Resources / For contractors
Bid it right. Pass inspection. Get paid.
Written for the trades: what inspectors fail, how to write a bid that survives a change order, licensing and registration in this market, and how to close a job out without chasing a check.
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- C-01
The scope of work is the document that decides who is right.
A bid is a number. A scope of work is the thing you argue from when the job goes sideways — and in Ohio it is also what decides who can put a lien on the building.Bidding and scope · 10 minBidding and scopeCleveland, OH · 10 min - A-01
What you can legally hand a handyman in Ohio, and the $25,000 line
Ohio sets no dollar limit on unlicensed handyman work. It draws the line somewhere less convenient — around the kind of work, not the size of it. Here is where the line actually falls on a punch list.Turnover and make ready · 9 minTurnover and make readyCleveland, OH · 9 min - A-02
Painting a Cleveland rental is regulated work. Here is what that adds to the bid.
On the near west side almost every rental predates 1978. That turns a repaint into work only a certified firm may legally perform — and the cheapest painting bid is very often the one that priced it as if the rule did not exist.Turnover and make ready · 10 minTurnover and make readyCleveland, OH · 10 min - G-01
Pulling a plumbing permit in Cleveland: license, bond, registration
The state licenses you. The city registers you. Only one of those lets you pull a permit, and plenty of good plumbers find that out at the counter.Permits and compliance · 9 minPermits and complianceCleveland, OH · 9 min