Types of Home Improvement Quotes
There are several different types of home improvment quotes used by contractors
today — Estimates, Bids, Time Plus Materials, Price not to Exceed, and Hidden
Damage.
Estimates:
This is an educated guess about the time and material costs necessary to complete
your medium to large job. Usually, you will be provided a low and a high number
that normally range within 20% of each other. The advantage is that you pay the
actual cost and no extra mark up to cover contingencies. The disadvantage is that
you do not know your exact cost in advance, but if you are comfortable with a price
range then you can save money.
Bids:
This is a firm quote on labor and materials for your job and will be the amount
you pay. The advantage is that you know the exact cost up front. The disadvantage
is that the contractor has to plan on unforeseen problems and your cost will be
substantially higher than other methods because the contractor has to charge more
to cover the risk of unexpected costs.
Time Plus Materials (T + M):
You are charged only for the actual time worked and materials purchased. Though
most companies do not allow it, Handyman Matters will advise you on materials to
buy and help you make a shopping list so you can buy your materials and do not have
to pay us for shopping time or warranty markup on the materials you want.
The advantage of this method is that it is the least costly (estimates are always
calculated at a higher hourly rate) and fastest way to have many small to medium
sized projects done. Also, it is easy to expand your to-do list without changing
any contracts. The disadvantage is that you do not a have a firm price up front,
but rather an approximate time frame.
Price Not to Exceed:
This is like T+M but provides the homeowner with a price the project will not exceed.
Typically, the contractor will quote you a price they are sure of, taking all unexpected
problems into account. This method will be slightly more expensive than T+M, but
it is your second best choice to keep your costs down on small to medium sized projects.
Hidden Damage:
Damage discovered that could not be seen before starting your project is not included
in any of these methods. Ethical companies will notify you of this and give you
a written change order with any additional costs as a result before proceeding.
Handyman Matters’ policy is to stop work, inform you of any problems we discovered,
and give you a written change order detailing all the additional costs for you to
approve before continuing your project.
Depending upon the scope of your project, Handyman Matters can work with you in
any of these ways, and we have found it’s best for you to choose T+M for typical
“handyman work”, and the Price Not to Exceed option for larger projects.
|