Yes! In standard situations, our estimates are free. We want our clients to feel that they can call on us for just about any project they may or may want to do. Here at The Dan Company, we want to help guide you through the nuances of your renovation dreams. We love having the opportunity to give clarity to a project not only through our construction expertise but also through a financial lens to help achieve the most for your investment.
There are 2 situations in which a client may incur a cost to receive an estimate:
Situation A
It is our policy to charge for estimates on properties not currently owned by the client requesting the quote. If a client is using our estimating services to decide if a potential property is the right one for purchase, we reserve the right to charge for that information and our estimator’s time should the client decide against the purchase. If the client does purchase the property and we move forward with the project, we are more than happy to apply the original estimate fee to the new project as a deposit.
Situation B
When a project involves intricate details and deals with hard-to-reach areas of the home, we sometimes find ourselves spending more time and energy than we typically budget for on things like crawling through a crawlspace to track down water intrusion or going through an attic looking for evidence of a chimney leak. These types of projects can sometimes require what we call “discovery”. Discovery refers to hours spent tearing into the problem and investigating the actual cause of the particular issue. This may involve removing drywall in order to see the problem, digging out areas of foundations, or other more involved labors of that nature to be able to determine the root of the issue we have been called to troubleshoot. While the estimate for the discovery process is free, the discovery itself may not be.
In both of these situations, we will tell you in advance that there is a fee associated with this type of service.