The job changed
If a part is added, the metal changes, or the quantity moves, the price follows the new job. This is the revision you control most, by settling the scope before asking for a price.
British Columbia
British Columbia
WHAT CAUSES A REVISED QUOTE AND WHAT TO SEND FIRST
A quote prices the job as it stood that day, so when the job changes, the price gets checked again.
A revised quote almost always means something about the job changed after the first price. A size was confirmed, a quantity moved, a part was added, or the quote passed its expiry date while metal prices moved. Most of those can be settled before the first price goes out. Find which kind of revision you're holding, check the usual causes, and send what's missing in one go.
Lay the new quote next to the first one and look for the price that changed. Then work out where that change came from, so you know what to check on the new quote.
| What changed | Where it came from | What to check on the new quote |
|---|---|---|
| Something was added, removed, or swapped | The job changed | The new item matches what you asked for, and nothing else changed |
| A size, model, or detail was confirmed after the first price | The first quote assumed a detail | Which assumption changed, and that the others still hold |
| The quantity went up or down | The job changed | The price for each part, as well as the total |
| The drawings were revised, or an addendum came out | The job changed, through the project documents | The revision number the new quote was priced from |
| The quote passed its expiry date | Time and the market moved | Whether the material price or the lead time changed |
| The material quoted is no longer available | Time and the market moved | What replaces it, and whether it still meets your spec |
Most revisions trace back to one of three sources. Knowing which one tells you whether you could have stopped it.
If a part is added, the metal changes, or the quantity moves, the price follows the new job. This is the revision you control most, by settling the scope before asking for a price.
If a size or model was missing, the first quote assumed one and said so. Send the confirmed detail, and the price is checked against it, up or down.
If the quote passes its expiry date before you approve, the metal may cost more or less than it did. Approve before that date, or ask for an update first.
These six causes account for most second quotes on custom metalwork. All six have a fix you can send with your first request.
If the first quote was priced from a photo or a rough size, the confirmed sizes change the flat pieces and the sheet they're cut from. Send measured sizes with the first request.
A curb adapter or a transition into a unit is sized to that model. If the model is chosen after the quote, the part is priced again to fit it. Send the model with your request, or ask for the price once it's chosen.
Setup takes about the same time for one part as for ten, so each extra part costs less than the first. If the quantity changes, the price for each part changes too. Confirm the count before you ask for a price.
A different metal is a different sheet to buy, and a visible finish is extra work on every face that shows. Name the metal, finish, and visible faces in your first request.
Access doors, finished edges, delivery, installation, and a tighter date each add work. Named after the price goes out, they mean a revised quote. List them in your first request instead.
If two ways of building it are priced as one total, choosing one means pricing the whole job again. Ask for a separate price for each option instead.
A price for one rarely scales neatly to a price for ten. Setup is spread across every part in the order. Why small custom metal parts cost more walks through the numbers.
Every quote has an expiry date, the last day its price is firm. It's there because the mill or supplier only holds its metal price for a short time. Steel prices can change quickly. Approve before that date, and you get the quoted price. After it, the fabricator has to check what the metal costs now, and the price can go up or down. If your approval will take a while, ask how long the quote holds. Three things can change between the day you're quoted and the day you approve.
| What moves | How it affects your quote | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|
| The fabricator's price for steel or aluminum | Mills and metal suppliers hold a price for a limited time, so a quote can only hold as long as theirs does | Approve before the expiry date, or ask for an update first |
| Surtaxes on imported metal | Canada applies surtaxes to some imported steel and aluminum, which adds to that metal's cost | Ask whether the quoted material is affected when the expiry date is close |
| What the supplier has in stock | Material on hand at quoting can be gone by approval, and a new order has its own wait | Ask at approval whether the material is still on hand |
If only the metal price changed, the rest of the quote should read exactly the same. If anything else changed too, ask what each change is for.
