How to Read a Construction Estimate (and Spot a Bad One)

Comparing contractors is difficult for a reason that has nothing to do with construction: you are usually comparing documents that do not describe the same scope of work. One bid includes something another leaves out, and the difference does not appear until it becomes a change order.

A single number is not an estimate

The most important structural feature of a good estimate is that it is broken into lines. Line items let you see what is assumed, compare like with like, and move budget deliberately between parts of the project. A single figure on one page tells you nothing about whether it is cheap or simply missing half the work.

Allowances are where bids hide

An allowance is a placeholder for something not yet chosen: tile, fixtures, appliances, lighting. They are legitimate and necessary early in a project. They are also the easiest way to make a bid look competitive without being competitive.

If one bid allows a realistic amount per square foot for tile and another allows half of it, the second bid is cheaper on paper and identical in reality. You will pay the difference later, and it will feel like a surprise even though it was visible on day one.

What should be listed and often is not

• Permits and plan review, and who is responsible for obtaining them.
• Demolition and disposal, including dumpsters and haul-away.
• Site protection: floor and wall protection, dust control, daily clean-up.
• Inspections and the schedule points where work pauses for them.
• Contingency for concealed conditions, especially in older houses.
• What happens to the price if something unexpected is found behind a wall.

Concealed conditions in older houses

A large share of San Diego housing stock is decades old. Once walls open, it is not unusual to find outdated wiring, failed plumbing, water damage or framing that was altered without permits at some point. No estimate can price what nobody has seen yet. What a good estimate can do is say clearly how those situations will be handled and priced when they appear.

Licence, insurance and the boring checks

Verify the licence number yourself rather than taking it from a website. In California the State License Board registry is public and takes about a minute to search. Ours is CSLB #1106596. Any contractor unwilling to give you a number to check has answered the question.

Why we publish price ranges

Most contractors will not put numbers on a public page. We do, because the alternative is that every first conversation is spent on whether a project is even in the right order of magnitude. Published ranges are not quotes, and they do not replace a site visit. They just mean nobody wastes an afternoon discovering they are half a budget apart.