Line item costs are less important than have the scope while defined, which im thinking is what you’re asking about. Having the line item costs on past projects allowed you to double check that important things were included and seeing the costs of those let you gauge if you and the contractor were on the same page for finis/material quality.

The contractor should have either a program or a spreadsheet they use to calculate their bid. It doesn’t hurt to ask for a breakdown, just tell them that you want to make sure you’re on the same page regarding scope and material finish.

Regardless of scope document, it’s prudent to review quote with contractor to make sure they ve picked up on everything that is supposed to be in the scope, and it’s a final chance for you to say “oh crap, I meant to put this in”. And I say this as a project engineer with 20+ years experience.

I think one of the things we homeowners suffer with at times is not speaking up.

What harm would it do to ask for line item pricing? What harm would it do to ask about the change in redoing the ceiling?

It's your money on the table, so address your concerns with the company.

"What harm would it do to ask for line item pricing?"

I will tell you I don't do line item pricing, labor/profit breakouts, or anything else that's none of your business. Lump sum, take it or leave it.

Ask again and you'll get your deposit back. That's the harm. I do appreciate your letting me know we weren't right for each other before mid-project. Thanks.

I've found line-item breakdowns to be more confusing than helpful, but it's reasonable to ask for the individual projects (e.g., kitchen remodel, bath remodel, etc.) to be costed as separate projects. For cost calibration purposes, you can consult Remodeling Magazines Cost Vs. Value 2020 report which provides cost data for a variety of projects. Here's a link to the regional data for the Pacific:

https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2020/pacific/

No one is suggesting to have labor/profit as separate line items or to list out incidentals. Perhaps cost breakdown by scope item would be a more practical definition.

OP is concerned that contractor may not be including all scope items in price, ceiling was listed on original bid was excluded from second, they have a legitimate concern that there may be confusion on the scope and what’s included in the bid. It’s much better to straighten that out up front then to simply trust the contractor has it right. There’s all kinds of posts on here where OPs are eviscerated for not clarifying scope/expectations before starting a project. This OP is looking for suggestions on how to do just that.

Our recent whole house reno contract had scope & cost breakdown by area- for example, the kitchen part listed everything the GC was responsible for and noted what he wasn't (cabinets & counters installed by others) then gave a price for that part of the project. Same for Living room, Foyer etc, then a grand total and payout schedule as we moved through the project. The contract also noted how changes would be handled and paid for. We found it very transparent and easy to refer back to if we had questions.

RE: your ceiling- I would just ask, that sounds like maybe it was an oversight.

Good luck on your project!

Thank you all for your replies and input. It seems like overall area pricing is more common than line items. @Patricia Colwell Consulting just to clarify the kitchen without appliances is about 100K, the total project will end up at around $275,000. I will have a conversation with the GC and their designer to find out why the ceiling redo was taken out of the overall scope. @Joseph Corlett, LLC Thank you for the advice. I agree, better to have these discussions now than to have issues mid-project. Thank you! I will be proactive and chat with them after the holiday.

Only 275K? That seems really low for all that you are asking to have done. By half, at least. Unless that’s just the labor, and the materials are separate? Delve into the design specifications, and especially the allowances. Allowances are always low. Eliminate allowances by selecting the products you want used.

There's no harm in getting my deposit back if we are not right for one another. I'd appreciate it.