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Understanding estimates

Audience: Property owners · 5 min

Fixed vs allowance​

Fixed lines are priced work. Allowances are budgets for undecided selections (fixtures, tile, appliances). A bid with large allowances is less certain than it looks. Ask for the allowance schedule and what happens when selections exceed it.

Change orders​

Legitimate triggers: hidden conditions, owner-requested changes, code requirements discovered mid-job. Every change order should state scope delta, price delta, and schedule delta, signed before work starts.

Comparing bids​

  1. Confirm identical scope across bidders.
  2. Compare line by line, not totals.
  3. Flag allowances that differ by more than 15 percent.
  4. Ask the cheapest bidder what they excluded.