Can someone review a contractor's estimate before I sign it?
Yes. Northline reviews contractor estimates for homeowners — checking scope completeness, allowances, exclusions, payment terms and change order language — so you understand what you're agreeing to before signing.
This is one of the most common reasons homeowners call us, and one of the highest-leverage hours you can spend. A proposal is a technical document written by someone fluent in construction, read by someone who isn't.
A review looks at completeness first: does the scope cover everything the project actually requires, including demolition, disposal, protection, permits, mechanical work and the finish work where new meets old? Missing scope is the most common reason a number looks attractive.
Then allowances — are the dollar figures realistic for the materials you actually intend to choose, and do they cover labor as well as material? Then exclusions, which often say more than the inclusions do.
Then the commercial terms: payment schedule relative to progress, deposit, change order process, schedule expectations, insurance and warranty language. Massachusetts has specific consumer protections governing home improvement contracts, and we'll flag anything worth verifying with the Commonwealth's consumer affairs resources or an attorney.
What you get back is a plain-language read: what's solid, what's vague, what's missing, and the specific questions to put back to your contractor. We don't tell you the builder is bad — usually they aren't. We tell you what you're actually agreeing to.
