The Plan First series — part three
- Why one plan comes before any bid
- What a complete outdoor design actually includes
- How to compare bids once everyone has the same plan — you are here.
Budget & Planning · Education
Two proposals, one plan. Now the comparison finally means something.
Comparing bids is only possible after everyone is pricing the same drawing and the same written scope. At that point the totals stop being noise and start telling you something real: how each company builds, what it carries, what it leaves out, and what it will stand behind. This is how we would read the proposals if we were sitting at your kitchen table — including the parts that are unflattering to us.
The honest version: Price is the last thing to compare, not the first. Read the exclusions page before the total, every time. The most expensive proposal on the table is usually the one that was missing work.
01
Set the bids up so they can be compared
- Send every bidder the same plan, the same scope document and the same list of selections or allowances.
- Ask for line-item pricing by area or system, not a single lump sum.
- Ask for exclusions in writing — the list of what is not included is more informative than the list of what is.
- Give everyone the same deadline and the same access to the property.
- Take notes during each site visit. How a company inspects your yard tells you a lot about how it will build in it.
02
Read scope before you read price
- Demolition and haul-off: included, excluded, or assumed to be yours?
- Grading, soil import or export, and compaction.
- Drainage: is a system priced, or is the word missing entirely?
- Base build for hardscape and turf — the depth and materials, stated. AE's paver standard is 2–3 inches of ABC under patios and walkways, 4–6 inches under driveways, additional ABC for build-up or heavier traffic, a 1-inch sand bed and polymeric joint sand every time. Quarter minus is never used under pavers.
- Utilities: gas, electrical, low-voltage and irrigation modifications.
- Structures, footings and any engineering.
- Cleanup, protection, dust and access management.
03
Then read the allowances
- Every allowance should carry a dollar figure you can see.
- Compare allowances against real selections you actually like — pull the price of the paver you want, not the category average.
- Watch for allowances on items already specified in the plan. That means the bidder did not price your selection.
- Add up all the allowances across each proposal. Two bids $2,000 apart on the total can be $12,000 apart in allowance exposure.
04
Verify the company, not just the number
- ROC license number, verified as active and classified for the work being performed. In Arizona, work valued over $1,000 in labor and materials generally requires a licensed contractor.
- Liability insurance and workers' compensation, verified with certificates. Hiring uninsured labor shifts real liability onto the homeowner.
- Who is actually on site each day, and who supervises when they are not.
- Which portions are self-performed and which are subcontracted.
- Recent local projects of similar scope, and references you can call.
- Reviews you can read yourself, from real named sources.
05
Compare the terms, which is where the surprises live
- Payment schedule tied to defined milestones and proportional to completed work. AE's new pool builds use a 15/25/25/25/10 milestone schedule.
- Change-order process: how a change gets priced, approved and documented before it is performed.
- Workmanship warranty in writing, listed separately from manufacturer product warranties, with what voids it.
- Who is responsible for permits, engineering and inspections, and who pays for them.
- Schedule expressed as sequence and dependencies rather than a promised finish date — weather, approvals, materials and site conditions move real schedules.
- What happens if hidden conditions turn up once the ground is open.
06
The side-by-side worksheet
- Build one column per bidder and one row per scope item from your plan.
- Mark each cell included, excluded, allowance, or not mentioned.
- Fill the gaps by asking — do not assume anything is included because it is obvious to you.
- Then, and only then, put the totals at the bottom of the columns.
- If a total is far below the others, find the rows that explain it. There is always a reason, and it is almost never generosity.
07
Signals worth paying attention to
- Good sign: a contractor who tells you something in your plan will not work on your property, and explains why.
- Good sign: exclusions listed plainly, and allowances with real numbers.
- Worth a question: a bid that arrives within an hour of the site visit with no line items.
- Worth a question: pressure to sign today for a discount that disappears tomorrow.
- Worth a question: a payment schedule heavily front-loaded relative to the work.
- Worth a question: any refusal to put the warranty, the scope or the responsibility for approvals in writing.
FAQ
Common questions.
