If you get a week, that’s basically a luxury spa day in quote terms these days.
That line made me laugh—sad but true. I just went through this with siding quotes and it felt like I needed a stopwatch handy. One place gave me 24 hours, which was wild considering I was still waiting on two other companies to even show up for measurements. Ended up losing that price, and of course, when I circled back a week later, the new quote was $900 higher. Not a great feeling.
Here’s what I’ve started doing, for what it’s worth:
Step one: As soon as I get a quote, I ask them straight up how long it’s good for. If it’s less than a week, I’ll say something like, “Is there any wiggle room on that? I’m waiting on other estimates.” Sometimes they’ll budge, sometimes not.
Step two: If they won’t extend, I try to get everything else lined up ahead of time—financing, HOA approval, whatever—so if the price is right, I can pull the trigger fast. It’s stressful but better than missing out.
Step three: When someone does offer two weeks or more, I make a note of it and honestly lean toward those folks. To me, it shows they’re not just chasing the latest price hike and might be more reliable overall.
I get why prices are all over the place (materials are nuts right now), but it does feel like we’re being rushed into major decisions. The circus analogy fits. At the end of the day, if you can get a week or two to think things over, that’s about as good as it gets lately. Just gotta be ready to move when you find a deal that works.
One thing that helped: I made a spreadsheet with all the quotes and their expiration dates so nothing slipped through the cracks. Might sound over-the-top but it saved me from missing another deadline.
Hang in there—it’s not just you getting whiplash from all this.
Curious if anyone’s actually seen a contractor stick to a quote for more than two weeks lately. I get the material price swings, but is it just me or does that seem like a really short window for big-ticket jobs? How are folks handling this with insurance claims or lender timelines—are you seeing any flexibility there?
I’ve noticed the same thing—quotes seem to have an expiration date these days, and it’s usually way shorter than I expected. When we were getting estimates for our siding, one contractor gave us just ten days before the price “could change.” At first I thought they were just trying to pressure us, but after talking to a few more folks, it sounds like material costs really are that unpredictable right now.
Here’s what worked for us: we made sure to get everything in writing, including how long the quote was good for. If you’re dealing with insurance or a loan, I’d recommend sending them the quote right away and letting them know about the time limit. Our lender was actually able to rush things a bit once we explained. It’s kind of a pain, honestly, but it kept us from losing out on the original price.
One thing I wish I’d known earlier—some contractors will lock in the labor cost but treat materials as “cost plus,” so if prices go up, you pay the difference. Not ideal, but at least it’s clear up front. Just something to watch for...
Ten days seems to be the new normal around here too. I used to think 30 days was standard, but with how fast shingle and metal prices jump, it’s just not realistic anymore. What I’ve seen work best is spelling out in the quote exactly what’s locked in—labor, materials, or both—and for how long. If you’re a homeowner, double check if “cost plus” is buried in the fine print. I’ve had customers surprised by that more than once... It’s not ideal, but at least you know what you’re signing up for.
I get why folks are shortening quote windows, but I’m not sure 10 days is always fair to homeowners. Sometimes it takes longer just to get HOA approval or line up financing. Maybe a middle ground is offering a base price for 30 days, but making it clear that only material costs are subject to change after 10? That way, at least labor is predictable. I’ve seen that help avoid sticker shock when prices jump mid-process.
