Completed work
What a finished scope
actually looks like.
Completed Elbaz Construction kitchens, accessible bathrooms and guest units across South Florida - the kinds of scope an owner is most likely to be putting out to three quotes. Different properties, each caption says which.
All photographs are of real Elbaz Construction work in South Florida. None was taken in Coconut Creek and none is presented as a City-permitted project. Where a frame shows work in progress it is captioned as such.
Building here
The City’s advice,
taken at its word.
Coconut Creek’s Building Department page carries something unusual: a block of consumer-protection advice sitting directly alongside the permitting information. It tells residents to hire licensed, insured and reputable contractors, to get a minimum of three quotes before signing a contract, to request references, licences and insurance from each one, and to verify those licences with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. It ends with a warning and a phone number.
That is a City saying, in public, that the risk on a residential project is not only technical. We agree with it, so this page is written to be useful to someone following that advice - including when they are using it to read our quote next to two others. Nothing below asks you to skip a step the City recommended.
- Three quotes, and the City means three
Not two and a gut feeling. Three is enough to show you where the outliers are, and which assumptions differ.
- Verify the licence yourself
The City points at the state register. It takes two minutes and it is the single cheapest piece of diligence available to you.
- A four-day counter week
The Building Division publishes Monday to Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and closed Friday. Worth knowing before a Friday deadline.
Constraint and consequence
What the City asks you to check,
and what it should
change about your shortlist.
The City’s advice is short. Acting on it properly is not, so here is what each line actually means when three documents are in front of you.
Three quotes only work on one scope
If each contractor writes their own scope, you have three different projects priced once, not one project priced three times. Give all three the same written brief and the comparison starts to mean something.
A licence is a floor, not a recommendation
Verifying with the state tells you someone is entitled to hold the permit. It does not tell you they have done your kind of work, or that they will close the permit out. Both of those are separate questions worth asking.
Insurance is a document, not a claim
The City says to request it. Ask for the certificate itself, check it is current, and check the general liability and workers’ compensation cover both actually exist.
References answer a different question
A reference tells you what someone was like to deal with when something went wrong. Ask about that specifically, because every job has a moment.
Allowances are where quotes diverge
A cheaper quote is often the same work with more of it left as an allowance. Count the allowances in each document before comparing the totals.
The City gave you a number for a reason
It asks residents to call the Building Department at any suspicion of fraud. That is an unusual thing to publish, and it is worth remembering that the department is a resource and not only a gate.
quotes the City asks residents to obtain before signing a contract - published on its own permitting page, alongside a fraud line
| Element | Priced on assumptions | Priced on a survey |
|---|---|---|
| The scope | Described in a paragraph | Itemised line by line, with what is excluded stated |
| Fittings and finishes | An allowance | Named products, or an allowance labelled as one |
| What is behind the wall | Assumed sound | Checked, with a stated position if it is not |
| Permits | Mentioned | Named, with who files them and who closes them out |
| If something is found | Discussed at the time | Written down in advance - how it is priced, and by whom |
| What you can compare | A total | A total, and every assumption behind it |
Neither column is dishonest. The left one is what a quote looks like before anyone has looked properly, and it is why the City asks for three.
Stills from the two completed units on this page. They illustrate the stages; they are not photographs of the stage named beside them.
How we run it
Eight stages,
comparable from the start.
The sequence we follow on a Coconut Creek property. It is arranged so that what we give you can be put next to two other documents and actually read - which is what the City asked residents to do.
- 01
A written brief before a price
What you want, in writing, in enough detail that three contractors could quote the same thing. We will write it with you and you are welcome to send it to the other two.
- 02
Records on the address
What is already permitted, what is open, and what a previous owner did. On any Coconut Creek property this is where the surprises live, and it is cheaper to find them now.
- 03
Survey, then itemise
We look behind what can be looked behind, then price line by line rather than as a lump. Exclusions are written down as exclusions.
- 04
Credentials in your hands
Licence number, insurance certificates and references, given rather than offered. The City tells you to verify with the state; we would rather you did it than took our word.
- 05
Selections named, not implied
Fittings, tiling and appliances named where they are decided and labelled as allowances where they are not, so nothing quietly becomes a variation later.
- 06
Permit application through ePermits
The City runs building, engineering and landscaping permits through ePermits, and is specific that uploaded documents must be regular unlocked PDF files - PDF portfolios are not compatible with its system. Small rule, real delay.
- 07
Construction against the itemised scope
Built to what was priced. When something is found, it is priced the way the contract said it would be, and you see it in writing before it happens.
- 08
Inspections and closeout
Through the inspections the scope requires, then the permit is closed out rather than left open against the property.
Approvals
What needs a permit,
and how it is filed.
Coconut Creek is broad about what needs a permit and says so plainly: one is required for all new construction as well as for any alterations, replacements or removals of existing structures, covering all disciplines including structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical. That is a wide net, and it is deliberately wide.
Filing runs through the City’s ePermits system for building, engineering and landscaping permits alike. The Government Center is at 4800 West Copans Road, and the Building Division keeps a four-day week - Monday to Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., closed Friday. That last detail catches people out more often than any technical requirement.
Simplified sketch, for explanation only. It is not a permit drawing and not a plan of either project shown on this page.
