Table of Contents
The short answer
A repair quote is only as accurate as the information behind it. Send five things and most small jobs can be priced without a visit: a wide photo that shows where the problem is, a close photo that shows what it is, something in the frame that gives the size, the label or model plate of whatever is faulty, and three sentences saying what it does, since when and what you have already tried. Add the floor you live on, the building's access rules and whether the home is rented, and the person quoting has everything.
Send less than that and one of two things happens. Either the price comes back padded to cover what could not be seen, or it comes back low and changes on the day. Neither is dishonest. Both are what a tradesperson has to do when the message says only 'tap leaking, how much'.
At IHR Dream Cleaning, handyman and maintenance work is quoted by the task after photos and a short description. The quote costs nothing. Where a job has to be seen before it can be priced, the on-site inspection is free as well, in every area we serve, with no obligation to book. Payment is online by card, from My bookings on this website once the price is confirmed.
What the person quoting is trying to work out
Every repair price is built from four things: the fault, the parts, the access and the time. Your photos and details answer each one, and each gap has a predictable cost.
| The question | What answers it | If it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| What is the fault? | The symptom in words, a close photo, a short video | The price covers the worst case, or a visit is needed first |
| Which parts, and who supplies them? | Brand, model plate, sizes, a photo of the old part | The wrong part arrives and a second visit follows |
| How hard is it to reach? | A wide photo, the ceiling height, what stands in front | No tall ladder or second person, and the job is put off |
| How long will it take? | The number of items and the complete list of jobs | Jobs are left undone when the booked time runs out |
A quote is a price for a described job
A quote and an estimate are not the same thing. An estimate is a best guess that may move. A quote is a price for a described scope. That is why the description matters so much: the price is tied to the scope, and if the scope turns out to be different, the price has to be looked at again.
Our own rule is simple. If the technician opens something up and finds that the job is not what the photographs showed, work stops and you get a revised figure before anything else happens. Parts are confirmed separately and agreed with you before the visit, and are not added to the bill afterwards.
How to take photos that can be quoted from
Phone photos are enough. What matters is the order you take them in and whether the detail can be read.
- Start wide. Stand back and take the whole wall, the whole unit or the whole room, so the technician can see what surrounds the problem and how it is reached.
- Then go close. Fill the frame with the fault and tap the screen to focus on it. A blurred close-up is a common reason a quote has to wait for a second message.
- Give the size. Lay a tape measure across the crack, the gap or the fitting and photograph it with the numbers readable. A hand or a coin beside it is the next best thing.
- Photograph the label. The brand, model number and capacity on a rating plate tell the technician which part to bring, and no description replaces it.
- Use daylight or the room lights, not the flash. Flash bounces off tiles, glass and white paint and hides the very mark you are trying to show.
- Record a short video when the fault is a sound, a drip or something that comes and goes. Ten seconds of a rattling AC or a cistern that keeps refilling says more than a paragraph.
- If there is more than one job, number the photos to match your list, and send the original files, not screenshots or cropped copies.
The three sentences that go with them
First, what it does or fails to do. Second, when it started, and whether it is constant or comes and goes. Third, what you have tried, including anything you have poured in, sprayed on, reset or tightened. The third is the one people leave out, and it matters. A drain that has had chemical cleaner poured into it has to be handled with more care, and a breaker that has been reset five times tells a different story from one that tripped once.
A message that can be quoted from reads something like this. Kitchen mixer tap drips from the spout when closed, about one drop a second. It started two weeks ago and is getting faster. The brand is stamped on the base, photo three. The small valves under the sink turn. Two-bedroom flat on the ninth floor, rented, with a service lift. Four photos and one video attached.
Leaks, taps, heaters and drains: what a plumber needs
With water, the first question is always where it comes from, which is not always where it shows. Photograph the wet place, then follow it upwards and backwards as far as you can see.
| Job | Photos | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Dripping tap or mixer | The whole tap, the brand mark, under the sink | Drips from the spout or the base; hot, cold or both |
| Leak under a sink | The wet joint, the trap, the flexible hoses | Leaks all the time, or only when the sink drains |
| Running or leaking toilet | Inside the cistern if the lid lifts off, the base, the flush plate | Concealed or exposed cistern; brand if marked |
| Water heater | The label, the whole heater, the pipes and valve below it | Litres, age, where it sits; no heat or leaking |
| Stain on a ceiling or wall | The stain with a tape across it; the room above if you can | Grows after showers, after rain or all the time |
| Blocked or slow drain | The fixture and the nearest floor drain | One drain or several; what has been poured in |
| New fixture to fit | The old fixture, the new one in its box, the connections | Who supplies it; the sizes of the old one |
The two details that change a plumbing quote most
The first is access. A pipe behind tiles, inside a boxed-in duct or above a false ceiling can take longer to reach than the repair itself takes, so say what is in front of it. The second is whether the water can be turned off close to the fault. Try the small valve under the sink or beside the toilet and say whether it turns. If it is seized, the plumber needs the main valve, and in a tower that can mean arranging it with the building.
