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SOCIETY COMMITTEE GUIDE

How to compare three quotes
that look the same

Three quotations are on the table for the terrace. The rates are different, the papers look similar, and everyone in the room has an opinion. This is the arithmetic and the checks that turn that meeting into a decision you can defend — to the members now, and to the committee that replaces you.

Weatherblazer India · For Housing Societies · 11 min read

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Three quotations, three numbers, and a room full of people who each know somebody who "got it done for less."

The difficulty is not that committee members lack judgement. It is that the three papers in front of them are not comparable documents. One is two pages with a scope. One is a single line and a rate. One is somewhere in between. Comparing their totals is like comparing three cars by the size of the number plate.

There is a way to make them comparable, and it takes about twenty minutes.

Why a society decision is different

It is not your moneyEvery rupee is somebody's maintenance contribution, and you will be asked to justify it.
You may not be here when it failsCommittees change. The person who signs may not be the person who deals with year four.
The cheapest option is easiest to defend today"We took the lowest quotation" sounds responsible in the minutes — until the same terrace is treated a second time.
A wrong decision is visible to everyoneWater comes into somebody's flat, and the committee owns it at the next general body meeting.

Which is why the goal is not the lowest number. It is a decision that is written down, comparable, and still explicable in three years.

Step 1 — Convert everything to per flat, per year

The single most useful thing a committee can do, and it needs no technical knowledge at all. Take each quotation and do two divisions.

Total quoted ÷ number of flats = cost per flat   →   ÷ written warranty years = cost per flat, per year

That last figure is the one that belongs in the minutes.

ILLUSTRATION ONLYInvented numbers, shown purely to demonstrate the arithmetic — these are not rates
 Quotation AQuotation B
Total quoted₹6,00,000₹9,00,000
Number of flats2424
Cost per flat₹25,000₹37,500
Written warranty5 years10 years
Cost per flat, per year₹5,000₹3,750

Quotation A is a third cheaper and costs a quarter more per flat per year. In a meeting, that single line settles an argument that would otherwise run for an hour.

Two cautions on using it honestly. Use the written warranty period from the document — not a claimed service life, and not what somebody said on the phone. And check the warranty is of the same kind: most society terrace work is corrective rather than new construction, and corrective periods are usually shorter. A contractor offering the same period for both is either not pricing risk or not expecting to honour it.

Step 2 — Read the scope, not the rate

A cheaper quotation is rarely a cheaper version of the same job. It is usually a different job. Check each quotation for these eight items, and where it is silent write "not stated" rather than assuming.

What to look forWhy it matters
Area, with vertical surfaces measured separatelyParapets and upstands are where terraces leak. Leaving them out of the measurement makes any rate look better
The system, named"Waterproofing" and "chemical coating" are not systems. A named product can be checked
Surface preparationOn a terrace treated before, the old failed layer may need removal. That is real work and real cost
Detailing, listed separatelyParapet junctions, drain mouths, pipe penetrations. Not priced separately usually means not priced at all
Coats and thicknessShould match the manufacturer's own datasheet
TestingA flood test before the surface is closed. Ask what test, and what record you receive
The warrantyPeriod, what kind of work it applies to, and what limits it
ExclusionsWhat is not in the price — and who pays if it becomes necessary

Make this a table on one sheet with three columns, one per quotation. The column with the most blanks is not the cheapest offer. It is the least defined one.

Step 3 — The four warranty questions

Ask these of every contractor, and write the answers down.

1
Which date does the warranty start from?

The quotation, completion, or application? On a job running across months, the difference is real.

2
Is this new construction or corrective work — and what period does that give us?

Society terrace work is normally corrective.

3
Is the warranty transferable, and is that written on the certificate?

Relevant every time a flat changes hands, and worth knowing before a member asks.

4
What does the warranty not cover?

The one committees learn too late. A waterproofing warranty covers putting the waterproofing right — it does not pay for the damage the water did. False ceilings, flooring, furniture in the flat below are not covered by any waterproofing warranty in this market. A committee that repeats that promise to members will be the one holding it.

Also ask to see a specimen certificate before the order, not after. Any organised company has one and can show it in a minute. Inability to produce one is itself an answer.

Step 4 — What belongs in the work order

The quotation is an offer. The work order is what you can hold somebody to. Ten things belong in it.

