What a Talus Review Looks Like

Talus bid review: Rivera Residence

Bid leveling · Delivered February 9, 2027 (illustrative)

1. Project and documents reviewed

• Clients: Alex and Sam Rivera
• Project: Rivera Residence, a new single-family home
• Bids: Sample Builder A, $1,180,000, 14 pages. Sample Builder B, $1,215,000, 22 pages.
• Drawings: permit set, 18 sheets, the same dated set for both bids
• Also reviewed: the Riveras' one-page finish brief with photos
• Not provided: specifications (none issued for this project)

Side by side

	Sample Builder A	Sample Builder B
Bid total	$1,180,000	$1,215,000
Allowances, total	$120,000	$175,000
Allowances raised to a common level	+$55,000	$0
Excluded scope, priced (driveway)	+$30,000	included
Leveled total	$1,265,000	$1,215,000

The common allowance level is Builder B's, because B's allowances line up with the finish brief. The driveway figure is a separate quote the Riveras already had.

2. What's missing

Snowmelt at the front walk and entry landing. Shown on the civil sheet (C1.1) with a boiler loop note. Neither bid prices it, so it doesn't change the comparison, but it isn't in either number. Ask both builders to price it as an alternate.

Exterior stair from the lower deck to grade (Builder A). Shown on A3.2. Builder A's deck line reads "deck per plans" and lists the upper deck framing, decking, and railing, with no mention of the lower deck stair. Builder B lists both decks and the stair. Worth a written yes or no from A before you compare further.

3. Allowances that look light

Allowance	Carried (A)	What you described	Why it looks light
Lighting fixtures	$12,000	Pendants over the island, a dining fixture, sconces in every bath	Covers recessed cans and a few basic decorative pieces. Builder B carries $25,000.
Plumbing fixtures	$16,000	Thermostatic shower with a handheld and a rain head in the primary bath	The primary shower valve and trim you showed could use a large share of this alone.
Tile, material	$18,000	Tile to the ceiling in the primary shower, large-format floors in all baths	Works out to roughly a basic porcelain at the square footage on the drawings.

Builder A's bid says overages carry a 15% markup. Builder B's says 10%. That difference matters more as the overages grow.

4. What's vague

• "Trim package per plans" (Builder A, page 6): the drawings don't show trim profiles or base height. Ask what casing and base were priced, and whether it's paint-grade or stain-grade.
• "Site work: excavation and backfill, standard" (Builder A, page 3): no assumption about rock or groundwater. Ask what happens if they hit rock, and at what rate.
• "Appliances by others" (Builder B, page 9): clear that appliances aren't in the number, but not whether installation and hookup are. Ask who installs them and whether that's priced.

5. Five questions for your builder

1. Builder A: would you reprice with our allowance amounts (attached), so both bids carry the same placeholders?
2. Builder A: is the lower deck stair on A3.2 included? If not, what would it add?
3. Both: what would the snowmelt at the front walk and landing add, as an alternate?
4. Builder A: what trim profiles, base height, and grade did you price under "trim package per plans"?
5. Both: what's your rock assumption for excavation, and how is rock removal priced if you hit it?

Construction review only, not legal advice.