Increase in quote price

[AndSoFinally]

I'm having an extension done next year, and by the time it happens it'll be about a year between the initial quote/survey and the work starting.

They quoted me about £35k and Ive paid a 10% deposit.

I'm seeing everywhere now how much the price of building materials have rocketed and how expensive labour costs have become due to demand.

Is it usual that they will re-quote the work before starting? If the price has gone up hugely I'll no longer be able to afford it. If there is a massive discrepancy between the original quote and the current price, would I get my 10% deposit back?

Have they given you a quote or an estimate? I know a firm that gives estimates only just incase. You need to check what they have written down.
Even with quotes, they often leave a line in that mentions price increases

Why in earth have you paid a deposit?

A chap I was talking to this week who installs bathrooms tells me he can now only do quotes as valid for 30 days, because he can't control the cost of materials any more. He said he already knows from his suppliers that he has price rises due in November, December, and January.
Our plasterer is buying in plasterboard and storing it so he can keep working if there are supply problems and keep to his quotes. But he has space to store it. The other chap doesn't- and bathroom fittings are more delicate and bulky- as he said, he'd have to unpack every tile and fitting and check it before packing and storing it again as a couple of months down the line the supplier wouldn't accept claims for things not being 'right'.
I can't see how your quote could be honoured with the way things are- some materials have gone up 100% in the last year. Some builders are saying if they can't pass on the huge increases at least partly to their clients they will just go bust.

Why in earth have you paid a deposit

Is this not usual then? By the time they do the work it'll be over a year between booking and starting. They're holding a 6 week block for me, I think expecting some kind of deposit for this was fair enough? It's not like they could fill it at the last minute if I pulled out.

Unfortunately it's just an estimate not a guaranteed quote. I just wondered if there was some kind of fair trading type rule that covered if the estimate turned out to be a long way from the actual price. Otherwise there'd be nothing to stop companies giving deliberately misleading low estimates to secure the work and then charging whatever they liked at the end of it

I wouldn't have paid a deposit on an estimate. They've got you over a barrel really. You either pay the obvious increased prove or lose your money