01

The full scope, copied from the quotation, with areas and verticals stated

02

The system, by name

03

Detailing items listed individually

04

The testing to be carried out, and the record the society receives

05

Payment linked to stages, not to dates — with a portion retained until the test is passed and the certificate issued

06

When the warranty certificate is issued, and to whom

07

Site conditions — water and power, access route, material storage, working hours, lift use

08

Debris removal and daily cleaning, and who pays for it

09

Protection of the flats below, and what happens if something is damaged

10

One named contact on each side, with a phone number

Item five is the one committees most often omit and most often need. Item nine is the one members ask about first.

Anything agreed verbally and not written into the scope is not part of the job and not covered by the warranty. If a salesperson has promised something, the committee's job is to see it written before signing.

Who signs, and who will be here in year six

A society's memory is shorter than its warranty. Three practical measures.

How to run the decision so it survives the AGM

Committees get criticised less for the decision than for the absence of a record of how it was made. Four lines in the minutes solve it.

FOR THE MINUTES
  • All three quotations were obtained in the same format and compared on the same eight items
  • The comparison was made on cost per flat per year, using each contractor's written warranty period
  • The chosen quotation was selected because its scope was complete — not because its total was lowest or highest
  • The reasons the other two were not chosen, stated in one sentence each

That record protects this committee and helps the next one. It is also, not incidentally, how a professional client behaves — and contractors price accordingly.

Five questions at the site visit

Every contractor should visit the terrace before quoting. While he is there:

1

What is under the existing surface, and does any of it need removing?

2

Where do you think the water is actually entering? If the answer is "the whole terrace", he has not diagnosed anything

3

What will you do at the parapet junctions and the drain mouths?

4

Will you flood test it, and what record will we get?

5

Who will be on site daily, and who do we call if something goes wrong?

Five red flags

A rate given without visiting the terraceThe condition of the surface is not visible in a photograph
No written warrantyOr a period stated only in conversation
A single-line quotationNo scope, no system, no detailing
Pressure to decide todayOr a discount that expires at the end of the meeting
A promise that the warranty covers damage inside flatsIt will not, from anybody

What we do, stated plainly

We inspect before we quote — never a rate over the phone or from a photograph. The quotation states the scope, the areas with verticals separately, the system, the detailing, the testing and the exclusions, so a committee can put it beside any other quotation and compare like with like.

Every job carries a written warranty certificate — ten years on new construction, five on corrective work, both from the date of application, covering materials and labour, and transferable to a subsequent owner of the flat.

And if the honest answer is that your terrace does not need what we would sell, we would rather tell the committee that at the inspection than at the leak.

Frequently asked questions

How should a housing society compare waterproofing quotations?

Convert each to cost per flat per year: divide the total by the number of flats, then by the written warranty period. Then check all three against the same eight scope items — area with verticals, named system, preparation, detailing, coats and thickness, testing, warranty and exclusions. The quotation with the most blanks is the least defined, not the cheapest.

Is the lowest quotation usually the most expensive?

Frequently, because a lower number nearly always means a different scope — missing preparation, detailing, testing, thickness or the vertical areas. Over the life of the treatment, a shorter interval costs more per flat per year even when the total is lower.

Does a waterproofing warranty cover damage inside the flats?

No. It covers putting the waterproofing right and is limited to the amount paid for the work. It does not cover false ceilings, flooring or furniture damaged by the leak. No waterproofing warranty in this market does, and a committee should not promise members otherwise.

What should be in the work order for society terrace waterproofing?

The full scope with areas and verticals, the named system, detailing items individually, the testing and the record provided, payment linked to stages with a retention until testing, when the certificate is issued, site conditions, debris removal, protection of flats below, and one named contact on each side.

Who keeps the warranty certificate in a housing society?

The society's own records, not an individual office bearer. Add the treatment, contractor and warranty expiry to the society's asset register and to the committee handover note, so the next committee can find it.

How many quotations should a society take?

Three is customary and sufficient — provided all three are asked for the same scope and visit the site. Three quotations for three different jobs is not a comparison.

Should the contractor visit before quoting?

Yes, always. The condition of the existing surface, what was done before, and where water is actually entering are not visible remotely. A rate given without a visit is usually revised upward later, or honoured by reducing scope.

Is society terrace work new construction or corrective?

Almost always corrective, since the building exists and the terrace has usually been treated before. That normally means a shorter warranty period than new construction, and any contractor offering identical periods for both should be asked why.

Inspection first, then a quotation your committee can compare

Weatherblazer visits, diagnoses, and quotes with the scope written out — never a rate over the phone.

Call +91-96079 40070 Request a site inspection

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