Costed quoting walkthroughs
We take a real job, strip it back to adhesive, levelling, wastage and travel, then rebuild the quote line by line. You leave with a template you can adapt to your own rates.
A few ground rules so there is no confusion later. These apply to every workshop session, teardown and reader submission we run out of the shop.
When we say workshop, we mean a bench, tools in hand and a job being worked through. Sessions run in small groups so everyone gets time on the drill, the trowel or the mitre saw. If you are looking for a slide deck and a certificate, this is not that.
Material lists we publish are built from real jobs, but supplier pricing shifts and substrate conditions differ. Treat every rand figure as a working estimate for your own quote, not a fixed price we stand behind on your site.
A drill that survived one Highveld winter in our bakkie is one data point. We note the hours, the conditions and the failures we saw, but we cannot promise the same unit off a different shelf behaves identically.
Brands do not pay for coverage and do not see posts before they go up. If a supplier is named, it is because the job used them. Guest notes from electricians, plumbers and cabinetmakers are their own words, edited for length only.
Send job photos and questions to the editor and we will work them into a future post. We may crop images, remove client names and skip anything that reads as a legal or structural dispute better handled by a registered professional.
We cover trades, tools and small business admin. We do not give engineering sign-off, legal opinions or municipal compliance rulings. For those, bring in the right registered person before you break ground.
Whether it is a tool teardown, a quote review or a full workshop setup, the same five steps apply. No account managers, no handovers between departments. You deal with the person doing the work.
Photos of the site, the wall or the tool, plus what you have already tried. A short voice note works fine if typing on site is a hassle.
Usually within two working days. Expect follow-up questions about substrate, access, load-shedding hours or what the client has already agreed to pay for.
You get a written breakdown: what gets done, what gets bought, and which parts depend on the site being dry, level or reachable by bakkie.
Repairs, builds and teardowns are documented as they go. If something unexpected shows up behind the plaster or inside the gearbox, we stop and tell you before continuing.
You leave with the finished work, the leftover materials accounted for, and a short written record of what was done so the next person on the job is not guessing.
Most people arrive at step one with half a plan. That is normal. Look at how the formats differ before you write in.
Every session is built around work that has to pass on site, not theory. Bring your own drawings, a bakkie load of samples, or a problem wall you cannot read. We work through it with the same material lists and labour estimates you would use on a real quote.
Groups stay small so there is time for individual questions. Most sessions run half a day, with a follow-up note covering what we measured and what we would change next time.
We take a real job, strip it back to adhesive, levelling, wastage and travel, then rebuild the quote line by line. You leave with a template you can adapt to your own rates.
Drills, grinders and mixers get opened up on the bench. We look at brushes, chucks and gearboxes after a winter of site use, and what a repair realistically involves.
Reading moisture on older walls, telling rising damp from a leaking downpipe, and the repair sequence that stops the problem coming back through the paint.
How to vet an aluminium or timber supplier before you commit a deposit, what to put in writing, and the delivery terms that quietly shift risk onto you.
Payment terms, deposit structure and the paper trail that holds up when a client stalls. We go through wording that keeps the relationship intact while the invoice gets paid.
Not every job needs the same level of involvement. Some foremen just want a second opinion on a quote before it goes out. Others want us on site from the first measurement to the final snag list. Below are the three formats we actually run, what each one includes, and who tends to pick it.
You send the drawings, the material list and your labour estimate. We check adhesive and wastage allowances, travel time between sites, and the contingency line most quotes forget. You get written notes back within two working days.
Best for: solo tilers, small builders, first-time quoters
Start with a quote reviewA full day on your site or in your workshop. We walk the job, look at how the crew is set up, check tool condition and storage, and work through the problems that keep costing you time. Notes and photos go out the same evening.
Best for: site foremen, workshop owners with a crew of three or more
See how a site day runsFor longer projects we stay in the loop from first fix to handover. You send photos and short updates, we flag problems early, keep the material list current, and help you write the client updates that stop payment delays.
Best for: renovation projects running six weeks or longer
Talk about a long jobNot sure which fits? Read the solutions overview or look at the use cases for jobs similar to yours.