For metal fabricators and welders
Quoting for metal fabricators and welders
A fabrication quote is steel by the metre, hours on the bench, a finish and a trip to site to fit it. Gates, balustrades, brackets, a set of stairs, a repair on a trailer: once your rates are on the list, each one is a short run of lines. Quote Desk turns the measurements from site into a quote the customer accepts on their phone, sent before you are back at the workshop.
Quote from Larkspur Steel Fabrication
Pair of driveway swing gates
| Steel supply, box section and flat bar, 64 m | $1,152.00 |
| Workshop fabrication, 14 hours | $1,330.00 |
| Galvanise and powder coat, 2 leaves | $900.00 |
| Hardware kit and site install, 4 hours | $665.00 |
| Total | $4,047.00 |
Sent from the ute. Accepted after the second reminder.
What gets in the way for metal fabricators and welders
Steel prices that move after the quote
Steel, aluminium and stainless change price from one supplier invoice to the next. A materials line of its own, with a note saying how many days the price holds, means a slow yes does not come out of your margin.
The finish is in someone else's queue
Galvanising and powder coat are often done by another business, on their timeline. Name the finish as a line and say in the note how long it adds, so the customer is not ringing you about a gate that is sitting at the galvaniser.
Bench hours and site hours
An hour in the workshop and an hour on site with the welder in the back of the ute are not the same cost. Two rates on the list, one for each, show the customer why fitting is priced on its own.
Drawings that never arrive
Many enquiries are a photo and a rough size. A quote that states the dimensions you priced from, in the note, becomes the drawing. If the opening turns out wider, the new size is a new quote.
A worked example
Metal fabricator work, with Quote Desk
Take a fictional two-person workshop with a site ute, Larkspur Steel Fabrication. Their price list has about twenty items, among them workshop labour $95 an hour, site installation $120 an hour, mild steel box section and flat bar $18 a metre, hot-dip galvanising $240 per gate leaf, powder coat $210 per gate leaf, and a gate hardware kit (hinges, drop bolt and latch) $185 each.
A customer forwards an email with a photo of a 3.6 metre driveway opening and asks for a pair of swing gates to match the front fence. The fabricator measures on site, then presses Quote this in the ute: steel per metre x64, workshop labour x14, galvanising x2, powder coat x2, hardware kit x1, site installation x4. The note says the price includes GST, the gates hang on the existing brick piers, galvanising and powder coat add about two weeks, the colour comes from the standard range, and the steel price holds for 14 days. Total $4,047. He presses Follow up automatically. The customer accepts on day five, after the second reminder, and the steel is ordered that afternoon.
A farmer rings about a cracked trailer drawbar. The fabricator types the call in with Add an enquiry by hand, quotes workshop labour x2 and a typed-in line for the replacement section at $65, and sends it before he hangs up. Total $255. The trailer is in the workshop the next morning.
Talk of the Trade
Metal fabricators and welders on Talk of the Trade
Talk of the Trade ranks metal fabricators and welders by how many Google reviews they have. Figures as of October 2026.
See the metal fabricators and welders on Talk of the Trade. Being listed there has nothing to do with using Quote Desk: no listing is sold and no rank changes.
Questions from metal fabricators and welders
Can I quote steel by the metre and labour by the hour on one quote?
Yes. Each item on your list has its own unit, so steel per metre, workshop labour per hour and galvanising per leaf sit side by side. Quantities are whole numbers, so round the metres up to what you will cut from.
How do I handle a steel price that might change?
Put the steel on its own line and say in the note how long the price holds, for example 14 days. If the customer comes back after that, send a fresh quote at the new price; a saved quote is never changed.
Can I attach a drawing to the quote?
No. Quote Desk sends lines, a total and your note. Send the drawing in your own email and write the key dimensions in the note, so the accepted quote says what size you priced.
How many metal fabricators are on Talk of the Trade?
As of October 2026 the directory has 158 ranked lists of metal fabricators and welders, with 1,285 businesses listed in New South Wales, 1,016 in Queensland and 1,012 in Victoria. Quote Desk has no bearing on those listings.
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Quote Desk for shopfittersSend the next one from the ute.
Free is five quotes a month with no card. If you send more than that, Starter is $39 a month. Either way the set-up is typing in your price list.