what is down now and roughly when the property was built?
Customer: The floor feels uneven. Is that a problem? Assistant: Unevenness usually needs levelling before a new floor goes down, and the page explains what that involves, the materials used and how drying time affects the schedule. The fitter will assess it at the measuring visit.
Customer: Can you lay on top of what is there? Assistant: Sometimes, depending on what is down and what is going on top, and the page explains when that works and when the old covering has to come up. It also explains what removal and disposal cost.
Moisture is the serious one
A solid floor with a moisture problem will destroy a new covering. Explaining that testing may be needed, and what happens if a reading is high, protects both the customer and your reputation for the years the floor is down.
Old adhesive is slow work
Bitumen and old glue removal is labour intensive and impossible to price from a description. Naming it as a possibility means a customer is not shocked by it.
Doors, thresholds and heights
A new floor changes the height, which affects doors, thresholds between rooms and sometimes appliances under a worktop. Mentioning this at quote stage prevents a kitchen door that will not close.
Underfloor heating changes the specification
Compatibility, adhesives and covering choice all differ. Asking whether heating is present or planned avoids specifying a floor that cannot be used.
Provisional sums work better than surprises
Allowing a stated figure for preparation, refunded if unused, is honest, easy to explain and removes the argument entirely.
Measuring is where quotes stall
The pattern is described in flooring quotes that stall at measuring.
Material choice comes first for most customers
They start with the covering, as in laminate, vinyl or wood questions flooring shops answer.
Preparation instructions matter everywhere
Telling people what to do before a visit is the same discipline as test booking and preparation questions for diagnostic labs, and publishing prices is argued in AI receptionist pricing questions.
Getting started
Publish your per metre pricing, how preparation is handled and what you need to measure, then capture room details at any hour. SpideyChat for builders and contractors answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.