Get three comparable quotes
3 prices only compare when 3 companies priced the same list. Write the job once. Send the same brief, word for word, to every bidder.
- Describe the job once
- Build the brief
- Send the same words to every bidder
JavaScript is off, so this page cannot build the text for you. Nothing is lost. Every line the brief would hold is printed lower on this page, under Standard inclusions and Every bid should also state. Copy those lines into your own email. Add your own answers.
Nothing built yet. Fill in the job and press Build my scope brief.
The brief you send Same words to every bidder
Paste this into an email or a text. Send the same text to every company. If you change the words between bidders, the bids stop matching up.
Standard inclusions — the same list to every bidder
These are questions, not findings. Coastal SD Pros is not telling you what your job costs or what it needs. It makes sure every bidder answers the same list. Then a gap between two prices traces to scope instead of guesswork. The list for the job type you picked goes into your brief.
Water heater — repair or replaceIn your brief
- Your diagnosis in writing: repair or replace, and why.
- If replacing: brand, model number, size or tankless sizing, and the efficiency rating printed on the unit label.
- Code work priced in now: seismic strapping, temperature and pressure discharge piping, venting, and a drain pan where one is needed.
- Expansion tank included or not, and why.
- Permit and inspection: who pulls it, who pays the fee, and who is the contractor of record on it.
- Removal and haul-away of the old unit.
- Labor hours or crew size you have allowed for the job.
- Anything you are leaving out, named line by line.
Drain or sewer lineIn your brief
- Method proposed: cable or auger, hydro-jetting, spot repair, lining, or replacement, and why that one.
- Camera inspection: included or an add-on, priced either way, and whether I keep a copy of the footage.
- What the price does if the first method does not clear the line.
- Access point used, and whether a cleanout has to be added.
- Digging, trenching, or trenchless, and who puts back concrete, landscaping, or hardscape after.
- Permit and inspection: who pulls it, who pays the fee, and who is the contractor of record on it.
- Labor hours or crew size you have allowed for the job.
- Anything you are leaving out, named line by line.
Leak — find it and repair itIn your brief
- Leak detection method and its price, listed apart from the repair price.
- How the repair price changes by where the leak turns out to be: wall, ceiling, slab, or yard.
- Drywall, stucco, tile, or floor repair: included, left out, or priced on its own.
- Moisture check after the repair, and who handles drying if it is needed.
- Materials for the repair: brand, model, and grade.
- Permit and inspection if the repair needs one: who pulls it and who is the contractor of record.
- Labor hours or crew size you have allowed for the job.
- Anything you are leaving out, named line by line.
Repipe or new linesIn your brief
- Pipe material proposed, and why that one over the other choice.
- Full repipe or partial, and exactly which lines and fixtures are in the price.
- How many walls or ceilings get opened, and who patches, textures, and paints them.
- Water heater and fixture reconnections: included or left out.
- How long the water is off, and how many days the house is a work site.
- Permit and inspection: who pulls it, who pays the fee, and who is the contractor of record on it.
- Labor hours or crew size you have allowed, and which trades are subcontracted.
- Anything you are leaving out, named line by line.
Toilet or fixtureIn your brief
- Who supplies the fixture — you or me. If you do, name the brand and model number.
- Removal and haul-away of the old fixture.
- Wax ring, supply line, and shut-off valve: replaced as part of the price or not.
- Flange, subfloor, or tile repair priced now, in case it is needed. That way a surprise has a number before it happens.
- Labor hours or crew size you have allowed for the job.
- Permit and inspection if one applies: who pulls it and who is the contractor of record.
- Anything you are leaving out, named line by line.
Another job — general listIn your brief
- Your written diagnosis before any work beyond the service call.
- The service call or diagnostic fee, and whether it credits toward the repair.
- If more than one fix exists, each option priced line by line, not bundled.
- Materials with brand, model, and grade — or the allowance amount you are carrying.
- Labor hours or crew size you have allowed, and which trades are subcontracted.
- Permit and inspection if one applies: who pulls it, who pays the fee, and who is the contractor of record.
- Cleanup, debris haul-away, and repair of any surface you open.
- Anything you are leaving out, named line by line.
Every bid should also state
This block goes into the brief unchanged, whatever the job. It is the format half of comparability: same questions, same order, every time.
