Most builder quotes are a single number on a page. A Highline estimate is a document you can actually read — and, more importantly, compare. Here’s what’s in it and what to look for.
The top line: contract price and expected range
The estimator returns a contract price and the range it expects the final number to fall within. The range is honest: it reflects that selections aren’t final yet and that subcontractor pricing moves. It narrows as you decide. On our cost page the sample shows a contract price of $634,182 with an expected range of roughly $596,000 to $672,000.
Build inputs
Finished square footage above and below grade, garage bays and size, number of baths, and a finish grade. If these are wrong, the estimate is wrong — so check them first.
The eight stages of work
The estimate breaks the house into the stages we build in, each with its total and, when you expand it, the line items with the account codes our bookkeeper uses:
- Preconstruction and permits — design, engineering coordination, permits, insurance
- Site work and foundation — clearing, excavation, footings, foundation, waterproofing, backfill
- Framing and exterior shell — lumber, framing labor, roofing, windows, exterior doors
- Mechanical rough-ins — plumbing, HVAC and electrical rough
- Exterior finishes — siding, stone, soffits, gutters, garage doors
- Interior finishes — drywall, paint, flooring, cabinets, counters, trim, tile
- Mechanical finish — fixtures, lighting, HVAC equipment and trim
- Completion — driveway, final grade, cleaning, punch list
Assumptions
Every estimate ends with what it assumes: municipal or well-and-septic, walkout or full basement, the finish grade, what’s excluded (engineering, survey, soils, permit fees). This section is where two builders’ quotes usually differ most.
How to compare it to another bid
- Ask the other builder for the same stage breakdown. If they can’t produce one, their number is a guess.
- Line up the assumptions. A quote without site work or without a finished basement is not a lower price; it’s a smaller house.
- Check allowances. A $5,000 flooring allowance on a 2,400-square-foot home isn’t a price, it’s a placeholder for a change order.
- Ask what happens when subcontractor pricing comes in high. Our answer: the fixed cost estimate holds, and changes only happen when you ask for them, priced in writing first.
Thinking about building? Call 616-297-0151 or schedule a consultation. Bring your lot, your ideas, or both — the first conversation is free and you leave with a realistic range.