You Don't Have A Clue!

Are you sure that you're comparing apples to apples? I'll be honest, it's not easy for contractors to put together bids for projects. If you're not working with an Architect's comprehensive plans and specifications, contractors have to make guesses and assumptions; provide allowances and alternates. In the end, that makes it very hard for you to know what you're getting.

I recently worked with a couple that was convinced that the two bids they were looking at were comparable. But were they? The first red flag was the $25k difference on the bottom line. So I took a look.

Neither company's quote was completely clear. Both had presented their scopes in seemingly exhaustive detail. But by digging a little deeper, I could see that one had included drawings and well defined allowances that amounted to a project that was roughly twice that of the other. In the end, the pricing from each of the contractors was fair and in line. The difference was that one had included a quality and scale of project that should command a much larger price tag.

And that's the key. If you don't have detailed plans and specifications; clear expectations, you won't have a clue.