Understanding Bids and Lowest Cost

You have decided to put a new deck on your home, or you want to finish the basement or
renovate your bathroom. So, you call a few general contractors to give you an estimate on how
much it’s going to cost, and you fall out of your chair when the numbers start coming in! Why is
it so expensive? Should you take the lowest bid to try to fit the project into your budget?

Every day I am the lumberyard and the contractors are all saying the same, can you
believe how expensive these materials have gotten? Why don’t the local suppliers carry the
inventory that they used to? Building supplies, labor costs, insurance, gas, everything is at a
premium these days. Bidding has become very competitive and that is frustrating for all parties. How do you as a buyer understand the differences in your bids? How does a contractor give you the best services that meet your needs in the long-run?

When you compare bids consider – are the materials being bid the same quality, are each contract using skilled labor (do they tell you how many years each person will have on the job), have you talked to their past customers, are they explaining how the work will prevent future issues? These are all ways to distinguish one contractor from another.

Low bids often indicate lower quality materials, inexperienced labor, and short-term fixes. I often fix other contractors sub-par work that didn’t end up saving the homeowner money in the long run. If you have questions about understanding my bids, you can always call me and I will explain. Each contractor you review should be willing to do the same.