- The total price, with labor and materials broken out line by line instead of one lump sum.
- The company name, the license number the bid is issued under, and the name of the person who will be on site.
- Start window and how many days the work takes.
- Payment schedule tied to work completed, the deposit amount, and what that deposit pays for.
- How change orders get priced and approved, in writing, before the extra work starts.
- Labor warranty and manufacturer warranty, stated as two separate things.
- 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 left out.
- 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. Ask for both by name.
Sending it
- Pick the companies yourself. The Oceanside and Vista registries list dated public records. The license record page shows how to read a CSLB record before you call.
- Paste the same brief to each one. Do not change a word between companies.
- Ask for the reply in writing. A price read out on the phone cannot be compared to anything. Neither can a "back of the napkin" quote.
- When the written bids arrive, line them up in the quote comparator. It reads bids and flags what a bid left unsaid.
How this works
This tool builds a plain-text brief from the answers you type and the standard lines printed on this page. It runs in your browser. It keeps your answers on this device only. It sends nothing to Coastal SD Pros or to any contractor.
What it can't tell you
It does not price your job. It does not know which contractors are open for work. It does not judge a bid. 3 bids only compare when every bidder priced the same scope. So the words you send must stay the same from one company to the next.
Ask Coastal SD Pros to send the brief for you
This form records a routing request on your device. It shows you exactly what it recorded.
How this works, and what it does not tell you
How this works
The form checks your answers. It writes the request and your consent into this browser's storage. It prints the record back to you. Nothing leaves the browser. There is no address to send to, no upload, and no contractor on the other end.
What it does not tell you
Routing is off. Coastal SD Pros cannot pass your brief to a contractor today. Recording a request here does not put you in front of anyone. The 3 conditions that would have to clear first are named under the form. None of them has cleared.
JavaScript is off, so this form cannot record anything. The outcome is the same either way: routing is off. The 3 conditions below are the reason. Use the brief above and send it yourself.
No routing request recorded on this device.
What this browser recorded
Nothing yet.
This record lives in this browser and nowhere else. It was not sent anywhere. Deleting it removes it for good.
This browser · recorded on this deviceContractors opted in to receive briefs in your trade and city
Not published
Coastal SD Pros has not opened contractor opt-in in any trade or any city. So there is no count to publish, and none is shown here. A number in this slot would be made up. This directory does not print made-up numbers.
Where to check instead: how these records are built, checked and dated.
Coastal SD Pros contractor opt-in · checked Jul 25 2026The method ran. The output is held.
- Read the answers you typed, in this browser.
- Checked that the required answers are there and that consent was ticked.
- Wrote the request and the consent line into this browser's storage. Printed the record back to you above.
- Stopped there. It opened no network connection. It sent no message. It reached no contractor.
- What is missing
- 3 conditions have to clear before Coastal SD Pros routes a brief to anyone. None has cleared. Routing is off. No request on this page reaches a contractor.
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Gate 1 — at least 3 contractors in that trade and city have opted in to get briefs.
Not cleared.
Contractor opt-in is not open in any trade or any city. Routing to fewer than 3 would hand one company a captive homeowner. This directory was built against that.
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Gate 2 — homeowner routing consent is captured in a consent record.
Not cleared.
The box on this form writes consent into your browser. Routing needs a consent record that lasts and can be reviewed. That record does not exist yet. A tick in local storage is not one.
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Gate 3 — an attorney has reviewed the routing flow.
Not cleared.
Passing a homeowner's contact details to a business is regulated conduct. It waits for a lawyer's review, and it waits out in the open.
- Who clears it, and how you would know
- Coastal SD Pros clears all 3. It opens contractor opt-in and counts who joins. It builds the consent record. It takes the flow to an attorney. When routing switches on, this page says so in this block, and the form stops calling itself a dry run. Until then, the working path is the one above: copy the brief and send it yourself. That way no one buys their way to the front of your list.
Important. Coastal SD Pros is a Roscoe Equity LLC publication and homeowner information service — not a contractor, a regulator, an insurer, a law firm, or an emergency service. Editorial decisions are independent of advertising and Roscoe Site Pro client status. This page is general information, not legal advice. Public records and rules change; confirm anything that matters on CSLB's own pages before you sign. Nothing you type on this page is received, stored, or transmitted by Coastal SD Pros.