Red Flags in a Steel Building Quotation

Most buyers read a steel quotation from the bottom up: total, then delivery, then any line that looks unusual. That order is backwards. The total is the one figure that carries no information on its own, because it is the sum of a scope that has not been read yet. The red flags are all in the scope, and they appear as blank space rather than as entries.

This note lists the ones that recur, in the order they cost money. None of them is dishonest on its own, and several are normal in a first-pass quotation. What matters is whether they are resolved before the award or discovered on site.

The lines that are missing entirely

The most expensive gaps in a quotation are not understated quantities. They are categories that have been left out of the document altogether, because a category that is absent cannot be argued about later: the buyer assumed it was included and the supplier never said it was not. Four categories account for most of these surprises.

Anchor bolts, templates and the foundation boundary

The foundation is almost always excluded, which is normal, but the boundary is where the dispute lives. Who supplies the anchor bolts? Who supplies the setting templates that hold them in the right position while the concrete cures? Who checks the bolt positions before the pour, and who pays to re-drill if they are wrong? A quotation that states the foundation is excluded without naming those three items has left the most common site failure unallocated.

Insulation, doors, and anything the drawing shows but the text omits

Cladding is usually priced. What sits behind it often is not: the insulation, the vapour barrier, the liner, the flashings around openings, the door frames and the hardware. Look at the drawing, list every element that appears in it, and mark which appear in the quotation text. Anything shown and not named is a line that will be quoted later, at the moment when there is only one supplier left to ask.

The lines that exist but are undefined

An undefined line is more dangerous than a missing one, because it looks answered. It occupies a row in the document and a number in the total, and it will be interpreted by the supplier at the point of fabrication, when the interpretation is cheapest for them.

A weight basis that is not stated

Ask whether the price is based on a calculated weight or an estimated one, and ask for the calculated weight. Two quotations for the same building can differ substantially in tonnage, and the difference is usually not margin: it is a lighter frame, a thinner section, or an omitted bracing system. A quotation that does not state its weight basis cannot be compared with any other quotation, including a later one from the same supplier.

A coating described as a system name rather than a thickness

Coating is where a specification quietly disappears. A quotation that says galvanised or painted without naming a dry film thickness and an application standard has not specified a coating; it has named an intention. Ask for the system, the number of coats and the thickness in microns, and ask whether the thickness is measured on the finished member. Coastal and fertiliser sites will find the difference in the third year.

A delivery term that names no place

Delivery to port, delivery to site and delivery ex-works are three different commercial objects with three different risk positions. A quotation that says delivery without naming the place and the term has left the risk allocation open, and the risk will be allocated by whoever is holding the bill of lading when something goes wrong. Name the port, name the term, and state who clears customs.

Numbers that behave oddly

Some red flags are visible in the arithmetic rather than in the text. They do not prove anything on their own, but they each point to a line worth opening, and opening a line is cheap while the supplier is still competing for the order.

A total that is far below the others with no scope difference explained

When one quotation is substantially below the rest, there are only three explanations: a genuine efficiency, a lighter building, or a narrower scope. The supplier knows which. Ask them to explain the difference line by line against the highest quote, and listen for whether the explanation refers to scope or to price. A supplier who can explain the gap by naming what they left out has given you a usable answer.

A validity period shorter than the fabrication lead time

Check the validity period against the lead time the supplier has quoted. If the price expires before the steel can be rolled, the price is not a commitment; it is an opening position. This is not necessarily bad faith, since steel moves, but it means the number in the document is not the number in the contract. Ask what the price is tied to and how a movement is calculated.

The commercial terms that decide the argument

Two clauses determine what happens when the building arrives wrong, and they are usually absent from a first quotation because they are negotiated rather than offered. Their absence is not a red flag by itself. Their absence at the point of signature is.

What counts as a defect, and who decides

Ask for the definition of a defect and the process for raising one. A tolerance stated as a number is a definition; a phrase such as within normal fabrication tolerance is not. Ask who inspects, at which point, and what happens if the buyer's inspector and the supplier's inspector disagree. The answer decides whether a dispute is a conversation or a shipment returned.

Where the risk sits between factory gate and site

Sea freight, port handling, inland transport and unloading each carry a risk of damage, and each risk sits with whoever holds the goods at that moment unless the contract says otherwise. Ask explicitly where the supplier's responsibility ends, and whether marine insurance is included. A quotation that is silent on this is silent on the most likely source of a damaged member.