On a tendered job, the owner can change the documents while every trade is still pricing, and each change can mean a new quote. Three terms come up most.
| Term | What it is, and where you'll see it | What to send your fabricator |
|---|---|---|
| Addendum | A change to the bid documents, sent out before the contract is awarded. Commonly used for answers to bidders' questions and corrected drawings | Every addendum that changes the metalwork, so its cost is in the price |
| Amendment, on BC Bid | A big change to a tender already posted on BC Bid. Any bid already sent is rejected. Commonly used when the scope or dates change a lot | The amended documents, and a request to price the job again |
| Alternative price | A separately priced option the owner can add or take off the bid price. Commonly used for a different metal, finish, or extra item | The base price, plus a separate price for each alternative |
On the standard BC bid form (BCDC 2), alternative prices aren't used to pick the winning bid. Ask for a separate price for each option in your own quote too, so choosing one doesn't mean pricing the whole job again.
A revised quote is easiest to check item by item against the first one. Five steps take a few minutes and catch most surprises.
Check the revision number. Make sure you're comparing the newest quote with the one before it.
Find what changed. Mark every item whose quantity, description, or price is different.
Match each change to a cause. Sort it into scope, a confirmed detail, or time, using the first table.
Check the lead time as well as the total. A changed scope can move the lead time, and your site plan with it.
Ask about any change you can't explain. A change you can't trace is worth a two-minute call before you approve.
Checking a revised quote against the first one
Put the newest quote next to the one before it. Mark each item that changed, then match it to a cause.
Earlier quote
Revision 1Newest quote
Revision 2The job changed
A second adapter for the next building
The job changed
Pickup became delivery to site
A contractor needs a galvanized curb adapter so a new rooftop unit fits an old curb, the raised frame the unit sits on. This is an illustration, not a Duct Duct Goose quote.
Priced from a photo of the old curb and its measured size. The new unit's model is still being chosen. The quote assumes an opening and says so.
The model arrives, and the new opening is larger and sits off centre. The adapter's size and flat pieces change, so the price is checked against them.
The contractor adds a second adapter for the next building and switches from pickup to delivery. Both changes go into the quote, and it's revised again.
Sent together on the first day, the model, the second adapter, and the delivery would have made one quote instead of three.
Most of these come from details sent late or one at a time. Send them all together before the first price, and there's less left to revise.
| The mistake | What it does to the quote | What to send instead |
|---|---|---|
| "Price it both ways" with no detail | Two options end up mixed into one number | The base scope, with a separate price for each option |
| Changes sent one email at a time | Each email can start another revision | All the changes together on one marked-up drawing |
| A price asked for before the equipment is chosen | The part is priced to an assumed size | The model and its spec sheet, or a note to wait for them |
| An approval sent after the quote's expiry date | The material may be priced again | Approval before the expiry date, or a request for an update first |
| A budget figure treated as the order price | The budget didn't cover the final details | A request for a firm quote from the final drawings |
A quote priced from a photo is the one most likely to move. Why photos are different from fabrication drawings shows what to measure so it doesn't.
We aim for as few rounds of quotes as we can. Each of these settles a detail before the price goes out.
If a size, a model, or a metal is missing, it comes back to you as a question. A price built on a guess is the one most likely to be revised.
The quote is built from the drawing and details you send. If they change, send the new version, and we price the job as it now stands.
Each quote gives the typical lead time and what starts it. If the scope changes, the lead time is checked along with the price.
Standard ductwork and fittings price instantly on WebDuct. Change one item in a duct order, and the price updates there and then, with no new round of emails.
Once you approve the shop drawings, a change is no longer a quote revision. What happens after you approve drawings covers how a change works from there.
Some revisions are worth asking for. Others only slow the job down.
If a lower number would only come from leaving out something your job needs, we'll tell you that instead of quietly trimming it. We'd rather lose the order than send a part that doesn't do its job.
Each item answers a question that would otherwise come back as a revision. What Duct Duct Goose Needs to Quote Custom Metalwork has the full list for any custom job.
More guides for getting a job priced and moving sit in Quote-Ready Resources, including when a sheet metal fabrication lead time starts.
Send a finished drawing set or a sketch with your sizes and the date you need the parts. We'll tell you what's ready to price and what's still open, so the quote that comes back has nothing left to assume.
Standard ductwork and fittings price instantly on WebDuct, the online pricing and ordering portal, with a company account. Stainless, grease duct, installs, and other custom work start with a request or a call.
At Duct Duct Goose, we specialize in sheet metal fabrication and stainless steel services for commercial and industrial applications, including HVAC systems, ducts, and custom metalwork. Please note that we do not offer services for automotive-related projects, such as vehicle parts, repairs, or modifications.
