An interior finishes bid for multifamily construction looks straightforward until the project is underway and the scope gaps appear. The bid that won on price contained exclusions that were not obvious during the bid review. A product was priced at a lower grade than the specification requires. The unit count in the bid did not match the project drawings. The change orders that result from these gaps are predictable in retrospect, and most of them are preventable with a more thorough bid review.
Understanding what to look for in an interior finishes bid, what questions to ask before accepting a number, and what line items are most commonly absent from low bids gives GCs better tools for making the selection decision.
Check the scope inclusions explicitly
An interior finishes bid should explicitly list what is included. If a bid says “flooring per plans and specifications” without identifying the specific product, the specific wear layer, and the specific underlayment, the bid is describing scope without defining it. “Per plans and specifications” is not a product specification. It is a reference that will be interpreted by the sub to their advantage when a dispute arises.
A complete scope list for seven-division interior finishes covers: finish carpentry and cabinets by unit type, mirrors and shower doors including enclosure type and glass thickness, flooring including specific product and wear layer for each application, Division 10 specialties including a line item for each product category (toilet accessories, partitions, signage, mailboxes, fire extinguisher cabinets, Knox boxes, wire shelving), window treatments including product type and operation type, countertops including material, edge profile, and sink cutout, and plumbing fixture supply including sink models and trim kit brand.
Any division or line item not on the list is either excluded from the bid or assumed to be the GC’s scope. Find out which before the subcontract is signed.
Check the scope exclusions explicitly
A bid that lists exclusions is more informative than one that does not, because it tells you what the sub is not going to do. Common interior finishes exclusions that drive change orders when they are not caught at bid review:
Knox boxes excluded as “city permit item” or “owner furnished.” Knox boxes are a Division 10 installation scope item. If the sub excludes them, the GC needs to assign them somewhere else before the certificate of occupancy walk, not discover the gap at that walk.
Wire shelving excluded as “not in scope.” Wire shelving in residential closets is a Division 10 item that some subs exclude because they do not carry the product or the crew to install it. If it is excluded from the bid, it needs to go somewhere.
Countertop sink cutouts excluded as “owner supplied templates.” The countertop sub is responsible for obtaining the sink cutout template from the Division 22 sub. If the bid excludes this, the sub is telling you they plan to fabricate without confirmed cutout dimensions, which is a fabrication error risk.
Substrate preparation for flooring excluded as “substrate to be prepared by others.” Substrate preparation, including grinding, self-leveling underlayment, and moisture mitigation, is typically the flooring sub’s scope up to a point. Where that point is should be defined, not left for field discovery.
Verify the unit count and scope quantity
Interior finishes bids are typically priced per unit or per square foot, which means the bid total is a function of the unit count or the area count used in the pricing. Verify that the unit count in the bid matches the project drawings. A bid priced on 180 units that should be 200 units is 10 percent short.
For material-based pricing, confirm that the square footage used in the bid reflects the actual floor plan areas, not a simplified estimate. A flooring bid that uses 750 square feet per unit on a project where the drawings show an average of 850 square feet is 13 percent short.
Check product grade against the specification
A bid that prices to a lower-grade product than the specification requires will be less expensive than a bid that prices to the specification. If two bids differ by 15 percent, the lower bid may be pricing a different product. Common grade differences that are not visible in the bid number:
LVP at 12 mil wear layer bid against a 20 mil specification. An 8-mil wear layer difference is not obvious in the bid narrative. Ask for the specific product name and confirm the wear layer against the project specification.
Stock cabinets bid against a semi-custom specification. The bid narrative may say “cabinets per unit type matrix” without specifying stock or semi-custom. Ask for the specific cabinet line and confirm against the specification.
Laminate countertops bid against a quartz specification. Confirm the specific countertop material against the project specification before accepting the bid.
The scope gap that generates the most callbacks
The most consistent scope gap on interior finishes bids is the Division 22 plumbing fixture supply coordination requirement. The bid covers “plumbing fixture supply” but does not address trim kit compatibility confirmation with the licensed plumbing sub, sink cutout template transmission to the countertop fabricator, or delivery timing coordination with the plumbing sub’s trim-out schedule.
When these coordination steps are not performed, the consequences are trim kit incompatibility at installation, countertop fabrication errors, and plumbing trim-out delays from fixture delivery timing misses. Each generates a change order or a callback. Ask the Division 22 sub specifically how they handle each of these coordination steps before accepting their bid.
How Innergy structures our bids
Innergy’s bids for multifamily interior finishes scope include explicit scope inclusions for each of the seven divisions, explicit exclusions for items that fall outside our scope (structural work, licensed plumbing connections, electrical rough-in), the specific product being priced for each division confirmed against the project specification, and the unit count or area count on which the pricing is based.
We do not bid vaguely. A vague bid benefits the sub at the GC’s expense. For GCs in TX, WA, OR, CO, UT, or NM who want to see what a transparent interior finishes bid looks like, contact us and we respond within one business day.