Homeowner guide · Washington
How to compare remodeling bids.
A lower total is not necessarily a lower price for the same project. Use this guide to bring written proposals onto common ground before ranking them.
· About 7 minutes
Make every contractor price the same written picture.
Before comparing totals, give each contractor the same project description, photos or drawings, known existing conditions, finish expectations, and access constraints. If one bidder is pricing demolition, protection, permits, cleanup, and finish work while another is not, the totals are not yet comparable.
Washington Labor & Industries recommends getting written bids and evaluating scope, warranties, references, completion dates, and price—not price alone.
Eight lines every bid comparison should answer.
| Category | The written bid should state | What to compare carefully |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | The rooms, work areas, demolition, installation, and finish work included in the price. | Look for missing tasks, vague phrases, and work described differently between bidders. |
| Exclusions | Work the contractor is not pricing or taking responsibility for. | An exclusion may become a separate owner cost even when another bid includes it. |
| Allowances | The dollar amount reserved for products or work that has not been finally selected or defined. | Compare the allowance amount and what happens if the actual selection costs more or less. |
| Permits and inspections | Who determines permit needs, prepares information, pays fees, schedules inspections, and closes corrections. | Do not assume permit responsibility is included because the project may require one. |
| Trade coordination | Which plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or other specialty work is included and how qualified trades are coordinated. | Ask for names or responsibility boundaries when specialty work is a material part of the scope. |
| Schedule | Expected start conditions, major milestones, owner decision dates, and factors that may change timing. | A calendar promise is less useful than a sequence with clearly stated dependencies. |
| Site protection and cleanup | Access, dust and surface protection, debris handling, daily cleanup, and final cleanup responsibilities. | This matters especially when the home will remain occupied during construction. |
| Changes and completion | How added work is priced and approved, plus punch-list, sign-off, warranty, and closeout expectations. | Require a written approval path before extra work proceeds and define what finished means. |
Tip: copy these eight categories into a simple worksheet and give each proposal one column. Write “not stated” instead of guessing.
Resolve the assumptions that can become change orders.
A bid can be detailed and still contain legitimate unknowns. The goal is to identify them, assign a process, and avoid treating an unresolved assumption as a fixed inclusion.
Normalize the scope
Mark every item as included, excluded, an allowance, owner-supplied, or unresolved. Ask each bidder to confirm material differences in writing.
Verify the business
Check the exact contractor business name or registration number in Washington L&I’s Verify tool. Review the current public record and ask about the team performing specialty work.
Interview the plan
Ask how decisions, access, protection, communication, inspections, schedule updates, and unexpected conditions will be handled—not only when work can start.
Read before signing
Confirm that the written agreement reflects the final scope, price structure, payment schedule, change process, cleanup, completion, and warranty expectations.
Verify with the state—not a directory badge.
Washington L&I’s public tools are the authoritative place to review a contractor registration and related public record. Their homeowner guidance also includes a Hire Smart worksheet and step-by-step hiring information.
This general planning guide is educational, not legal advice, and cannot account for every project, property, contract, permit, or existing condition.
Use the proposal to start better questions.
A clear answer is more valuable than an assumption hidden inside a total.
Should I automatically choose the lowest remodeling bid?
No single number shows whether proposals cover the same work. First align the scope, exclusions, allowances, responsibilities, and finish expectations. Then compare price together with experience, references, registration information, communication, and the written project plan.
How can I check a Washington contractor before hiring?
Use Washington Labor & Industries’ Verify tool and search the contractor’s business name or registration number. Review the current registration record and the other public information L&I provides. Ask questions directly if a proposal, business name, or responsibility is unclear.
What if a proposal uses allowances?
Ask what each allowance covers, whether tax, delivery, labor, or markup is included, and how overages or savings will be documented. Different allowance amounts can make otherwise similar bids look farther apart than they really are.
When should changes be priced?
Before changed or additional work proceeds whenever practical. The written process should identify the change, its price or pricing method, schedule effect, and who must approve it. Unknown conditions may require a defined investigation and approval step.
A useful next step
Ready to define the actual scope?
Send the project city, rooms or systems involved, available photos or plans, and the result you want. Evergreen Edge will help determine whether the work is a fit.