Compare Property-Work Proposals on a Shared Scope

Start with a dated scope identifying the property area, intended outcome, known condition and limits of the work. Give each bidder the same drawings, photographs, access information and material requirements. Identify which quantities are established and which require a site measurement. Preserve each version so a revised request cannot be mistaken for the original basis of pricing.

California's Contractors State License Board recommends obtaining at least three written bids based on the same plans, specifications and scope. That comparison is useful only if the underlying instructions remain consistent. When one bidder raises a material question, circulate the clarification to the others and request an updated response where necessary.

Use one row for each meaningful obligation: preparation, removal, disposal, installation, protection, testing, cleanup and restoration. Add project-specific rows for access equipment, shutdown coordination and documentation. Use a column per proposal, with the exact document date and revision at the top. Keep the bidder's wording available beside your summary.

Mark each intersection included, excluded, allowance, alternative or unanswered. A blank is unanswered, not included and not zero dollars. For an included item, record the quantity, specification and qualification that define it. Two proposals can both say painting while covering different surface preparation, areas or coats; the shared noun does not resolve the difference.

An allowance is an identified amount within a proposal for a defined purpose. Record what it covers, what changes it and how the actual amount would be documented under the proposed agreement. Keep a separate field for work excluded altogether. A provisional amount and an omitted obligation are different reasons that the final cost may differ from the headline price.

Do not manufacture precision by inserting your own confident estimate for every gap. Request a written price or a stated method for resolving the uncertainty. If comparable pricing is still unavailable, show the amount as unknown and describe its decision consequence. A comparison with an explicit unresolved item is more useful than a neat total built on guesses.

Consider a hypothetical project with two proposals. Proposal A is $24,000 including removal and disposal. Proposal B is $21,500 but excludes disposal. After clarification, B supplies a fixed $3,000 disposal addition covering the same material quantity. B's comparable stated price becomes $24,500. The original $2,500 apparent saving has disappeared before any judgment about workmanship or scheduling.

Now suppose A also includes a $2,000 allowance for an unresolved preparation item. Keep that allowance visible within A's $24,000 total; do not add it a second time. Ask B how it treats the same preparation condition. Until that answer exists, even the adjusted totals are not fully comparable. These invented figures illustrate the method and do not describe an RLF Companies project, quote or transaction.

Price is one part of the decision. Record proposed start and duration, access assumptions, work hours, material lead times, occupied-area protection and shutdown requirements. Ask who will coordinate the work and how unresolved site conditions would be documented. Keep assertions such as minimal disruption tied to an actual sequence or stated assumption.

A proposal that depends on uninterrupted access should not be compared as though it includes repeated mobilization around occupied units. Resolve that difference before selecting it. Verify the contractor's qualifications and applicable requirements through appropriate sources; a comparison worksheet is not a substitute for professional review of a contract or technical scope.

Close the comparison with the selected proposal revision, clarifications incorporated, unresolved items and reasons for the decision. Record who reviewed it and when. If the higher price is selected because it includes a materially different scope or workable sequence, say so plainly instead of labeling it better without explaining the difference.

Keep the accepted scope with subsequent changes, invoices and completion evidence. The same rows can become a project review and closeout checklist. This preserves the connection between what was compared, what was authorized and what was delivered, without requiring a later owner or manager to reconstruct the decision from scattered emails.

• California Contractors State License Board: finding the right contractor