The same job description, word for word, to every company you ask.

The brief you send Same words to every bidder

Please price every line below, in writing

These are questions, not findings. Coastal SD Pros is not telling you what your job costs or what it needs; it is making sure every bidder answers the same list, so a gap between two prices traces to scope rather than to guesswork. This block goes into your brief unchanged.

• Permits: who applies for them, who pays the fees, and who is named as the contractor of record on them.
• Debris haul-off and every disposal or dump fee — in the total, or billed on top.
• Site protection, moving contents out of the work area, and the final cleaning.
• Patching, sanding and painting anything you open, back to the finish it has now.
• Removal and disposal of the old unit or the old material, including every existing layer that has to come out.
• Brand, model number, grade and finish of every material and every piece of equipment in the bid.
• Labour broken out by phase or by trade, with materials shown separately, rather than one lump sum.
• Which parts of the job are subcontracted, and the company name of each trade partner.
• The written process for pricing and approving a change once work has started.
• Material allowances listed separately from fixed prices, so I can see which items are still open.
• How many people are on site, and how many working days the job is expected to take.
• The deposit: what it pays for, in writing, and the payment schedule set against work completed.
• The warranty on your labour and the manufacturer warranty on the materials, stated as two separate things.
• Anything you are excluding, named line by line.

Every bid should also state

This block goes into the brief unchanged, whatever the trade. It is the format half of comparability: same questions, same order, every time.

• The total price, with labour and materials shown separately rather than as one lump sum.
• The company name, the licence number the bid is issued under, and the name of the person who will be on site.
• The start window and how many days the work takes.
• Payment tied to work completed, and what the deposit pays for.
• How change orders get priced and approved, in writing, before the extra work starts.
• Labour warranty and manufacturer warranty, stated as two separate things.
• The insurance the company carries, named policy by policy.
• Whether any part of the job is subcontracted, and to whom.
• Cleanup and haul-away: included or excluded.
• How long the price stays good.

Workers' compensation is not general liability insurance. A bid that answers the insurance line with workers' compensation alone says nothing about whether the business carries general liability cover, so ask for both by name.

I am asking more than one company to price this exact list. Every company receives this same brief, word for word, so the prices can be compared line against line. Please reply in writing rather than over the phone.

Sending it

1. Choose the companies yourself. The Oceanside and Vista registries list dated public records; the licence record page shows you how to read a public record before you let anyone into the house.
2. Send the identical brief to each one. Do not tighten the wording for the second company and loosen it for the third.
3. Ask for the reply in writing. A price read out on the phone cannot be compared to anything.
4. Write each company and each date into the record above, so you know who has had it and who is late.
5. When the written bids arrive, line them up on the bid comparison sheet.