Note
Why three quotes, and not one
What the spread between quotes tells you, and how to read it.
Get quotes instead
Three questions, up to three contractors, nothing charged.
Your request is in.
We are matching it now against roofing contractors working in Fountain Valley and the surrounding area.
- Today, usually within the hour. The first contractor calls or texts the number you gave us. ASAP requests go out first.
- Up to three of them, no more. We cap it at three so you can compare without your phone melting.
- They come and look. Estimates are given after somebody has been on the roof, not over the phone.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
If you do not hear anything today, check your voicemail and spam folder — contractors often call from a mobile number.
One number has no context
A single quote is unfalsifiable. You cannot tell whether it is generous or outrageous, because there is nothing to compare it against.
The spread is the information
Three quotes on the same roof routinely vary by forty per cent. That gap is rarely greed. It is usually scope — one is reusing flashing, one is not doing ventilation, one has priced two layers of tear-off.
How to read the outliers
The cheapest quote should be asked what it leaves out. The most expensive should be asked what you get for the difference. Both questions have good answers sometimes, and revealing answers always.
Why not five
Because the marginal information after three drops off sharply, and the marginal number of phone calls does not. Three is where the trade-off sits.