I opened this thread putting forth the published opinions of Mike Holmes. Whatever else you might say about Mike, he's a real contractor with a real business, so he is certainly qualified to speak.
I had other reasons as well.
One is that I have seen comments like Alan's here several times, and Mike's is directly opposite.
Now, as I am in the customers' shoes, remodeling my house, I need more from the contractor than just a dollar amount. It's not that I'm looking for a shopping list; rather, it's that I need to know if he's pricing by using a Yugo or a Porsche.
Bid details will also identify the scope of the job, possibly underscoring where there are misunderstandings, and clarifying who is responsible for what. For example: is that a high efficiency furnace or a standard one? Does the price include a cememt pad and steel cage for the air conditioner? Etc.
Case in point: Adding a new window. One guy wanted $1000 more than the other. Care to guess which one included the framing, and which one simply planned on slipping the window into a hole made by someone else?
