You are undoubtedly looking to build what you want at the best value possible. By now, you know the way to accomplish great value is through competition. This is why you must go through the painstaking process of obtaining multiple construction cost bids/estimates.

Then, you realize that some level of knowledge will be required to review these competing estimates. You see, contractors are not in the job of making your life easier to compare estimates. If they were, they would do what we recommend and that is to get your multiple estimates from competing builders drafted in the same exact format. This will make comparing offers much easier.

Getting every contractor to present you a bid in the same format may seem like a tall order. It is not. You merely need to organize the proper specifications list. Follow that by requesting that they complete their bid on a cost breakdown sheet. This will permit you to compare individual costs, such as excavation or foundation, so you can figure out where the bids differ. This will allow you to negotiate not only the overall price but also the facets of work that add up to the overall cost.

Feel free to download and use the construction cost breakdown sheet here, compliments of Construction Advisors.