The three kinds of price, side by side
Vermont's residential contractor law is a useful template because it makes the contractor pick one. A written contract over $10,000 must state either the total price, "billing and payment will be made on a time and materials basis, not to exceed a maximum price", or time and materials "and that there is no maximum price" (26 V.S.A. § 5509(b), read 22 October 2026).
| Fixed price (lump sum) | Cost-plus or T&M with a cap | Cost-plus or T&M, no cap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who carries an overrun | The contractor | The contractor, above the cap | You |
| What you know at signing | The total | The most you can pay | Only the fee or the rates |
| Change orders | Priced one by one | Priced one by one, may raise the cap | Just more cost |
| Paperwork you should get | Scope, schedule, payment stages | Invoices and receipts, plus the cap | Every invoice and receipt |
| Vermont deposit limit (§ 5509(c)) | Up to half the labour cost or half the materials price, whichever is greater | Same as fixed price | "As negotiated by the parties" |
| Ohio consumer rules (ORC 4722) | Apply on jobs over $25,000 | Apply | Cost-plus is exempt |
| Fits | Finished plans: kitchen, bath, roof, addition | A job with one unknown, such as structural repair | Restoration where nobody can see the scope yet |
Why the price type matters more than it looks
Ohio exempts cost-plus. Ohio's home construction service law requires a written contract with the total estimated cost, a $250,000 liability certificate and an estimate before unforeseen extras pass $5,000. Division (C) of ORC 4722.02 says a supplier "who enters into a cost-plus contract with an owner for a home construction service ... need not comply with the requirements in divisions (A) and (B)". The 10% down payment cap in 4722.04 is lifted for cost-plus too. So in Ohio, signing cost-plus trades the statute's protection for whatever your contract says.
Deposits follow the price type in Vermont. On a contract with a maximum price, the down payment is capped at "one-half of the cost of labor to the consumer, or one-half of the price of materials, whichever is greater". On time and materials with no maximum, it is "as negotiated by the parties" (§ 5509(c)).
California caps the deposit whatever the price type: $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less (B&P § 7159.5). The state licence board's advice for comparing bids assumes fixed-price bids on "identical plans, specifications, and scope of work" (CSLB).
What the permit file says about how far prices spread
Every permit carries the value the contractor filed with the city. The spread between firms' usual jobs is the closest public measure of how uncertain a price is before the scope is fixed.
| City | Job | Firms filing it | Usual filed value | Middle half of firms' usual job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus, OH | Remodel | 635 | $22,000 | $17,000–$65,000 |
| Sacramento County, CA | Remodel | 864 | $22,464 | $15,000–$45,200 |
| Minneapolis, MN | Remodel | 1,424 | $15,000 | $11,400–$50,000 |
| San Diego, CA | Addition | 422 | $85,351 | $61,775–$142,054 |
| Columbus, OH | Addition | 179 | $113,269 | $75,154–$209,926 |
| Columbus, OH | New home | 148 | $350,000 | $210,000–$365,317 |
A wide band does not mean anyone is overcharging: a remodel firm that does bathrooms and one that does whole floors will both show up. It does mean that a remodel or addition priced before the drawings are done can land almost anywhere, which is the situation cost-plus is built for. Once the drawings exist, a fixed price is available and usually the better deal for you.
What a cost-plus contract should spell out
If you do sign cost-plus, the contract is your only protection in a state like Ohio. Ask for these in writing:
| Clause | Why |
|---|---|
| The fee, as a percentage or a fixed sum | A percentage fee grows with every overrun; a fixed fee does not |
| What counts as a cost | Whether the contractor's own labour, tools, office time and insurance are billed as costs or covered by the fee |
| A guaranteed maximum price | Turns it into the middle column of the table above |
| Invoices and receipts with every payment request | The only way to check the cost you are paying a fee on |
| Subcontractor and supplier lien releases with each payment | So money you paid reaches the people who can lien your house; see subcontractor vs general contractor |
| Who pulls the permits and books the final inspection | The permit record is the public proof the work was inspected |
For the fee itself there is no published rate for home remodels. The nearest official-style figure is for new houses: NAHB's 2024 Cost of Constructing a Home survey put the average builder's profit at 11.0% of the sales price and overhead and general expenses at 5.7% (NAHB, January 2025). Our cost to hire a general contractor guide covers what that means for a quote.
