You're about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a renovation or addition. Every contractor you meet sounds good — selling is the one skill they all have. I don't want your job, so my only stake is your outcome.
You're staring at a $70,000 decision. You've got three bids in front of you, and they all sound reasonable — every contractor who walks through your door is good at exactly one thing above all else: sounding trustworthy. Your cousin has an opinion. ChatGPT can explain the difference between a load-bearing wall and a partition, but it's never stood in your kitchen and it doesn't know which of these three guys actually shows up on time. So people pick on gut feel, or they pick the lowest number, and eight months later they find out what that number didn't include.
I spent twenty years running a renovation company. I've written the bids, sat across the table from homeowners making this exact decision, and seen which corners get cut when a contractor is racing to the lowest number. I'm not bidding your job and I'm not getting a cut of whoever you hire. That's the whole value — an experienced eye with nothing to sell you but the truth.
A 30–60 minute call or video walkthrough. You send me every estimate you've collected, and I analyze each one — not just "hire this one" or "walk away from all three," but the specific tweaks that change the outcome. Something like: "this bid is solid if they'll guarantee brand-name materials and this install method — get it in writing." Or: "go with this contractor, but add this line item to the scope. It costs more today, but it's a headache ten years out that a newer company hasn't been in business long enough to have seen. I have."
You give me the scope of the project, and I coordinate the estimate visits around my schedule. For the first contractor visit, I arrive 30 minutes to an hour early to get a real feel for the project before anyone else shows up. Then I'm in the room for every bid — quiet when it's time to be quiet, asking the questions you wouldn't know to ask when it's time to speak. After each contractor leaves, we spend 15 minutes talking through that visit while it's still fresh. Once I've met every contractor and reviewed every number on my own, I come back for a final in-home meeting to walk you through my findings and my recommendation.
The same instinct that made me replace a whole run of subfloor instead of patching it to save a client fifty dollars — protecting the relationship over the short-term number — scales up to a $70,000 decision the same way. I have no bid in this and no stake in who you choose. That's not a marketing line, it's the same thing my whole approach to this business is built on. This page and my story prove each other.
This is an experienced second opinion from someone who's run the numbers on renovation jobs for twenty years. It is not a licensed home inspection, not an engineering assessment, and not a guarantee of the contractor you end up choosing. If your project needs one of those, I'll tell you plainly.
Most people who use this are homeowners weighing a kitchen remodel or an addition. But agents and investors use it too — anyone weighing a rehab against a real budget benefits from a second set of experienced eyes before the money's committed. If that's you, see how I work with agents, investors, and landlords on turnovers and bigger rehabs.
A renovation ends and a house still needs upkeep. Once your contractor's crew packs up, I'm still here for everything I handle around the house — including the finish and carpentry work and kitchen and bath work that tends to follow a big remodel.
How much does it cost?+
It's set per job, based on the number of contractors and the scope of the project. Call or submit the form for a quote.
What's the difference between the tiers?+
Basic is a remote review by call or video — you send the estimates, and I analyze them. Premium puts me in the room for every contractor visit, plus a final in-home walkthrough of my findings.
Do you bid the job yourself?+
No — that's the whole point. No bid means no stake in which contractor you choose.
Is this a home inspection?+
No — it's an independent second opinion from a 25-year contractor, not a licensed inspection or engineering assessment.