What an estimate is,
and what it is not

The short version

A ballpark figure is an estimate. A written, signed contract is a price. Nothing between the two binds either of us, and we will never treat a number you saw on a website as an agreement you made.

The measured visit

This is where a real number comes from. We come out to the building, get onto the roof or into the space, take actual dimensions, photograph anything you ought to see with your own eyes, and go away and price it properly.

The visit is free and carries no obligation. We are not going to sit at your table until you sign something, and we do not use a discount that expires at midnight. If you want to think about it for three weeks, or get two other prices, that is exactly what we would do ourselves.

The written estimate

What you get afterwards is a document setting out the scope of work, the materials by name and specification, the price, and the timescale. If we have found something we think you should know about — and on an older building we usually have — it is written down, with what it would cost to put right, kept separate so you can decide about it on its own merits.

You are entitled to that in writing whether or not you go ahead, and you are entitled to ask us how we arrived at any figure in it.

The contract

Work begins after a written agreement signed by both of us. Not before.

On residential work in Massachusetts, that contract is governed by the Home Improvement Contractor law, MGL c.142A, and it exists to protect you rather than us. The provisions worth knowing:

• Any agreement over $1,000 must be in writing, and must state the scope, the materials, the total price, a payment schedule in actual dollars, start and substantial completion dates, and our registration number.
• The deposit we may take before starting is capped at the greater of one third of the contract price, or the actual cost of materials that have to be specially ordered in advance. Anyone asking for more than that on a residential job is outside the law.
• Where the contract is signed somewhere other than our own office — which for us means your kitchen table, nearly always — you may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing it. That notice is printed in the contract itself.
• We pull the permits, as your agent. This matters more than it sounds: a homeowner who pulls their own permit is excluded from the state Guaranty Fund, which is the protection that exists if a contractor takes your money and fails to finish.
• You may take a dispute to arbitration under the state program. We cannot force you into arbitration unless a clause saying so is separately signed by both of us.
• Final payment is not due until the work is finished to your satisfaction.

c.142A covers work on an existing owner-occupied building of one to four dwellings. New construction and commercial work sit outside it and are governed by the contract itself, which is one more reason to read the contract.

Change orders

If we open a roof and find something that was not in the scope, we stop and tell you before we do anything about it. You get the problem in writing, what it costs, and what happens if it is left. Nothing extra is charged that you have not agreed to in advance. That is both our policy and the law.

What happens to what you send us

The details you put into a form on this site reach us by email and are used to answer you. That is all. We do not sell them, we do not share them with anyone else, and we do not add you to a mailing list. If you would like us to delete what you sent, ask and we will.

If something goes wrong

Call us first, on (518) 733-0082. Most problems on a building site are a conversation, not a dispute, and we would far rather fix something at our own cost than have you telling your neighbors about us for the next ten years.

If that does not resolve it, the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation runs the arbitration program and the Guaranty Fund, and you can approach them directly.