The apples-to-apples checklist
Make every bid answer the same nine questions.
1 · Base spec
Excavation depth? Geotextile fabric? Base material and thickness? Compacted in lifts or dumped once? (Ours: 7 to 9" dig, fabric, 6"+ limestone in 2 to 3" lifts)
2 · Drainage
Is water movement designed and drawn, grade, drains, downspout tie-ins, or is drainage the word 'included'?
3 · Structure engineering
For covers: footing depth and diameter? Engineer-sealed drawings? Uplift hardware? Or '4x4 posts on the slab'?
4 · Permits & HOA
Who prepares and submits the city permit and ARC application, them or you? Is it priced in?
5 · Materials, by name
Brand and product line in writing (paver line, turf spec, shingle match), 'premium materials' is not a spec
6 · Crews
Their crews with a site lead, or brokered to whoever's available? Who do you call mid-build?
7 · Payment schedule
Milestone payments tied to completed work, or a fat deposit and vibes?
8 · Warranty, in writing
Exact term and what it covers. 'We stand behind our work' is a sentence, not a warranty. (Ours: 2-year written workmanship)
9 · The change-order rule
How are additions priced mid-project? Written change orders with prices before work, or surprises on the final invoice?
Red flags
Walk away when you hear…
"We can skip the permit, it's faster"
Unpermitted structures surface at insurance claims and closing day. The discount isn't a discount; it's a deferred bill.
"Full payment up front and we can start Monday"
Milestone payments exist so you pay for work standing in your yard. Urgency plus prepayment is the oldest pattern in contracting.
A bid from a satellite photo
Slope, access, drainage, and utilities decide half the price. Nobody can quote your yard without standing in it.
No address, no reviews, no names
You're about to hand five figures to someone. Verifiable identity, a real local address, named people, public reviews, is the minimum table stakes.
"Trust me, it's all included"
Everything real fits on a line item. Anything that can't be written down is planned to be argued about later.
Methodology & sources
This checklist mirrors how True Star writes its own proposals, line-itemized scopes, named materials, milestone payments, written 2-year workmanship warranty, and the city permit fully handled with your HOA packet prepared, included on structures. We publish it because informed comparisons favor complete scopes, and complete scopes are the only kind we write. Use it on every bid, including ours. Last field-verified July 19, 2026.