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mike_little42

Home Build Bids

last month
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My wife and I are still trying to build our house IVO ABQ NM. Some bids we have gotten seem to be incomplete, inflated, or just numbers thrown at us and I'm not sure how to take it. The home is a 2 story home approx 5000 sq ft. For example, the bid for electrical is $61,000 for standard electrical. Doesn't include fixtures other than the can lights, etc. So the wire/materials, outlets, etc etc. Looking online electrical cost $4-9 sq ft. The bid itself says essentially wire house with plugs, can lights, etc $61,000. Nothing broken down. Is this standard practice? No material cost, estimated hours at $XX an hour? I got another bid that came out right at $42,000 which falls into that $4-9 range but also doesn't give any details on what i'm paying for.

Now I'm concerned with these bids in general. I want to pay a fair price for good work, but don't want bs numbers thrown at us because the impression is that we are "rich". We've been through this before.. we owned a home in FL on the water and people assumed we were loaded. I had a pressure washer come out and told us $4000 to pressure wash our house. When I asked how many hours he said 2. So basically the guy wanted $2000 an hour to pressure wash our house only because he they a random number at us.

I do NOT always go with the cheapest bid but for the love of God they should be somewhere close to each other in price. Not $61k vs 42k. Some of the bids are broken down and make me feel better. For example the insulation is completely broken down instyead of just saying "Insulation $30k".


Other bids so far:


Drywall - $40k


Garage Doors, Doors, and Trim (doesnt include crown) $45k - 18x8 garage door/10x8 garage door, fiberglass double entry door, door hardware, shelving (I assume closets and pantry).


HVAC - $35k - 3 Ton Lennox 93% (3 systems)


Insulation - $31k - Closed Cell 2" Roof, Open Cell 12.5" bottom of attic, open cell in exterior walls, R19 fiberglass in garage, blow in mid floor for sound dampening between 1st and 2nd floor.


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