Usually scope, then overhead. A lower number can mean a thinner base build, a cheaper material within the same category, excluded demolition or drainage, a smaller crew, less supervision, a shorter warranty, or simply lower overhead and a hungrier schedule. None of those are visible from the total — they are visible from the line items and the exclusions page.
Ask for the ROC license number and look it up through the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, then confirm the license classification actually covers the work being performed and that it is active. In Arizona, work valued over $1,000 in labor and materials generally requires a licensed contractor, and hiring an unlicensed or uninsured crew shifts real liability onto the homeowner.
“What is excluded from this price?” “What allowances are in here and at what dollar figure?” “Who handles permits, engineering and inspections?” “What is your base build for this application?” “What is the workmanship warranty, in writing, and what voids it?” “Who is on site every day?” Ask all of them the same questions and write the answers down next to each proposal.
No — undisclosed allowances are. An allowance with a stated dollar figure is an honest way to hold a place for an undecided selection. An allowance you only discover at selection time, when the real material costs more, is how a competitive-looking bid becomes the expensive one.
There is no rule that the middle number is the safe one. Compare what is actually in each proposal first. Sometimes the highest bid is the only complete one and the other two are simply missing work you will pay for later anyway.
Payment structures vary by scope and contract, and Arizona has rules about down payments on residential work. What matters is that the schedule is tied to defined milestones in writing, that it is proportional to work completed, and that you are never far ahead of the work. For a new pool build, AE's schedule is 15/25/25/25/10 across defined milestones.
That is useful information, and it is not always a bad sign — some companies only build their own designs, and they will tell you so. What should concern you is a company that says it will bid the plan and then quietly prices something different.
Sharing your plan and scope with everyone is fair and smart. Shopping a competitor's number around usually gets you a lower price on a thinner scope rather than a better project. If you want a company to sharpen a bid, ask them to explain their scope differences — that conversation produces real savings.
Ready to talk to AE about your project?
Bid AE against your plan
Send the same plan and the same scope you sent everyone else. You will get line-item pricing, written exclusions, real allowance figures and the warranty terms in the proposal — so it can be compared honestly against the others on your table.
What to bring to the first conversation
- Your plan and written scope document
- The selections you have already made, or the allowance figures you are working from
- Photos of the space and any known problem areas
- The other proposals, if you want them reviewed
- Your investment range and phasing preferences
What happens after you reach out
We reply within 1 business day
A real AE team member — not an auto-reply — reads your submission and responds by phone or email, usually same day during business hours.
Quick mutual-fit review
We confirm project type, location, rough budget range, and whether AE's process is the right fit before scheduling any site time.
Scope conversation before pricing
We understand the project first — no rushed generic quote. You get honest guidance on repair vs. rebuild, phasing, and what your investment range actually looks like.
You decide the next step
If it's a fit, we move into design, selections, and preconstruction. If it isn't, we tell you — and often point you toward the right resource anyway.
Two ways to start — pick whichever feels right
The intake form takes about 3 minutes and routes straight to the AE team. Prefer to talk first? Call the number below during business hours.
(623) 300-2589 support@aeoutdoorliving.comExisting client? Use the Client Care path for warranty or aftercare.
Want a second set of eyes on the proposals?
Send us the plan and the bids you have collected. We will walk the scope with you and point out what is missing, what is an allowance and what the numbers are actually telling you — whether or not we end up being one of the bidders.
Review My Bids With AEYour home investment — protected
Why this is an investment, not a cost.
An AE backyard is engineered to add daily livability and long-term home value. We publish honest ranges and build to code with a licensed and bonded Arizona crew. AE provides project-specific workmanship and manufacturer-warranty information in the signed agreement. Website summaries are for planning only.
- Licensed, bonded & insured in Arizona. ROC 340966 (R-62) · ROC 341002 (R-3) · ROC 347738 (KA-5) · ROC 211530 (CR-21). Most Arizona contracting work valued at $1,000 or more — or requiring a permit — must be performed by a properly licensed contractor, subject to statutory exemptions. Verify the legal entity, license status, and classification with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
- Real ranges, itemized scope. You see materials, finishes, equipment models, and a line-item budget before you sign — not a one-line "pool — $90,000."