Buying guide

What prefab buyers should know before asking for a quotation

A supplier can price a box quickly. A useful project quotation needs enough context to price what reaches—and works on—your site.

Start with the project, not the product name

You do not need to decide whether you need flat-pack, panelized, fold-out or expandable construction before the first conversation. Those are possible responses to a project problem. Begin with what the building must do and where it must work.

A strong brief allows a supplier or adviser to challenge the initial product choice. For example, one finished module may look ideal online but become difficult to transport through a narrow route. A more assembly-intensive system may pack efficiently but demand labour that is not dependable at the destination. The right comparison is between plausible project scenarios, not attractive catalog images.

The six facts that change a quotation

Describe the destination twice

First describe the regulatory destination: country, municipality, intended occupancy and any known authority requirements. Then describe the physical destination: port, road, turning space, gradients, overhead obstructions, crane position, storage and weather exposure.

These are different questions. A module can be structurally adaptable to a location yet physically unable to reach the site in its proposed transport form. Conversely, an easy route does not prove that the building design will receive local approval.

Define what “finished” means

Finish descriptions should be observable. Replace “luxury interior” with a schedule: wall lining, floor finish, bathroom fixtures, lighting, sockets, heating or cooling, kitchen, furniture and appliance scope. Identify whether services terminate within the module or include the external connections to local networks.

Ask for a scope matrix, not just an exclusions paragraph

An exclusions list is essential, but a scope matrix is easier to compare. Put the same work packages down the left side and ask every bidder to mark included, optional, by buyer or not yet defined.

• Design development and shop drawings
• Structural calculations and local engineering adaptation
• Factory structure, envelope, windows, doors and interior fit-out
• Factory inspection, testing and documentation
• Export packing, international freight and insurance
• Port, customs, duties, taxes and inland delivery
• Foundations, drainage, roads, decks and external works
• Crane, unloading, temporary storage and weather protection
• Utility connections, commissioning and handover
• Local permits, inspections and professional services

Use assumptions as decision markers

Early quotations always contain assumptions. The problem is not uncertainty; it is hidden uncertainty. Ask the supplier to state the assumed wind, snow or seismic inputs, transport route, finish specification, currency, tax treatment, quote validity and installation conditions.

Then separate assumptions that can be verified now from those that require later professional work. A route video may resolve an access question quickly. A geotechnical report or local engineering review may take longer. This creates a sequence for due diligence instead of pretending every answer is already known.

Red flags in an early prefab quotation

• A single price described as “turnkey” without a responsibility matrix.
• No model number, drawing revision, finish schedule or written assumptions.
• No distinction between factory gate, port, delivered-to-site and installed pricing.
• Claims of universal code compliance without a named destination or authority.
• Transport pricing without dimensions, weights, route assumptions or unloading scope.
• A deposit request before the buyer can identify the contracting entity, warranty and refund terms.

The first quotation is a question-finding tool

At concept stage, the best outcome may not be a final price. It may be a clearer system choice, an explicit list of missing facts and two or three cost-sensitive decisions to resolve. Once those items are known, the next quotation becomes more comparable and less likely to move risk invisibly to the buyer.