How we price
A written scope before anything starts, for both a commercial work order and a home remodel, and the one number on this page we’ll put in writing before seeing the room.
01On the phone
What you get on the phone, and what comes after we’ve seen the room
On the call: whether the job is ours at all, and roughly what shape the work takes. That part is free and it’s quick.
A real price comes after we’ve seen the space. A commercial work order gets a numbered scope with the exclusions and change-order terms attached before anything starts (see how a commercial scope is written). A residential estimate works the same way, sized for a house instead of a building. Neither one is a number guessed over the phone.
02To a number
From the walk-through to a number
The same six steps for a kitchen in Richmond, KY and a partition wall in a Lexington office. What changes is the size of the paper, not the shape of it.
- The walk We measure the room or the space, look at what the new work will sit on, and confirm what stays where it is. For a home that means every fixture. For a building it means the access window and the house rules too.
- Selections Materials, products and finishes named before a price is written, so the number is for what you chose and not a placeholder.
- The scope, numbered Step by step, in plain language, in the order the work happens.
- The exclusions, on the same page What the price leaves out is stated with the price, not discovered on site. A scope with the awkward parts removed is marketing.
- The price, against that scope One figure for the written steps. For a commercial order it is written to your PO or not-to-exceed figure if you give us one.
- Approval before a start date Nothing starts on a verbal. You approve the document, and that document is what the invoice is checked against.
What a price from us is not
- A figure over the phone for a room nobody has looked at. Anyone who gives you one is guessing or padding, and both get corrected later, on your invoice.
- A rate card. There is no price per square foot, per door or per visit published anywhere on this site.
- A running tab. Work outside the written scope is priced in writing and approved before it happens.
03Pricing
What changes the price
No numbers here, because the number is yours. What moves it is the same short list on every job, and it is worth reading before the walk-through.
At home
- Surface area. Feet of cabinet run, tile area, floor area. The biggest single driver.
- What you pick. Reface or replace, stock or custom, tile size and pattern, the flooring product.
- What is underneath. Subfloor, drywall and backer board are hidden until the old surface comes off. What is found there is a written change order.
- How much you keep. Sound doors, hardware and trim can stay, and the scope says so.
- Access and protection. A room off a finished hallway takes more covering and more carrying than one off the garage.
In a commercial building
- The access window. When we can be in the space, and what the building requires to get there: badges, escorts, sign-in, freight access.
- Occupancy. Working around tenants means containment, protection in the path and a cleared work area, all of which are in the scope.
- The finish standard. A paint-ready Level 4 drywall finish and a color match “as close as practical” are written in, and the places a match cannot be exact are named.
- What you supply. Doors, hardware or tile from your own storeroom are installed rather than sold to you, when they arrive in serviceable condition.
- Concealed conditions. What is inside a wall after it is opened is a separate written change order, never absorbed silently and never billed by surprise.
04Change orders
Change orders, and the invoice
Two kinds of change come up on every job. The first is yours: a different tile once you see it on the wall, one more run of shelving, a second door while the trim is out. The second belongs to the building: a soft subfloor under the old vinyl, drywall that comes away with the old backsplash, a stud where the plan showed none.
Both are handled the same way. The change is written up with a price, you approve it, and then it is done. On a commercial order it carries your PO or work-order number. Nothing is added by conversation, and a verbal extra never appears on an invoice.
The invoice matches the paper: the approved scope, plus the change orders you signed, and nothing else. If it was not on one of those documents, it is not on the invoice.
05In scope
What’s in scope
Residential
- Kitchens, cosmetic: cabinets, counters, backsplash, tile, floors, paint, trim, hardware
- Bathrooms: vanity in place, tile, floors, paint, fixtures replaced where they sit
- Interior repairs, drywall, and punch lists
- Doors, trim, casing, base, crown, built-ins and closets
- Flooring throughout the house
- Basements and built-ins inside the existing mechanical layout
Commercial
- Interior repairs & build-out: partitions, drywall, doors, trim, paint
- Emergency / make-safe response
- Grounds, lot & exterior cleaning
- Building envelope: gutters, flashing, sealants, masonry patch
Where a licensed trade takes over
Listed here rather than left for a walkthrough, because a scope page that only lists what we do is a sales page.
- Plumbing. We replace a fixture where one already sits, rather than relocating a drain or a supply line; that stays with a licensed plumber.
- Electrical. Outside our scope: new circuits, panel work and anything behind the wall. That’s licensed electrical work.
- Heating and cooling. A different trade entirely.
- Roofs. That’s a separate company. No page on this site sells a roof.
- Structural work. Opening up a room or touching anything load-bearing calls for an engineer, not a remodel scope.
Ready when you are
Tell us the building or the room, the town, and what you want done. What we ask on the call, and what comes back in writing, is on the assessment page.