If water is running now, do not wait for a quote. Close the valve, then phone. The order to do things in is set out in leak or burst pipe: the first ten minutes. A leak that shows signs but no source is a different problem, covered in hidden water leak: signs and how one is found. Tracing a concealed leak with equipment is specialist work, so describe the signs when you book and we will confirm the scope before anything is arranged. Everyday leaks, taps, fixtures and heaters are on the plumbing services page.
Electrical work: what an electrician needs to quote
A quote for electrical work depends on two things that a photo of the fitting cannot show by itself: what the circuit behind it is, and what the wall or ceiling is made of. So an electrician asks about the distribution board as well as the socket.
| Job | Photos | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Dead socket or switch | The faceplate, and the room showing where it is | Whether others on the same wall work; any scorch mark |
| Breaker that trips | The board with its door open, showing which breaker is down | What was running when it tripped, and how often |
| Flickering light | The fitting and its switch or dimmer | One light or several; the lamp type; a dimmer or not |
| New light, fan or chandelier | The fitting or its box label, and the ceiling point | Weight, ceiling height, concrete or gypsum ceiling |
| Extra socket | The wall, with the nearest existing socket in view | Distance between the two; what will be plugged in |
| Bathroom, kitchen or outdoor point | The location and what surrounds it | Distance from water; what it will power |
Take these photos without touching anything
Opening the hinged door of the distribution board to photograph the breakers is fine. Removing any cover that needs a screwdriver is not, and nor is taking a faceplate off to show the wiring. If a socket is warm, marked or smells of burning, switch its breaker off, leave it off and say so in the first line of your message. That turns a request for a quote into a safety check, which should happen the same day.
Tell the electrician what you plan to plug in, not only where you want the socket. A cooker, a water heater or an AC unit usually needs its own circuit, and that is a different job from adding a point for a lamp. Straightforward fixture, socket and switch jobs can be booked directly. Anything involving rewiring or a new circuit is confirmed with a site visit first, and licensed electrical work is confirmed before the appointment.
What the common small jobs involve is explained in adding a socket or moving a light, the warning signs are in tripping breakers, flickering lights and warm sockets, and the work we take on is listed on the electrical services page.
Doors, cabinets, shelves and furniture: what a carpenter or handyman needs
Carpentry and fitting jobs are quoted by the number of items and how involved each one is, so the list matters as much as the pictures.
| Job | Photos | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Sticking or dropped door | The whole door closed, the gap along the top, each hinge | Where it rubs; wood or metal frame |
| Cabinet door or drawer | The hinge or runner close up; the door open and closed | How many are affected; any part that has snapped |
| Flat-pack assembly | The box labels, or the product page | Number of items and boxes; which room; lift or stairs |
| Shelf, mirror or curtain rail | The wall, the item and its fixings | Width and weight; how the wall sounds when knocked |
| TV mounting | The wall, the back of the TV, the bracket | Screen size and weight; where the socket and cables are |
| Lock or handle | Both sides of the door, and its edge | Brand on the lock; door thickness; the keys you hold |
Say what the wall is, and which model the furniture is
For anything fixed to a wall, the wall decides the method. Knock on it. A solid, dull sound is block or concrete. A hollow sound is plasterboard or a boxed-in duct, which needs different fixings and may have pipes or cables behind it. Say which you hear, and mention any pipe or cable you know runs behind the spot. Wall types and hidden services are covered in TV wall mounting and drilling: what to check first.
For furniture, the product name or a photo of the box label is worth more than a description, because the model sets the assembly time. A wardrobe with sliding doors and internal fittings is a different job from a shelf unit of the same size. Count the pieces, say whether the boxes are already in the room where the furniture will stand, and keep the instruction sheets. Typical times are in how long flat-pack assembly takes.
A mixed list of small fixes is what our handyman service is for. Photograph each job, number them, and they can all be priced and done in one visit.
Painting and ceilings: what a painter needs
Paint is priced by the area, the paint and the state of the wall, so a painter needs measurements more than close-ups. Five minutes with a tape measure is enough.
- Measure the length and the width of the room at floor level, and the height from floor to ceiling. Those three numbers give the wall area closely enough for a quote.
- Count the doors, the windows and the built-in wardrobes. They reduce the area, and cutting in around them adds time.
- Say whether the ceiling is included, and whether there are cornices, wooden trims or doors to paint as well.
- Photograph each wall straight on, then every crack, patch of peeling paint, nail hole and stain close up.
