If two bids describe two different rooms, their totals are not ready to compare. First make the scope match.DT · Owner, BH Builders
When someone hands me two remodeling bids with very different totals, I look for the missing decisions before I look for the cheaper contractor. A bathroom allowance may cover the tile but omit the installation pattern. A kitchen number may include cabinets without finished end panels. Both documents can say “complete remodel” while describing different work. I want a homeowner to understand that difference before signing, because the gap usually becomes uncomfortable after demolition.
An allowance is a placeholder amount for a defined item or category that has not been fully selected. It can be useful. The problem is an allowance that looks precise but has no clear boundaries. The examples in this article use hypothetical arithmetic to show how comparisons work; they are not BH Builders prices or promises about what a Denver project should cost.
Put the same scope beside both totals
I begin with a room-by-room description. What is removed, what stays, what moves and what gets repaired afterward? If one bid keeps the sink in place and another relocates it, the price difference is partly a design difference. If one includes full-room painting and the other includes patches only, the finished result is different too. Ask each bidder to respond to the same scope sheet.
Photographs and a marked plan help, but they do not replace written inclusions. The plan can show a new range without stating who supplies it, receives it or installs its ventilation. I would also mark owner-supplied items. Buying a fixture yourself does not answer who verifies compatibility or handles a damaged delivery. Those responsibilities belong in the comparison before anyone describes a bid as complete.
Ask what each allowance actually buys
A usable allowance identifies quantity, unit, quality level and included costs. “Tile: $2,000” is less informative than a stated square footage, material allowance per square foot, waste assumption and separate installation scope. Taxes, delivery, trim, setting materials and disposal may sit elsewhere. The goal is not to make every line long. It is to remove the assumptions that could change the final amount.
I would ask the contractor to show a currently available example that fits the allowance. If nothing you would reasonably choose is available within that amount, the placeholder needs adjusting before you compare totals. This is especially useful with plumbing trim, decorative lighting, cabinet hardware and countertops, where a broad category hides a wide range of products and installation requirements.
- What quantity and unit does the allowance cover?
- Does it include tax, freight and delivery handling?
- Is labor fixed, allowed separately or excluded?
- What happens if the selected product costs less?
- Which markup applies to an overage, and where is that written?
Build an apples-to-apples worksheet
I like a worksheet with one row for each uncertain category. Keep the contractor's original bid intact and add a comparison column. Do not silently rewrite someone's price. Ask them to confirm an adjusted scope so the number represents an offer they can actually perform. A spreadsheet is useful only when the people doing the work agree with its assumptions.
| Category | Bid A says | Bid B says | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shower tile | Material allowance | Selected product included | Same area, trim and pattern? |
| Plumbing | Reconnect fixtures | Relocate drain and supplies | Which layout is being priced? |
| Painting | Patch disturbed areas | Paint entire room | What finish boundary is acceptable? |
| Debris | Not specified | Hauling included | Who supplies containers and removal? |
| Permit work | Owner responsibility | Contractor coordination | Who handles documents and inspections? |
The worksheet also exposes decisions that need design work. If neither bidder knows whether a wall carries load, forcing both to write a fixed beam price is not clarity. The useful next step is investigation or engineering so the structural scope can be defined.
Use arithmetic to uncover the real comparison
Here is an illustrative example. Bid A totals $40,000 and contains a $1,000 fixture allowance. Bid B totals $42,000 and includes the homeowner's selected $3,000 fixture package. If every other inclusion were identical, replacing Bid A's placeholder with that same package would bring its direct comparison to $42,000 before any applicable tax, handling or contractual markup. The original $2,000 gap did not represent a construction saving.
Now imagine the selected package also needs a different valve, extra blocking or a power connection. The difference is no longer only the purchase price. I would ask for the installation effect as a separate line. That prevents a showroom choice from being approved as a small material upgrade and later becoming an unexplained labor change. The contractor should identify what is known and what remains subject to verification.
This method works for savings too. A simpler tile layout may reduce both waste and installation time. Ask for a priced alternate rather than assuming a cheaper tile automatically lowers the entire bathroom price by the retail difference.
Separate product choice from installation complexity
Two products that cost the same can take different amounts of work to install. A large-format tile requires attention to substrate preparation and layout. A wall-mounted faucet changes rough-in coordination. A heavy stone panel may change handling and support. I would describe the selected system, substrate work and finish details together so the labor allowance has something concrete behind it.
In a kitchen, cabinet accessories create similar confusion. A pull-out organizer, appliance panel or integrated lighting channel is not simply another door. Count the accessories and specify who assembles or connects them. Our remodeling dictionary can help translate unfamiliar terms, but the final specification still needs actual products and locations. Plain language is welcome; vague language is expensive.
Keep hidden conditions separate from indecision
An unselected faucet and concealed water damage are different uncertainties. The first can often be resolved through selection. The second may require exploratory work or a defined change process. I would avoid a single catch-all allowance that mixes the two. It makes it difficult to see whether the project is underdesigned, whether the existing building is uncertain, or both.
Ask how concealed conditions will be documented. Photographs, a description of the repair and a price before proceeding are more useful than a broad statement that “anything extra costs more.” Some work may need immediate stabilization for safety, but that exception should not become the ordinary way decisions are made. The contract should explain approval authority, pricing and schedule effects in terms both parties understand.
- List selections that can be finalized before work.
- List existing conditions that can be investigated now.
- Identify genuinely concealed conditions that remain uncertain.
- Agree on documentation and approval for changes.
- Keep a homeowner contingency separate from the contract scope.
Put selection deadlines on the schedule
An allowance is also a schedule obligation. If a shower valve must be installed during rough plumbing, choosing it after tile starts is too late. I would work backward from the installation need, allowing time for ordering, delivery inspection and replacements if a product arrives damaged. A deadline should name the decision and the information required, not simply say “pick fixtures soon.”
Keep a selection log with model, finish, supplier, approval date and delivery status. When a product changes, check every dependent dimension and rough-in. That habit matters on a bathroom renovation where a vanity, sink, faucet and medicine cabinet share a tight wall. One substitution can affect the others even if each item looks acceptable in isolation.
A contractor who asks for decisions early is giving you a chance to control the result. The useful response is to ask which choices are critical now and which can wait without affecting the work.
Review the final version before signing
After clarifications, ask for a consolidated proposal. A bid plus twelve text messages is hard to administer. I would want the final document to identify the accepted scope, selected alternates, allowance amounts, exclusions and payment milestones. Keep the drawings and selection schedule attached or clearly referenced so everyone knows which version applies.
- Confirm both bids now describe the same work.
- Replace unrealistic allowances with researched selections.
- Check how overages and credits are calculated.
- Resolve who supplies, receives and installs each item.
- Read the change-order and scheduling language.
- Keep the signed version and its attachments together.
Price still matters. I simply want the price to mean something. The best value may be a smaller, fully defined project with fewer unresolved decisions. It may also be the higher initial bid that already includes work the other proposal left out. Our Denver remodeling pricing guide is a starting point for scope conversations, not a substitute for a job-specific written proposal.
If you are planning a kitchen remodel or a renovation in Greenwood Village, bring the selection list as well as the inspiration photos. Call (720) 980-3913. I would rather explain the uncertain lines while we can still change the plan than have you discover them after the house is opened up.
Keep reading from the BH Builders blog
A low allowance does not make the fixture cheaper. It moves part of the price to a later conversation.DT · Owner, BH Builders
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