How to Compare Contractor Bids in Oregon

If you're staring at two or three contractor bids that don't match, the short answer is this: stop comparing totals and start comparing the CCB license, the bond and insurance, and the written scope of work. A low number usually means something was left out, not that someone found a cheaper way to do the same job.

Start with the CCB number, not the price

Before you look at a single dollar figure, look up every bidder's Oregon CCB license number at search.ccb.state.or.us. Anyone doing residential construction work in Oregon for pay has to be licensed by the Construction Contractors Board. The search takes the license number, the business name, or the phone number, and it's free. If a bidder doesn't have a CCB number, or the number doesn't match the name on the bid, that's your answer right there — stop and move to the next bidder.

Check the bond and insurance

A licensed CCB contractor carries a surety bond and liability insurance. The CCB's consumer tools page explains what that protects: if you hire an unlicensed contractor, you lose the ability to recover damages through the bond, and the CCB can only mediate a dispute if the contractor is licensed. A bond isn't a guarantee your project turns out fine. It's a pool of money you can claim against if the contractor does something specific and provable wrong, and only after you've gone through the complaint process or gotten a court judgment. Know what you're actually covered for before you sign anything.

Read the scope of work, not the total

Two bids can list the same total price and mean two different jobs. A real scope of work spells out, in writing, what materials will be used, what work will be done, and what is not included. If a bid is a single number with no written detail behind it, you're not comparing bids — you're comparing guesses.

Oregon law backs this up. A written contract is required for most residential jobs over $2,000, and if a smaller job grows past $2,000 once work starts, the contract has to be put in writing within five days (ORS 701.305). Along with the contract, the contractor has to give you three specific notices — an information notice about construction liens, a consumer protection notice, and a notice of procedure — and keep proof you received them for two years. See the CCB's contractor tools page for the details. A contractor who won't put the scope in writing, or skips the notices, is telling you something about how the rest of the job will go.

Watch for allowances

Some bids include "allowances" — a placeholder dollar amount for something like cabinets, flooring, or fixtures that hasn't been picked out yet. Allowances are normal. The problem shows up when a low allowance is used to make the total look smaller than the real cost will be. Ask what the allowance is based on, and ask what happens to the price once you pick something that costs more than the allowance covers.

Ask how change orders work

Almost every remodel turns up something once a wall or a floor is opened. Ask each bidder, before you sign anything: when you find a problem behind the wall, what happens next? Do they call you first, or fix it and tell you later? Is there a written change order for anything added to the job, or does it just show up as a number on the final invoice? A contractor who has a clear, consistent answer here is worth more than one who says "we'll figure it out."

Confirm who pulls the permit

Permits protect you, not just the contractor. Clackamas County's building permit page covers what needs a permit and what qualifies as exempt. A deck more than 30 inches above grade needs a building permit in Clackamas County — see the county's deck setback guide. Ask each bidder plainly: will you pull the permit, and is that cost already in your number? A bid that skips the permit to look cheaper can leave you holding an unpermitted structure when you go to sell the house.

Ask who is actually doing the work

Some outfits bid the job, then hand it to subcontractors you never meet. That's not automatically a problem, but you should know going in. Ask who will actually be on site day to day, and whether that's the same person or company that gave you the bid.

Why the low bid is often missing something

When three bids come in and one is noticeably lower, it rarely means that contractor found a cheaper way to build the exact same thing. More often something is missing: a lower allowance, a smaller scope, no permit, or no plan for what happens when a problem turns up behind the wall. Put the bids side by side and line up the scope, the CCB status, the bond, the permit, and the change-order terms — not just the total — and ask what's different between them. That comparison, not the sticker price, is what tells you which bid you're actually choosing between.