Yeah, got burned on shingles last summer. Quoted a roof job based on prices in May, but by July the supplier had jacked up costs almost 20%. Had to eat some of that loss myself—lesson learned. Now I always add a note about material price adjustments if the quote's good for more than a month. Seems fair enough, customers usually get it once you explain the situation clearly.
Yeah, that's a smart move. When we bought our place last year, the contractor explained upfront that lumber prices were all over the place, so the quote was only locked in for 30 days. Honestly, as a homeowner, I'd rather have that transparency than get surprised later with extra charges. Most people get it once you lay it out clearly... better for everyone involved to be upfront about it.
We ran into a similar situation last summer when we were redoing roofs on a couple of our buildings. Our roofing contractor gave us a 45-day window for the quote, specifically because asphalt shingle prices were fluctuating like crazy. At first, some of our board members weren't thrilled about it—they preferred fixed costs for budgeting—but once we explained the market volatility and showed them some pricing charts, they got it. Honestly, transparency upfront is always better than having to explain surprise charges later. From what I've seen, most people understand that material costs aren't something contractors can control, especially when you show them the numbers clearly. It's just good practice to keep everyone on the same page.
We just went through this with our kitchen remodel, and honestly, I was skeptical at first too. Here's what helped me: ask your contractor to break down the quote clearly, item by item, and show you exactly what's subject to change. Then do a quick check yourself—call around or look online to see if prices really are jumping around. Once I saw the numbers myself, it made sense...still didn't love it, but at least I knew they weren't just pulling numbers out of thin air.
We had something similar happen when we redid our bathroom last year. Our contractor explained that most quotes are good for about 30 days, but with how crazy supply chains have been lately, some materials (especially lumber and tile) can fluctuate even faster. Your idea of getting a detailed breakdown is spot-on—it really helped us pinpoint exactly what was driving the changes. Still frustrating, but at least it felt fair once we saw the numbers ourselves.
