Estimating Checklist

OTHER COSTS
Does the estimate include rubbish removal and cleanup? How about painting, interior and exterior? Prime plus two coats of paint are a minimum; on new wooden floors, the finish should be at least two and preferably three or four coats of urethane.

Have you figured in such landscaping expenses as topsoil, seeding, planting, and relandscaping? Landscape costs are often overlooked. That can mean a hand­some renovation has little visual impact from the outside because its setting is a tan­gle of weeds or a bland expanse of lawn. Do your estimates allow for even modest plantings or walks and walls to accent the architectural attributes of your house?

You may not want to spend a penny more than the sums already in your esti­mates, but if pieces of the puzzle are missing, the finished work will end up looking incomplete, too. Have the hard conversations now rather than later. You have much more leverage before the work begins than after it's finished and most or all of your money has been paid out.