CostCheckGPT is being built to review contractor bids for missing scope, pricing risk, weak allowances, exclusions, math problems, and questions that need answers before you sign.
Built by Richard Golding, a contractor with more than 20 years of construction and renovation experience in New York and California.
NYC Build Remodel · DCWP HIC #2135146
California Construction & Remodeling Experts · CSLB B #1130438
Contractor bid intelligence is the process of turning a contractor's estimate or proposal into something an owner can actually evaluate.
A bid can look detailed and still leave important questions unanswered. CostCheckGPT is being built to reconcile the math, organize the scope, examine allowances and exclusions, identify pricing concerns, and surface the items that deserve clarification before a contract is signed.
The goal is simple: understand the bid before the bid becomes the project.
The planned CostCheckGPT review follows a structured bid-analysis process built around seven areas.
Do the line items add up to the stated contract total? CostCheckGPT is designed to surface unexplained gaps, duplicate charges, subtotal errors, and other arithmetic problems.
What work is included, excluded, vague, duplicated, or missing? Scope gaps can become change orders after the contract is signed.
Are tile, fixtures, lighting, cabinetry, appliances, and other allowances realistic for the stated project and finish level?
What costs remain outside the bid? Permits, disposal, protection, trade work, finish work, and owner-supplied items can materially change the real project cost.
Which line items deserve a closer look based on the project location, scope, specifications, and available market context?
Where public licensing information applies, contractor credentials can be checked against the relevant jurisdictional records.
Every material issue should lead to a clear question the owner can take back to the contractor before making a commitment.
CostCheckGPT is being built around a simple workflow.
CostCheckGPT is currently in development. Join early access to be notified when contractor bid review opens.
Two contractors can price the same renovation and still describe two very different scopes of work.
One bid may include demolition, permits, protection, cleanup, and finish installation. Another may leave several of those items out. One contractor may use realistic fixture allowances. Another may use allowances that will require additional money later.
The stated totals only tell part of the story.
A useful comparison requires the bids to be organized around the same scope, assumptions, and allowances.
Scope normalization puts contractor bids onto a common basis.
Each bid is separated into included work, exclusions, allowances, owner-supplied items, assumptions, and unanswered scope. The comparison becomes much more useful once each contractor is being measured against the same project.
A low stated bid can require substantial additional spending when important work has been excluded or underfunded.
The Bid Defense Memo is the report format CostCheckGPT is being built around.
It is designed to turn a contractor bid into a clear owner-side review covering the bid's math, scope, allowances, exclusions, pricing concerns, contractor credentials where applicable, and the questions that deserve answers before signing.
The memo is designed to help the owner understand the bid and prepare a professional request for clarification when something does not make sense.
Imagine a renovation bid with a stated contract total of $287,450.
The listed line items add up to $227,450.
That leaves a $60,000 difference that is not explained by the bid.
The first question is not whether the contractor is expensive. The first question is where the $60,000 is.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stated contract total | $287,450 |
| Sum of listed line items | $227,450 |
| Unexplained difference | $60,000 |
| Percentage of stated total | 20.87% |
CostCheckGPT is being designed to identify issues like this before the owner signs, then turn the finding into a clear request for clarification.
Understand what is inside a renovation bid before making one of the largest financial commitments in a home project.
Review rehab budgets, compare contractor bids, identify scope gaps, and understand capital exposure before approving the construction budget.
Add a structured owner-side review of contractor budgets before renovation funds are committed.
CostCheckGPT was founded by Richard Golding after more than 20 years working in construction and renovation.
Richard operates NYC Build Remodel in New York City under DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license #2135146 and California Construction & Remodeling Experts under California CSLB General Building Contractor license #1130438.
CostCheckGPT is being built around a contractor's approach to reading a bid: reconcile the numbers, understand the scope, examine the allowances and exclusions, identify assumptions, and ask the right questions before money changes hands.
CostCheckGPT is contractor bid intelligence being built for homeowners, real estate investors, and others who need to understand a contractor estimate before signing. It is designed to review bid math, scope, allowances, exclusions, pricing concerns, and contractor credentials where applicable.
CostCheckGPT is currently in development. Join early access to be notified when contractor bid review opens.
The Bid Defense Memo is the planned CostCheckGPT report. It is designed to summarize the most important findings in a contractor bid and organize the questions that should be answered before the owner signs.
Side-by-side bid comparison is part of the CostCheckGPT workflow. The comparison begins by normalizing the bids so each contractor is evaluated against the same project scope, allowances, exclusions, and assumptions.
CostCheckGPT is being built to evaluate the factors that affect bid fairness, including scope completeness, allowances, exclusions, arithmetic, project context, pricing concerns, and available market information.
CostCheckGPT was founded by Richard Golding, who has more than 20 years of construction and renovation experience and operates licensed construction businesses in New York City and California.
Deeper guides on reviewing, comparing, and negotiating contractor bids, from the CostCheckGPT blog.
CostCheckGPT is currently in development. Join early access to be notified when contractor bid review opens.