There are many thoughts on how many bids one should get for a project. One prevailing method is to procure three to five bids, toss out the highest and the lowest and go with the middle. There are a few problems with that method. One being that the lowest bid may not have a problem at all, perhaps the lowest bidder just has lower overhead or seeks less profit or needs work and is willing to discount services to keep cash flow going. On the other hand, the higher bid may have included items in their cost that the other bidders missed, or they may have a higher level of service and/or better quality.
However, there is an even bigger problem with this or similar methods of decision making. Often when requesting bids, the client doesn’t have complete plans, if plans at all, and specifications are typically not well defined, if at all. If one stops and thinks about it, under these circumstances, there is no way to solicit apples to apples bids on a project. Really the contractor is just being asked to take their best guess at what the cost will be. That really isn’t fair to the contractors being asked for bids and does a disservice to the client as well.
Receiving multiple bids is counterproductive and only adds confusion to an already complicated process. It will give you many numbers to look at, but no common basis to compare what is or isn’t included in each bid. Rather than comparing apples to apples, you wind up with the impossible task of trying to compare apples to bananas and bananas to oranges. Instead of requesting bids from multiple contractors, I would suggest talking with and interviewing multiple firms. Narrow your focus down to the one or two that you connect with and feel you like, trust, and respect. Ideally you find one firm that you feel comfortable working with and can then put focused energy into working through the details of the project. If you are trying to decide between two firms, then perhaps ask for a proposal from both parties and choose one based on the presented proposals – taking into account thoroughness and clarity as well as price.
It is more important to focus on finding a firm that you trust and respect, rather than just looking for the ‘best price’. At Custom Dwellings, we are happy to discuss ballpark budget ranges from the get-go, to ensure a project is viable, and we constantly update estimated cost projections throughout the design phase. Final prices aren’t determined, however, until plans are finalized, and specifications and selections are in place. There really is no other logical way to approach pricing. Unless you already have construction ready plans and specifications in place, asking for pricing is a fruitless endeavor. This is the beauty of the design/build methodology. If you feel comfortable working with us (and vice versa) we can work together to develop plans and specifications, all while keeping the budget in mind.
Talk with several firms and determine whom you feel comfortable working with. We’d love to be part of those initial conversations and hopefully determine we are a good fit to work together and bring your dream project to reality!