Guide / Before you get quotes, United States

How do I get contractor quotes I can compare?

Toshikatsu Oga / September 27, 2026

What a scope of work is
The parts every scope needs
A worked scope: asphalt shingle reroof
A worked scope: exterior repaint
Comparing what comes back
Questions
Sources

Give every contractor the same page, and the quotes will line up. Three quotes for a roof that differ by thousands of dollars usually describe three different jobs: one counted 26 squares and another 30, one included a tear-off and another assumed an overlay, one carried the permit and another left it to you. The Federal Trade Commission's advice is to get multiple written estimates that describe the work, the materials, the completion date and the price (FTC, How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam); the way to make those estimates comparable is to write the description yourself, before the first contractor arrives, and to ask each of them to price that. This page is how to write it, with two worked scopes.

What a scope of work is

A scope of work is one page that says what is to be done, in quantities and product names, and what is not included. It is not a design and it is not a contract; it is the question you are asking each contractor to answer with a price. When every contractor prices the same scope, the differences between quotes are differences in price, crew and approach, which is what you want to compare. When each contractor writes their own scope, you are comparing their sales judgement about what you will accept, which is not.

A contractor who improves your scope is worth listening to: "your decking is probably rotten under the valley, price that as an allowance" is expertise. A contractor who ignores the scope and quotes a lump sum is telling you how the job will go.

The parts every scope needs

Quantities. Squares for a roof, square feet of wall for paint, count and size for windows, linear feet for gutters. Measure or compute them yourself; for a roof, see how many squares is my roof. Ask contractors to state their own measurement next to yours.
Products. Manufacturer and product line for the visible materials (shingle, paint, window), with "or equal, state the substitution" so you can see what each contractor proposes.
Included work. Tear-off and how many layers, underlayment, flashing, ventilation, prep and priming, number of coats, disposal.
Excluded work and allowances. Rotten decking, hidden damage, electrical or plumbing found in the wall: price as a unit rate or an allowance so that surprises are priced before they happen.
Permit. Who pulls it and whether the fee is passed through at cost with the receipt.
Schedule. Start window, working days, and what happens if weather stops work.
Payment terms. Deposit, stage payments tied to visible progress, final payment on completion with lien waiver. See how much deposit should I pay a contractor.
Cleanup and warranty. Daily cleanup, magnet sweep for nails, final haul-away, workmanship warranty in years, manufacturer warranty registered in your name.
Documents. Insurance certificate, licence number where the state issues one, EPA lead certification for pre-1978 houses (see does my contractor need EPA lead certification).

A worked scope: asphalt shingle reroof

Remove existing asphalt shingles, one layer, 26 squares measured on a 2,300 square foot footprint at 6/12 pitch (state your measurement). Install synthetic underlayment over the full deck and ice barrier at eaves and valleys. Replace all pipe boots and step flashing; reuse chimney counterflashing only if sound, otherwise price replacement as an allowance. Install architectural shingles, manufacturer and product line stated, with the manufacturer's starter and hip and ridge product. Ridge vent along the full ridge. Replace rotten decking at a stated price per sheet as an allowance of four sheets. Permit: contractor to confirm whether the City of Austin requires one for this work and to pass any fee through at cost with the receipt. Disposal in the contractor's dumpster, driveway protected, magnet sweep daily. Workmanship warranty in years stated. Payment: deposit stated, balance on completion after inspection and lien waiver. Quote to state crew size and days.

Notice what that scope does. It makes the crew hours and the squares appear on every quote, which are the two lines public data can check (BLS wages; Census import data), and it turns the surprises into unit prices before anyone is on the roof.

A worked scope: exterior repaint

House built in a stated year. Wash all surfaces, scrape and sand loose paint, prime bare wood with the primer stated, caulk joints and trim, two finish coats of the paint stated at the manufacturer's spread rate, colors to be chosen from the manufacturer's chart. Surfaces: siding and trim, square feet of wall stated, linear feet of trim stated, doors and shutters counted. Excluded: garage interior, fence. Allowance: replacement of rotten trim at a stated price per linear foot. If built before 1978, the firm's EPA certification number to be stated and lead-safe practices included in the price. Daily cleanup; landscaping protected. Quote to state number of painters and days, gallons of paint by product, and the workmanship warranty.

The gallons line is the material check for a paint job: the manufacturer publishes a spread rate, so gallons times rate should cover the stated square feet twice, and a quote whose gallons cannot cover the area is planning one coat.

Comparing what comes back

Lay the quotes side by side, line by line, on your scope. Where a contractor changed a quantity, ask why; they may be right. Where a contractor left a line out, the quote is not comparable until it is added. Where the labor lines differ, divide each by its crew hours and compare the hourly rate to the public reference for your metro area: for Austin, the table is in what construction trades earn per hour in Austin. Then choose, and not necessarily the cheapest; choose the one whose numbers you could explain to a neighbour.

If you would rather have the scope written from your measurements and photos, our Detailed Estimate does that for one job before you have any quotes: a scope contractors can price, with the public reference for the lines that have one, for $119. The free Quick Estimate on the same page gives the local wage reference in a minute. We are paid by homeowners only and take no fee from contractors. Start on the check page.

Questions

Why are my three contractor quotes so different?

Usually because they describe three different jobs: different quantities, different inclusions, different products. Write one scope of work with quantities, products, inclusions and exclusions, and ask every contractor to price that.

What should a scope of work for a roof include?

Squares and how they were measured, layers to remove, underlayment and ice barrier, flashing, shingle product, ventilation, decking allowance per sheet, permit handling, disposal and cleanup, warranty, payment terms, and a request for crew size and days.

How many quotes should I get?

The FTC advises multiple written estimates. Three priced on the same scope is enough to see the spread; more than that rarely changes the decision and costs the contractors time they will price into future work.

Should I pick the cheapest quote?

Not on the total alone. Compare line by line on your scope, check the labor rate against the public reference for your metro area, and choose the quote whose numbers you can explain.

Sources

Every figure above links to the public record it comes from. The wage, import, margin and markup figures are the ones our reports use, published as USCCDB v1.0 under CC BY 4.0. Statutes and city pages are quoted as published on September 27, 2026; check the source for changes.

How we work: HORIZON SHIELD is paid by homeowners only. We take no referral fee, listing fee or commission from any contractor, distributor or insurer, so the only way we earn is by finding what is in the quote. Every report prints the source and the formula beside every number, and a sha256 receipt so the contractor can confirm the report was not altered. About the service.