How do you build an estimate, and what can a homeowner have ready ahead of time?

Published on May 10, 2026

Hey folks! This is Kolten from Next Gen Remodels.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from y'all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"How do you build an estimate, and what can a homeowner have ready ahead of time?"

Summary:

Kolten walks through how he prices a project, using a bathroom as an example. He notes there are countless choices involved, tubs, shower heads, vanities, countertop colors, and fixtures, and that he builds estimates using price allowances developed over years of doing similar work. After measuring the space, he assigns a price allowance to each component to produce an accurate estimate. The biggest thing a homeowner can do to help is to have specific selections chosen in advance. If they already know the exact shower head or vanity they want, he can build those exact items into the estimate and deliver a precise, down-to-the-dollar cost rather than spending time selecting products together. Coming prepared makes the estimate both faster and more accurate.

Answer:

For example, let's say we're doing a bathroom. There are going to be a lot of different things you choose in a bathroom, the fixtures, what kind of tub you want, what kind of shower head you want, what color countertops you want for your vanity, what kind of vanity you want. There are so many different choices. We come into a project and estimate it out, and what we do is build the project based on price allowances, because we've done this so much. We've done this for years now, so I know where certain things align as far as different size vanities and how much they cost. After I measure out the project, I'll build the estimate according to what we measured and set price allowances for each item. What you can do to help me out is have some of your selections picked out already. If you know exactly what shower head you want before we even come out and build the estimate, we can estimate with that exact shower head and get you a down-to-the-dollar cost on the plumbing. Or if you know exactly what vanity you want, we can add that immediately into the estimate, and that saves time too, because then we don't have to work on choosing it together.