Reading a Construction Bid That Looks Too Good
A bid twenty percent under the others is not a discount. It is a different scope, and the difference is spelled out if you read far enough.
Compare Allowances First
Allowances are placeholders for decisions nobody has made yet. A low allowance makes a bid look cheap and turns into a change order the week the selection is due.
Check What Is Carried and What Is Noted
Carried means priced. Noted means mentioned. Excluded means somebody else is paying for it, and that somebody is usually the owner.
- Permits and fees
- Testing and inspections
- Temporary power, fencing and protection
- Final cleaning and commissioning
Look At the Schedule, Not Only the Number
A bid four weeks longer than the others has real cost in rent, staffing and lost revenue. Put a weekly dollar figure on your own delay and add it to every column.
Award on scope first and price second, or you will negotiate the scope later at a worse moment.
Build one spreadsheet with a row for every scope item and fill in each bidder. The gaps show up in about twenty minutes.
