Remodeling? How to get a better bid

When remodeling, create a financial plan upfront and contractors can tailor proposals to fit what you can afford.

(MONEY Magazine) -- Budgeting for a large remodeling project presents a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: You won't have a feel for the cost until you get bids from contractors.

But unless you give pros a ballpark figure from the start, they'll have to guess at what to include in their bids -- and they'll come back to you with a huge range of prices for very different plans.

"A faucet can cost $200 to $900, a window can be $400 to $1,200," says Madison contractor Mike Gasch. "I need to know where to aim."

To solve this conundrum, do some calculations first.

1. Start with average costs |

When insurance companies need to pinpoint construction costs, they multiply the length by the width of the space and then multiply that by the project's typical cost per square foot.

Albert Paxton, an estimator who provides such data to claims adjusters and contractors, pegs average per-square-foot costs of remodeling jobs at this:

2. Tweak to fit the scope

These numbers are for gut remodels, meaning the room is demolished right down to the framing and rebuilt.

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Remodeling? How to get a better bid