Chris Cheshire has hit the nail right on the head with his comments about low quotes (17 September, page 10)

This practice has plagued the construction industry for many years and there are many at whom blame can be levied. As a company involved in specification selling of its products we find that the automatic response of main contractors is to seek to change that specification, not on the basis of quality or service, but purely on price.

Of course, competition is healthy but the over-turning of specifications, on which architects and manufacturers have spent many months working, for no benefit to the client, only destroys the trust that should exist among the parties. Give the client what he asked for in the first place, please.

Iain MacDonald