QuoteRadar
We ran 7,810 real construction and renovation quotes through our analysis. The single most conflict-prone item — how extra work gets priced and approved — was missing from 88 out of every 100. And that is not the only structural blind spot.
The figures below come from our own anonymised analysis of 6,704 quotes with a readable terms section. They show how often an essential clause or line item is missing. This is about the structure and completeness of quotes — not about price levels — and no individual quote, company or amount is ever shown.
Money & scope
88%
missing in 88% of quotes
Change-order / extra-work rule
How extra work is priced and approved — the top source of disputes.
37%
missing in 37% of quotes
Explicit exclusions list
Without a "not included" list, the scope boundary is vague — and that is where extra costs are born.
44%
missing in 44% of quotes
"Provided by client" section
Power, water, access, decisions: what you must arrange yourself.
24%
missing in 24% of quotes
Staged payment schedule
How payments track the actual progress of the work.
13%
missing in 13% of quotes
Payment terms
When and how you pay — the most commonly covered item, yet still missing in some quotes.
Risk & liability
25%
missing in 25% of quotes
Liability clause
What the contractor is (not) liable for — essential to know before signing.
29%
missing in 29% of quotes
Construction insurance (CAR)
Who insures the work while it is being built.
28%
missing in 28% of quotes
Environmental / asbestos exclusion
A real cost risk in older buildings; an exclusion should at least be stated.
30%
missing in 30% of quotes
Permits responsibility
Who applies and who pays the fees — or it surfaces later as a surprise.
16%
missing in 16% of quotes
Applicable terms & conditions
Which general conditions govern the deal.
Process & timing
27%
missing in 27% of quotes
Work starts only after written order
Protects both sides: no work without a confirmed order.
18%
missing in 18% of quotes
Quote validity period
How long the offer stands.
32%
missing in 32% of quotes
Ownership of drawings/designs
Relevant if you ever switch contractors.
What this tells you
Most quotes get the basics right — payment, validity, conditions. Where they fail is on the items that only start costing money during or after the work: the change-order rule, the exclusions list, and what you must provide yourself. Exactly the silences a proper quote check exposes before you sign.
Check your own quote →The corpus consists mostly of quotes issued to business clients; because we measure whether clauses are present (structure, not price), the pattern is broadly recognisable, though a quote to a private client may differ.
Source: our own anonymised analysis of 6,704 construction and renovation quotes (of 7,810 analysed in total), reference date Q3 2026. Figures are aggregated frequencies only; no individual quotes, companies or amounts. Completeness of clauses is structural and not tied to any single country or currency.