Short answer: two wardrobe quotes that look alike can be very different jobs. Before you sign, ask who measures and who installs, what the carcass, doors and hardware are made of, whether the old wardrobe is removed, what the guarantee covers, and whether GST is included. The answers decide whether the wardrobe is still working in ten years. Here are twelve questions, and what a good answer sounds like.
1. Who measures the job?
Good answer: the person who will design and install it. Weaker answer: a sales rep, with measurements passed to someone else.
2. Who installs it?
Good answer: a licensed installer employed by the company, ideally the same person who measured. Weaker answer: a subcontractor you have not met.
3. Where is it made?
Good answer: in the company’s own factory, to your measurements. Weaker answer: ordered from a module chart or assembled onsite from stock parts.
4. What is the carcass made of?
Good answer: 16mm or 18mm board throughout, with edging on every visible edge. Weaker answer: thinner board or a hardboard back.
5. What are the sliding doors made of, and what track?
Good answer: polytec 9mm wardrobe board, mirror or glass, hung from the top on ball-bearing rollers in an aluminium track. Weaker answer: bottom-rolling in a floor channel.
6. What runners are on the drawers?
Good answer: ball-bearing, full-extension, soft-close. Weaker answer: roller runners.
7. Is the old wardrobe removed and disposed of?
Good answer: yes, and it is itemised in the quote. Weaker answer: that is up to you.
8. Is making good included?
Good answer: the quote says what happens if walls need patching after the old wardrobe comes out. Weaker answer: not mentioned.
9. What does the guarantee cover, and for how long?
Good answer: a workmanship guarantee in writing, with a term (Reflections gives ten years) and a plain description of what it covers. Weaker answer: “lifetime” with no document, or a guarantee on materials only.
10. Is GST included in the quote?
Good answer: yes, stated. Weaker answer: “plus GST” in small print.
11. What happens if something needs adjusting after install?
Good answer: the installer comes back, and it is covered. Weaker answer: a call centre.
12. Can I see real jobs?
Good answer: a gallery of their own installs in customers’ homes, with the odd one in a house like yours. Weaker answer: stock images.
Comparing quotes
Put the answers side by side rather than the totals. A quote that is cheaper because it uses thinner board and floor-track doors is not the same wardrobe at a better price; it is a different wardrobe. Our cost guide explains what the money goes on.
Red flags
- Pressure to sign at the consult.
- A price that drops sharply if you “sign today”.
- No written quote, or a quote without the door type, finish and internals listed.
- No mention of who installs.
- No guarantee document.
How Reflections answers
The designer who visits is the licensed installer who fits the job. The wardrobe is made in our own Blacktown factory, in 16mm and 18mm board, with polytec doors, top-hung aluminium tracks and ball-bearing soft-close runners. Removal of the old wardrobe is itemised if you want it. Every job carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee, and the gallery is our own work in customers’ homes across Western Sydney. The consult is at your home and there is no obligation.
