The document that settles
the argument before it starts.
Almost every renovation dispute traces back to the same thing — the homeowner and the contractor had different pictures in their heads and nothing written down settled it. This is what settles it.
Three bids are only comparable if all three priced the same job
Most people collect three bids, notice one is lower, and pick it. But if each contractor scoped the job from their own head, the low bid is usually low because it quietly left something out — and you find out which thing in month three, at full price, as a change order.
Send every bidder the same scope of work and that stops being possible. That is the entire trick. It is not complicated, it is just the step almost nobody takes.
Get the Scope of Work Template
Four tabs, fully built, ready to fill in and send to every contractor you ask for a bid. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.
- 4 tabs: scope, exclusions, allowances, trade reference
- 19-trade checklist in the order work actually happens
- Weekly renovation + investing guides from a licensed GC
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Your email stays private.
What is in the file
Scope of Work
Room by room, trade by trade. Who supplies materials, what the owner handles, and the conditions on each line.
Exclusions
Twelve of the most common exclusions pre-filled as prompts — permits, abatement, structural surprises, utility upgrades. The tab people skip and the tab that saves them.
Allowances
Placeholders for anything not selected yet — tile, fixtures, appliances — so a bid can still be complete and comparable.
Trade Reference
Nineteen trades in the order they actually happen, with what to confirm is scoped for each. Anything you cannot answer is a gap.
There are no cost figures in this file, on purpose
Scope defines what happens and who is responsible. Price belongs in the bid you get back. Mixing the two is how people end up negotiating against themselves — you name a number first, and every bid arrives suspiciously close to it.
This is one piece of a six-part framework
The Scope of Work template is one component of The Renovation Masterclass, which covers the whole project lifecycle — planning, budgeting, vetting contractors, contract terms, payment schedules, change orders, and final sign-off. You just got this piece in full, with nothing stripped out.
See the full framework