Why are contractor bids for the same patio thousands of dollars apart?

Because they're rarely the same patio. A $14,000 and a $22,000 'paver patio' bid usually differ underground: excavation depth, geotextile fabric, base thickness and compaction, drainage, edge restraint, and warranty. Line the scopes up item by item and the gap usually explains itself, the expensive bid is often the only complete one.

What questions should I ask an outdoor living contractor in DFW?

Six that sort the field fast: How deep is my base and is it compacted in lifts? Where does the water go, show me on the plan? Who pulls the permit and HOA approval? What exactly does your warranty cover, in writing? Are your crews yours or brokered out? Can I see the payment schedule tied to milestones? Any builder worth $30,000 answers all six without flinching.

Is the cheapest bid ever the right choice?

Sometimes, when the scopes are genuinely identical and the cheaper company simply runs leaner. But on expansive DFW clay, most cheap bids are cheap because something invisible is missing: base depth, fabric, drainage, engineering, or the permit. You don't save money skipping those; you defer the cost to year two with interest.

Compare Outdoor Living Contractors in DFW

The apples-to-apples checklist

Make every bid answer the same nine questions.

The questions stay the same, but their importance shifts by scope. A paver-patio proposal should be explicit about excavation, base and drainage, while a complete backyard-renovation proposal must also coordinate structures, utilities, finishes and sequencing. Local review requirements can differ, so compare the project context for Frisco and Prosper before assuming two scopes are equivalent.

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.

Real completed work also gives you a reference point for detail and coordination. Review the Phillips Creek Ranch backyard renovation and Star Trail outdoor kitchen, then use the clay-and-drainage guide and permit guide to test whether each bid covers the invisible work.

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.