Contractor Bid Comparison Sheet

Three roof quotes, three driveway quotes, three “we can start Thursday” numbers. They almost never describe the same work. One price includes the permit and the dumpster. One leaves both out. One says “equivalent materials” and never names a brand. The lowest number wins the kitchen-table argument, and the missing line shows up as a change order.

This two-page printable is the sheet you fill in before you pick a winner. It is a worksheet, not a contract. It forces the three bids onto the same lines so a cheaper quote that skipped thickness, disposal, or a license is obvious on paper.

Link to The Contractor Bid Comparison Sheet

What you get

A letter-size PDF from Home Improvements & Maintenance:

• Page 1: project, address, budget ceiling, and a grid for Bid A, B, and C — company, license and insurance, written scope, exclusions, brand and model, thickness or capacity, who is on site, who pulls the permit, haul-off, dates, payment schedule, warranty, change-order rule, total, and any allowance.
• Page 2: eight questions to ask out loud, five red flags, a decision box, and a blank “same-scope sentence” you can send to all three so they price the same job.

Why it matters

A bid is a description with a dollar sign on it. If the descriptions do not match, the dollars do not either. Homeowners lose money in the gaps: permit fees that were “extra,” a dumpster that arrived as a surprise, a 3-inch asphalt price compared with a 4-inch one, a warranty that was a handshake. Writing the scope once and scoring every quote against it is the cheapest hour you will spend on the project.

How to use it

1. Write one sentence that describes the job (what is being replaced, the material, the thickness or model, who pulls the permit, who hauls debris). Put that sentence in the box on page 2 and send it to each contractor.
2. When the quotes come back, fill one column per company. If a line is blank on their paper, leave it blank on yours — a blank is an answer.
3. Check a question box only after you heard the answer, not after you liked the truck.
4. Circle red flags. A cash-only price, “we don’t need a permit,” or “as needed” with no unit price is not a detail. It is the bid.
5. Write the apples-to-apples price and why you picked that column. Take the sheet to the signing so the contract matches the column, not a new verbal version.

Print at 100% on letter paper. One sheet per project. Use a pencil; quotes change.

Good for

Roofing, siding, driveways, windows, water heaters, decks, fencing, HVAC replacement — any job where two or three companies are pricing “the same” work and the paperwork does not agree.

Not a substitute for a license check, a permit, or a contract your own state recognizes. It is the page that makes those conversations specific.

Link to The Contractor Bid Comparison Sheet