How to get bids you can actually compare.
Most people collect three prices for three different jobs and call it comparison shopping. The fix is one page of discipline before anyone visits.
1. Write the scope before the first call
One paragraph, same for every bidder: what's being done, the materials or grade you want, who supplies what, and when it needs to happen. Bids against different assumptions cannot be compared — which is exactly why some bidders prefer it that way.
2. Three bids minimum, from the same tier
Compare established company against established company, or owner-operator against owner-operator. Mixing tiers tells you about overhead, not value. The cheapest of three identical scopes is meaningful; the cheapest of three different guesses is a coin toss.
3. Demand line items
Labor, materials, disposal, permits — separated. A single number hides everything. Line items let you see why bids differ: one includes haul-away, another assumed cheaper material. That's a conversation, not a mystery.
4. Verify before you shortlist
License (official state lookup here), insurance certificate, and two recent local references you actually call. Do this for the two finalists only — it's fifteen minutes total.
5. Read the middle bid carefully
Wildly low bids get made up later in change orders; wildly high ones are often a "don't really want it" price. The middle of three same-scope bids is usually where the honest number lives — but the line items, not the total, tell you for sure.
6. Never pay large up front
Materials deposit, fine. Half the job before a tool comes off the truck, no. Several states legally cap deposits on home improvement work. Progress payments tied to visible milestones protect both sides.
Put it to work
Track your quotes side by side — free, no account, stays in your browser. Then find your city's page here and see who's worth calling.