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A free estimate is only useful if it is comparable to the next one. That means it has to state the same things every time: the load calculation result and the capacity it justifies, the specific equipment by model with its matched coil and air handler, what happens to the line set, the condensate path and its safety switch, electrical work and disconnect sizing, the pad and hurricane strapping, any duct modification required to carry the new airflow, the permit and inspection, and the warranty terms with registration responsibility named.
An estimate that lists a tonnage and a total is not an estimate. It is a number, and two of them cannot be compared because nobody knows what is inside either.
A quote produced without entering the property is a guess priced defensively. The site visit exists to establish the things that change the work: the state of the existing ductwork and whether it can carry the new system, static pressure on the current equipment, the return path, the electrical service and its capacity, access for the equipment, and the constraints of a condo board or an HOA where those apply.
The load calculation is part of that. It accounts for orientation, glazing, insulation, infiltration and the latent load this climate adds, and it regularly lands smaller than the system being replaced. Sizing from what is already there repeats whatever error was made last time.
Where two estimates differ substantially, the difference is almost always in scope rather than in margin. The items that disappear from a cheaper quote are consistent: the permit, the duct modification, the electrical upgrade, the surge protection, the secondary drain pan, and commissioning at the end. Asking each contractor to confirm those six in writing usually explains the gap without anyone having to argue about price.
An estimate is not a commitment and there is no obligation attached to it. If the recommendation is repair rather than replacement, that is what gets said. Where a system has years left and the presenting problem is a fault rather than age, replacing it is not the honest answer and a quote for one is not what we leave behind.
We quote across the three counties. Most of the estimates we write are in Dania Beach, Miramar, Pembroke Pines and Miami Gardens, and every one of them is measured at the house rather than taken off the old data plate.
What shapes the number before we write it: what central air installation involves here, what moves the figure on a new unit and how two of the common brands compare.
The load calculation result and the capacity it justifies, equipment by model with matched coil and air handler, the line set, condensate path and safety switch, electrical and disconnect, pad and strapping, any duct modification, the permit and inspection, and warranty terms with registration responsibility named.
Because the things that change the work are on site: duct condition, static pressure on the existing equipment, the return path, electrical capacity, access, and any condo or HOA constraint. A quote produced without seeing those is priced defensively.
Scope, nearly always. The items that vanish from a cheaper quote are consistent: permit, duct modification, electrical upgrade, surge protection, secondary drain pan, and commissioning. Ask both contractors to confirm those six in writing.
The equipment, the labour, the permit and anything the ductwork or the electrical needs. If something is likely but not certain, it is listed as such rather than left to appear later.
Yes, for a replacement quote. We measure at the house rather than reading the tonnage off the old data plate, which takes longer and is the only way the number means anything.
Long enough to think about it and to get a second quote without being rushed. Equipment pricing does move, so the date the number expires is written on the estimate rather than left vague, and if it lapses we requote rather than argue about it.