Check it in five minutes
- Find the price line on each bid and label it: total price, capped, or uncapped.
- Put each total next to your city's band in the table above, or on your city's cost page, such as Columbus remodel.
- Check the deposit against your state's limit (California, Ohio and Vermont above; our remodeling contractor guide has Massachusetts and Pennsylvania).
- Look the firm up on our compare page and check how many of its permits reached a final inspection.
Compare Columbus remodelers by their permit record →
What this does not tell you
Filed values are what contractors told the city, not contract prices, and the permit does not record whether the job was fixed price or cost-plus. We read two states' statutes closely (Ohio and Vermont) and California's deposit rule; other states may say nothing about price type at all. This is not legal advice: for a large contract, have it read before you sign.
How we know this
Filed values come from the City of Columbus, Sacramento County, City of Minneapolis and City of San Diego permit files over each city's three-year window ending September 2026. "Usual" is the median of permits that carry a value; the band is the 25th to 75th percentile of firms' own median values among firms with three or more permits of that type. Contract rules are quoted from ORC 4722.02 and 26 V.S.A. § 5509 (read 22 October 2026), ORC 4722.04 and B&P § 7159.5 (read 20 October 2026). The NAHB figures are from its 2024 survey summary, read 22 October 2026.
Numbers come from City of Columbus Building & Zoning Services permits on 1-, 2- and 3-family homes (the city's Accela permit layer); Sacramento County building permits on single-family, duplex and townhouse homes in the unincorporated county (the County's Accela permit layer); City of San Diego Development Services approvals; City of Minneapolis construction permits (CCS), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Is a fixed price or cost-plus contract better for a homeowner?
Fixed price, when the plans are finished and the scope is written down: the contractor carries the risk of overruns, and states regulate it most. Cost-plus fits a job that cannot be priced yet, such as an old house you have not opened up, but you carry the overrun risk and need to audit invoices. In Columbus the middle half of remodel firms usually file jobs between $17,000 and $65,000, which shows how far apart two remodels can be.
- What is a cost-plus contract?
You pay the contractor's actual costs for labour, materials and subcontractors, plus a fee: a percentage of those costs or a fixed sum. The final price is not known when you sign. Ohio's home construction law exempts cost-plus contracts from its written-contract and estimate rules (ORC 4722.02(C)), so the protection has to be in the contract itself.
- Is my bid an estimate or a fixed cost?
Read the price line. Vermont's statute names the three options a residential contract must pick from: a total price, time and materials not to exceed a maximum, or time and materials with no maximum (26 V.S.A. § 5509(b)). If the document says 'estimate' and names no maximum, the number can move.
- How much deposit can a contractor ask for on a fixed price contract?
It depends on the state. California: $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less (B&P § 7159.5). Ohio: 10% on jobs over $25,000, or 75% of a special-order item (ORC 4722.04). Vermont: on a contract with a maximum price, up to half the labour cost or half the materials price, whichever is greater; with no maximum, whatever the parties negotiate (26 V.S.A. § 5509(c)).
- What fee does a contractor add on a cost-plus job?
There is no official or published rate for home remodels, so we give none. For new homes, the National Association of Home Builders' 2024 survey put builder profit at 11.0% of the sales price and overhead at 5.7%. Ask for the fee in writing, and for what counts as a cost.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Design-build vs general contractor: one contract or two, and who may draw your plans
- How much does it cost to hire a general contractor? Filed job values in 12 cities, and what the fee covers
- Remodel vs rebuild: what remodel, demolition and new-home permits cost in 10 cities
- How long does a home project take? Permit to final inspection, by job and city
For one city
- Ohio Revised Code 4722.02 Service contract (accessed 2026-10-22)
- Ohio Revised Code 4722.04 Down payments (accessed 2026-10-20)
- 26 V.S.A. § 5509, Contract requirements (Vermont residential contractors) (accessed 2026-10-22)
- California Business and Professions Code § 7159.5 (2025 edition, via Justia) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Cost of Constructing a Home in 2024 — NAHB Eye on Housing (Eric Lynch) (2025-01-23; accessed 2026-10-22)
- How do I find the right licensed contractor? — CSLB (accessed 2026-10-21)