- State the colour now and the colour you want. A dark wall going light, or the reverse, needs more coats than a refresh in the same colour.
- Say whether the rooms are empty or furnished, and who is choosing and supplying the paint. If the home is rented, ask the landlord which white the property is finished in.
Stains, cracks and false ceilings
A water stain is not a painting job until the leak behind it has been fixed. Say whether the cause has been found and repaired, and when. Paint over a live leak marks again within weeks, and a careful painter will ask before quoting. The order of repairs is set out in water stain on the ceiling or peeling paint: what to fix first.
For a cracked, damaged or sagging ceiling section, send the photo with rough measurements and say what sits in it. Lights, AC vents and access panels all have to be worked around, and the ceiling height decides whether a platform is needed. Anything beyond a small patch is normally confirmed on site. Our painting service covers interior walls; if the work is outdoors, describe it when you book so that the scope can be confirmed first.
AC and appliances: the label does most of the work
With machines, the model plate answers half the questions before they are asked: which parts fit, whether they can be had, and how old the unit is.
| For an AC, send | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The type: split, window or central | It decides the technician, the tools and the time |
| The number of units, and which rooms | Several units can be handled in one visit |
| The symptom, and when it started | No cooling, dripping, noise and smell have different causes |
| A photo of the indoor unit and its display | It shows any blinking light or error code |
| A photo of the outdoor unit and where it sits | Roof, balcony or wall bracket decides the access |
| The label: brand, model and capacity | Parts are matched to the model |
| The last service, and any warranty | A unit under manufacturer warranty may be handled differently |
A service has a price; a fault has a quote
Routine AC work does not need a quote. AC servicing is AED 129 per unit and a split-unit clean is AED 99 per unit, and both can be booked directly. A fault is different. The same symptom, weak cooling, can be a dirty filter or a failing compressor, so a repair visit starts from AED 99 for the technician's first hour and the diagnosis, gas and parts are quoted once the unit has been inspected, and nothing is replaced before you approve the figure.
Before you book a fault visit, run through AC not cooling: safe checks to make first. If one of them solves it, you have saved a visit. If none does, you can say which ones you tried, and the diagnosis starts further along.
Where to find an appliance's model plate
Photograph the whole plate, so that the brand, the model number and the serial number can all be read. Then add what the appliance does or fails to do, any error code on the display, a video if the fault is a noise, the approximate age, and whether the machine is freestanding or built into the kitchen units. Say if it is still under the manufacturer's warranty, since the manufacturer's own service is usually the first call in that case. If it is sparking, smoking or smells of burning, unplug it and leave it unplugged.
Whether an older machine is worth repairing at all is weighed up in repair or replace.
| Appliance | Where the plate usually is |
|---|---|
| Front-loading washing machine | Inside the door opening, or on the back panel |
| Fridge or fridge-freezer | On an inside wall of the fridge compartment, often low down by the drawers |
| Dishwasher | On the edge of the door, or the rim of the tub |
| Oven or cooker | On the door frame, seen with the door open |
| Microwave | Inside the door frame, or on the back |
| Water heater | On the front or the underside of the casing |
Tanks, pools, gardens, pests and commercial kitchens
These are the jobs where a look on site is most often the honest answer. Size, condition and access decide the price, and a photo shows only part of each. Sending the basics first still helps, because it tells us what to bring to the inspection.
| Job | What to send |
|---|---|
| Water tank cleaning | Roof, ground or underground; rough size; how it is reached; when it was last cleaned |
| Pool service | Rough length, width and depth; chlorine or salt; a photo of the water today |
| Garden | Photos of the whole garden; what you want done; where the irrigation controller is |
| Pest control | Which pest, which rooms and how often; a photo with a coin for scale; the size of the home |
| Grease trap | The trap's size and place; when it was last emptied; the kitchen's quiet hours |
| AC duct cleaning | Central, ducted split or wall split; number of vents and indoor units; where the access panels are |
The details about the building that people leave out
A correct price for the repair can still go wrong at the gate. These seven lines take a minute to write and save a wasted journey.
- The floor, and whether there is a service lift. A ladder, a water heater or a wardrobe in boxes has to get upstairs.
- Parking and visitor registration. Say whether the technician must be registered with security in advance, and where a van can stop.
- The building's rules for noisy or dusty work. Many towers and communities limit drilling to set hours or ask for a work permit. Your building management can tell you, and it is better known before the visit is booked than at the door.
- Who can turn the water or the power off. If the main valve or the riser is in a locked service cupboard, someone from the building has to be there.
- Whether the home is rented. Depending on your contract, some repairs need the landlord's agreement and some are the landlord's to arrange. Say so when you book, so that it is settled before the visit.
