"Thanks for making time. I want to use this call to understand the project well enough to tell you honestly whether we're the right builder for it — and give you a real sense of how we work so you can decide if that's what you're looking for. Sound good?"

"Tell me about the house — age, location, what you're thinking in terms of scope."

"Have you done a renovation before? What went well, what didn't?"

"Who's involved in making the final call? Are you working with an architect already?"

"What's the budget range you're working with? I ask because I'd rather have that conversation now than after we've both invested time."

"Before we can give you a real number, we need to understand the full scope — not assumptions. That's what the Pre-Design Assessment does. It's a paid engagement where we spend real time with your project: the drawings, the site, the conditions. At the end you have a scope document and a budget that's actually buildable. The fee is $2,000–$10,000 depending on project complexity."

"Our pricing is cost-plus — which means you see exactly what everything costs, and our fee is separate and stated upfront. You're not paying a mystery markup embedded in a fixed bid. When costs come in under projection, you get that back. There's no incentive for us to pad numbers or hide line items."

"A fixed-price bid can look simpler — but it's only as reliable as the scope behind it. If the scope is incomplete, the way they recover that uncertainty is through change orders after you've committed. Our model is built on a complete scope developed with you before we price anything."

"I hear that. Let me ask — what are you comparing us to? If there's a lower number on the table, I want to understand what scope it's built on, because that's usually where the gap lives. We price what it actually takes to build the project as designed."

"Because real scope work takes real time. A free estimate is built on assumptions — and you pay for those assumptions later through change orders or a project that doesn't match what you expected. The PDA is where we earn the right to give you a number you can actually build a decision on."

"That makes complete sense — you should be. What I'd ask is that when you compare bids, you look at the scope each one is built on. An apples-to-apples comparison requires the same scope document. If any of them are working from different assumptions, you're not really comparing the same project."

"Bosi Construction — historic + high-performance residential, Chicagoland"

"Hi [Name] — I came across your work on [project/firm] and wanted to introduce ourselves. Bosi Construction has been building alongside architects on complex residential projects in the Chicago area since 1978 — primarily historic renovation, deep-energy retrofits, and high-performance new builds.

We recently finished a PHIUS Zero retrofit of an 1902 landmark home with TBDA — it won the 2025 AIA Chicago Decarbonization Award. That's the kind of work we're built for.

If you have projects in that space where you're looking for a contractor who treats your drawings as the design intent they are, I'd welcome a short call. Happy to share more about how we work."