Home Renovation/Construction Estimates? (roof, Lowes, cost, compare)

[jerseylad2]

So I have a home renovation project and wanted to get a project estimate before I decide to commit to any one company. I was just wondering how people proceeded with asking/requesting estimates?

My home's roof has been going through some rain/storm damage and some of the tiles are starting to fall off. I'm willing to hire a company for the renovation project but I want to compare between places and be able to get a good price on the project. Now I'm under the impression that if you have someone stop by to look at the project for an estimate or quote, they do so under the goodwill that you will hire them? Additionally, if they have websites or claim to offer a free quote, would I just call them and try to explain what is going on so that they'll give me a standard quote?

A good friend of mine recommended a company that has had good service.

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I wanted to know if anyone else has experience with getting rates/quotes/estimates from companies without feeling obligated to hire them from the get-go? Thanks in advance!

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by jerseylad2

So I have a home renovation project and wanted to get a project estimate before I decide to commit to any one company. I was just wondering how people proceeded with asking/requesting estimates?

You call in experienced LOCAL contractors in to give you written estimates with specs.
Unless you're doing some unusual design or structural change that should be all you need.

If you *are* doing some unusual design or structural change then you have your architect or engineer
prepare bid documents that you provide to the qualified contractors...
so that you know you're comparing apples to apples equally.

[Coldjensens]

You should have very spefcific lists of what you want them to do and what is to be included in their price. Those are your specifications or "specs". Some small contractors will shy away from jobs where you have specifications, that is OK, you do not want them. Ask for written bids and a list of anything that is excluded so you know what you are comparing. Contractors are accustomed to making competitive bids, but they prefer not to and some will do lots of things to try to get you to simply hire them. It is a cost of doing business. When they charge you overhead and profit, part of the overhead is the cost of providing bids to you and to other people where they did not get the job.

The lowest price is usually not your best option. You need to investigate the background of each contractor, call their references, visit prior jobs. An execellent suggestion was made by Driller1 on CD a while back is to ask them for a reference where they made a mistake and corrected it. If they ended up with a satisfied customer, that tells you a lot. If they say they have never made a mistake, that tells you to reject their bid and bid them adieu. The last contractor you want is one who thinks they never make mistakes.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Start here:

NAHB: Local Builders' Associations

And remember, the easiest thing to do is ask. What's the worse they could say, no? Big deal, every rejection creates the opportunity for another potential relationship with the right contractor.