- Who is supplying the parts. If you have already bought the tap, the light or the lock, photograph it in its box. If not, say that you want it supplied.
- When someone will be home. A job that needs two visits, one to diagnose and one to fit an ordered part, is easier to plan when that is known.
How to read the quote you get back
A usable quote says what will be done, with what, and what is left out. Look for these before you accept one from any company.
- The scope, job by job, in words you recognise from your own list.
- The parts: which are included, and which you are expected to supply.
- What is not included. Making good is the usual one, such as retiling after a pipe repair or repainting after a ceiling patch.
- Whether VAT is inside the figure.
- How many visits it assumes.
- What happens if the job turns out to be different once it is opened up.
- How and when it is paid.
The same list, answered for our own quotes
Every price includes VAT. A plumber's visit starts from AED 99 and an electrician's from AED 99, for one specialist's first hour on site, and parts and longer jobs are quoted from the photos before work starts. No call-out fee is added, and a same-day visit, a Friday or a public holiday costs the same as any other day. Parts are agreed with you before the visit. Payment is online by card from My bookings on this website once the price is confirmed. For a quoted job of AED 1,000 or more, 30% is paid in advance by that link and the balance is settled the same way when the work is finished. Cleaning visits and the fixed-price items are on our price list.
When you compare two quotes, compare the scopes before the totals. The lower figure is often the one that leaves out the part, the second visit or the making good. Ask each company about whatever the other one listed, and the gap usually explains itself.
When photos are not enough
Some jobs cannot be priced honestly from a phone, and a company that tries is guessing. Ask for an inspection when the cause is hidden, when the job is large, or when the price depends on a measurement nobody has taken yet.
- A leak with no visible source, or a stain that keeps growing.
- A breaker that trips repeatedly, or anything that needs a new circuit.
- A full repaint of an apartment or a villa.
- A ceiling repair larger than a small patch.
- A long list of jobs across a villa, where seeing them once replaces ten messages.
Getting the most from a free inspection
Our inspections are free in every area we serve and carry no obligation to book. To make one useful, write the full list beforehand and walk the technician through it in order. Clear the space in front of each job, arrange the building's access in advance, and say what matters most if everything cannot be done at once. Ask for the quote to follow the order of your list, so the answer to each item is easy to find.
Common questions
Is a quote free?
Yes. A quote from photos costs nothing, and so does an on-site inspection where the job has to be seen. Neither commits you to booking the work.
Can the price change on the day?
Only if the job is not the one that was described. If the technician finds something the photographs could not show, the work stops, you are told what was found and what it changes, and you decide whether to go ahead at the revised figure. Extra jobs you add on the day are priced as new work in the same way, before they are started.
Why will nobody give me a price for 'a leak' over the phone?
Because a leak is a symptom and the price belongs to the repair. The same drip under a sink can be a loose nut, a perished hose or a cracked fitting behind the cabinet, and each takes different parts and a different amount of time. A company that gives a firm figure without asking anything has priced the easy version. One photo of the wet joint usually settles which version it is.
Can several small jobs go on one quote?
Yes, and it is the sensible way to buy them. List every job with a photo of each, and they are priced together and done in one visit. A single small task such as tightening a hinge or fitting a shelf typically takes well under an hour, so a list of five or six fills a visit properly. Say at the start if any of them might need a licensed electrician or plumber, so the right person is sent.
It is urgent. Do I still need to send photos?
Phone first, on +971 52 723 5299. Leaks, blocked drains, lockouts and cooling failures are given priority wherever the day's schedule allows, and a call reaches a dispatcher sooner than a message does. There is no emergency surcharge. One photo sent while you wait still helps the technician arrive with the right parts.
I rent. Should the landlord see the quote?
That depends on your tenancy contract, which sets out who arranges and who pays for which repairs. If the repair is the landlord's, or needs the landlord's approval, forward the quote together with your dated photos, and keep the reply. Mention that the home is rented when you book, so the question is dealt with before the visit and not on the doorstep.
How do I send the photos?
Describe the job when you book on the website or in the IHR Dream app, then send the photos and any video by email to info@ihrdreamcleaning.com, with your name and booking details so they are matched to the right job.
Sending your job for a quote
Start on the website or in the IHR Dream app: choose the service, describe the job, and send your photos with the three sentences. We confirm what is included, which parts are needed and who brings them, and the price. Once you accept, you pay online from My bookings and the visit is scheduled, and the technician checks the finished work with you before leaving. The stages of a booking are set out on the how booking works page.
The trades we quote for are listed on the maintenance and repairs page, and the jobs worth planning ahead are in our home maintenance calendar. A confirmed visit can be moved or cancelled free of charge up to 6 hours before it starts. When your photos are ready, book the job.
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