BOQ format
How to quote wardrobe work
How a wardrobe BOQ is broken up, why shutter face area and carcass area give different numbers, and the specs that decide the rate.
The unit
Square foot of shutter face (elevation) area
Height x width of the front, not the carcass volume and not the developed area of every board inside it. A client measures the elevation, so a quote on any other basis has to explain itself.
What the BOQ breaks into
| Line | Unit | Why it is its own line |
|---|---|---|
| Carcass | sqft | Ply, internal laminate, back panel and shelving. |
| Shutters | sqft | Swing or sliding — a separate line because sliding carries a track. |
| Loft | sqft | Almost always a different rate: plain shutters, no internals. |
| Drawers | nos | Per drawer, with the channel named. |
| Mirror | nos | — |
| Hardware | nos | Hinges, handles, hanging rods, soft-close. |
The specs that decide the rate
- Ply grade
- BWR is the usual bedroom answer; BWP costs more and is meant for wet areas. Naming the brand and grade is what stops a substitution on site.
- Internal and external laminate
- Two different thicknesses, usually 0.7mm inside and 1mm outside. A quote that names one leaves the other open.
- Shutter type
- Sliding needs a track and heavier shutters, and loses the corner. It is not the same rate as swing, and it changes the usable width.
- Edge banding
- Whether every exposed edge is banded, and in matching material.
Quoting carcass area while the client is measuring the elevation
A 7ft x 6ft wardrobe is 42 sqft of elevation. Counted as developed board area it can be double that, and the rate per sqft is correspondingly lower — the total is the same, but the two quotes look wildly different side by side. Say which basis you are using on the line itself.
To put numbers against this, the wardrobe cost calculator works it out from your own rates. Nothing is stored.
Houscade writes this breakdown for you, room by room, and the client approves it on their phone. See a real quotation.