Why three GC bids come back at three different numbers

You send the same drawings to three general contractors and get back three numbers that are nowhere near each other. It is tempting to assume someone is padding or someone is desperate. Usually the truth is duller and more useful: they scoped it differently.

What creates the spread

• Assumptions about the unknowns — where the drawings are silent, each GC fills the gap with an assumption. A low bid often assumes the best case for every gap.
• Allowances and exclusions — one bid carries a real number for a scope item; another excludes it entirely and it reappears as a change order later.
• Subcontractor coverage — the subs each GC got pricing from, and how hungry those subs are this quarter.
• What is actually self-performed — a GC that self-performs the interior trades prices differently than one marking up four separate subs.

Read the exclusions, not just the total

The most expensive bid is often the low one, because the gap between its number and the real cost shows up as change orders after you have already signed. Before you compare totals, compare what each bid includes and excludes. A slightly higher number with nothing hidden in the exclusions is almost always the cheaper job.

When we price a job, the goal is a number you can hand to your owner and trust — scope in, exclusions clear, no surprises waiting on the final invoice. Call us and we will walk you through what a real bid should spell out.