A request for quote for a built-in bar is where a good project turns into an accurate price. Integrated bar systems are not a catalogue item you can order from a single line: the unit has to match the wall it sits in, the appliances it houses and the finish of the surrounding joinery. Send an RFQ that leaves those details blank and the quotation you receive back will be a guess, priced against somebody else's assumption.
Santerson Integrated Bar Systems sit inside the Bar Cabinets range and are made to measure, with the layout, dimensions and finish specified for each space. That is exactly why the quality of your request for quote decides the quality of the answer. Below is what to put in the RFQ so the manufacturer can quote the same bar you are picturing.
1. The room and the wall, before the cabinet
Start with where the bar is going. Give the room type — open-plan kitchen, lounge, media wall, guest suite, poolside wet bar — and the wall it runs along, including overall length, depth and ceiling height. Note anything the unit has to work around: structural columns, skirting, radiators, floor boxes, existing tile lines, and whether the wall is solid or cavity, since wall-mounted units need to know what they are being fixed to.
A measured drawing helps more than a photograph. Even a hand sketch with dimensions marked is enough to start, and if your team can supply architectural drawings or a set-out plan, attach them. Where the bar has to sit flush with adjoining cabinetry or a wall panel system, say so, because the return and shadow gap details change the build.
2. Layout and what the bar has to store
State how the unit will be used, not just how large it is. Glass storage, bottle display, decanters and glassware, refrigerated storage, ice, bar tools, dry goods, linen, small appliances — each needs a different carcass depth, shelf type and load rating. Say which elements you want open and lit and which you want hidden behind doors, and whether the front should read as a continuous run of cabinetry or as a display piece.
If you are still weighing up the format, tell us. The same wall can be resolved as a full-height run, one of the compact bar cabinets tucked into a shorter bay, or an island bar unit working off the kitchen island. Naming the candidates in the RFQ lets the manufacturer price the options against each other rather than forcing one layout into a quote.
3. Appliances, services and integration
Integrated systems are only integrated if the services are resolved. For each appliance you intend to house, give the model or the rough opening dimensions: under-counter wine cabinet, beverage fridge, icemaker, drawer warming, coffee machine. Then list the electrical and plumbing position — outlet locations, isolator type, drainage for ice or fridge condensate, and whether water has to be run to the wall at all.
Lighting belongs in the same conversation. Integrated cabinet lighting inside the display bays, or lit shelving, needs to be in the quote so the driver, transformer and switch position are planned during production rather than retrofitted on site. Say what you want switched together and where the switch sits.
4. Materials, finish and hardware
Name the carcass material, the door material and the finish, and say what the bar has to match. If the doors are to continue the language of an existing kitchen — matte, high gloss, lacquer, wood veneer, a specific paint colour reference — supply the reference or a sample, because a colour name alone is not enough for production. Worktop material and edge detail should be specified in the same RFQ; stone, engineered stone and laminates are all listed as material options for custom work, and each has its own lead time and tolerance for cutouts.
Hardware is where quotes quietly diverge. Specify hinge type and opening angle, drawer runners and whether soft-close is required, handle or handleless fronts, and glass type for glazed doors, including whether the frame is aluminium or timber. These choices are the difference between two prices that look identical on paper and perform very differently over ten years of nightly use.
5. Quantities, site and delivery
Give the quantity of each configuration, and if it is a single villa unit say so plainly — the paperwork for one made-to-measure bar and forty identical ones runs differently. Include the delivery address, access constraints, floor level and lift or stair dimensions, and the required site date. For international work, state the Incoterms you want quoted, the destination port or site, and who is handling customs clearance, so the number you receive is comparable across suppliers.
Where installation is part of the scope, say who is installing. A unit delivered flat-packed to a builder is a different quotation from one set, levelled and snagged on site, and that choice should be visible in the price rather than discovered later.
6. What you want back in the quotation
Ask for the answer in a form you can compare. A useful quotation breaks out the unit price by configuration, lists the materials and hardware actually quoted, states the production timeline and the packaging and freight basis, and attaches shop drawings or a 3D view for your approval before production starts. Flagging those expectations in the RFQ is usually enough — the manufacturer's design and planning stage covers drawings and material specification, and detail confirmation comes before production.
A short RFQ checklist
- Room, wall, measured length, depth, ceiling height and obstructions
- Drawings, set-out plan or dimensioned sketch
- Intended use and storage list, open versus closed fronts
- Appliance models or rough opening sizes, plus power and plumbing positions
- Integrated lighting scope and switching
- Carcass, door and worktop material with finish references or samples
- Hardware specification, including soft-close and handleless fronts
- Quantities, delivery address, access limits and required site date
- Incoterms, destination and responsibility for customs clearance
- Who installs, and whether snagging and after-sales are in scope
Send that much detail and the quotation you get back is a real one: same materials, same hardware, same scope, comparable line by line. Send less, and you will spend the next two rounds of emails rediscovering your own brief.
Have drawings, a dimensioned sketch or a finishes schedule ready? Send the details for your bar to the SANTERSON team through the contact page, and the quotation will come back priced against the specification you actually need.