From first call to closeout
- Alterations and replacements
Not only new construction. The City names alterations, replacements and removals of existing structures explicitly.
- All four disciplines
Structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical are all named. A single-room remodel can touch three of them.
- Unlocked PDFs only
The City states that uploaded documents must be regular unlocked PDF files and that PDF portfolios are not compatible with its system. A locked file is a rejected upload.
- Owner-builder, in person
The City states that owner-builder permits can be applied for in person only - so that route has a trip attached to it, on a four-day week.
- Landscaping and engineering
Both run through the same ePermits route as building. Site work is not a separate world here.
- Contractor credentials
The City tells residents to request licences and insurance from every contractor quoting, and to verify with the state register.
- A named contact for suspicion
The Building Department publishes a number and asks residents to call it at any suspicion of fraud.
- The counter closes Friday
Monday to Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Anything needing a person is a four-day-a-week activity.
The same brief to all three
The single thing that makes the City’s advice work is giving every contractor the same written scope. Three quotes against three different assumptions is not a comparison, it is a coincidence.
None of the above is a statement about your property. The City of Coconut Creek Building Department determines what any specific address and scope requires, and requirements change. We confirm what your project actually needs before anything is filed, and we do not publish fees, review durations or any assurance of approval, because the City publishes none.
Cost and time
What moves the number,
and what moves the date.
No figures here, and no rate per square foot. A rate is exactly the kind of number that makes three quotes look comparable when they are not.
What moves the cost
- How much is left as an allowance
The most common reason two quotes for the same room differ. An allowance is a placeholder, and placeholders resolve upward.
- What is behind the finishes
Wiring, pipework and substrate condition are found at survey and priced, or assumed and discovered. Only one of those is a fixed price.
- Structural alteration
Openings, spans and load paths need engineering, and engineering needs to be in the drawing before it can be in the submittal.
- Product selection
Named products can be priced. Categories cannot. The gap between "tiling" and a named tile is real money.
- Scope added after filing
The most reliable way to turn one review cycle into three, and one price into several.
- Who closes the permit
An open permit is a cost deferred onto the sale of the house. It belongs in the comparison even though it has no line of its own.
What moves the schedule
- Assembling a complete application
Including getting every document into a regular unlocked PDF, because the City’s system will not take a portfolio.
- The four-day week
Anything needing the counter happens Monday to Thursday. Plan around it rather than discovering it on a Friday.
- Plan review
The City publishes no duration and neither do we. What we control is whether the first submittal is complete.
- Product lead times
Named selections can be ordered against a date. Allowances cannot be ordered at all.
- Trade sequencing
Electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections gate the finishes, so the programme is built around them.
- Closeout
The inspections the scope requires, then the permit closed out rather than left open.
Owner’s guide
Six things worth knowing
before you sign anything.
The City asked residents to do their diligence. This is the version of that advice written by someone who knows what the documents look like from the inside.
Write the brief before you call anyone
Even a page. It is what turns three quotes into a comparison, and it costs you an evening rather than a variation.
Count the allowances, not just the total
Two quotes with the same bottom line and different numbers of allowances are not the same offer. The one with fewer has done more thinking.
Verify the licence at the source
The City points at the state register for a reason. A number on a letterhead is not a verification, and checking takes minutes.
Ask who closes the permit out
It is the least glamorous question on the list and the one most likely to cost you later, when the house is being sold.
Send unlocked PDFs
The City is explicit: regular unlocked PDF files, and PDF portfolios are not compatible with its system. A rejected upload is a lost week for no reason.
Remember Friday
The Building Division runs Monday to Thursday. If your route needs a person - owner-builder applications must be in person - that is a four-day window.
What it is like
Working with someone
who expects to be checked.
The honest version of the experience, including what it is like to be the contractor on a project where the City has told the owner to verify everything.
- You will be given the documents, not offered them
Licence, insurance and references arrive with the quote. If you want to verify them with the state, we would rather you did.
- The quote is longer than you expect
Because exclusions are written down. That makes it harder to read quickly and much easier to compare properly.
- Decisions arrive in batches
We will ask for fittings, tiling and appliances together rather than one at a time, so the allowances close and the price firms up.
- One point of contact
The same person from the first visit to the walkthrough. Design, permitting and construction sit in one company, so a reviewer’s comment does not wait on a hand-off between two firms.
- The site itself is ordinary
Protection, containment, deliveries, dust and noise are managed as on any job, and any association hours are respected without being asked.
- Closeout is not optional
Permits are closed out. An open permit stays with the property and reappears when it is sold, when it is someone else’s leverage.
Questions
Ask the
awkward ones.
Six categories. Pick one and the answers change.
Yes. It is published advice from the municipality that will issue your permit, and it is good advice. What we would add is that three quotes only tell you something if all three are pricing the same written scope - otherwise you are comparing three different projects that happen to be about the same room.
Through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which is where the City points residents. Ours is CBC1265280 and we would rather you checked it than took it on trust.
Not whether they were happy - almost everyone says yes. Ask what went wrong, because something always does, and ask how it was handled and how it was priced.
Often because more of it is an allowance, or because something has been assumed that a survey would have found. That does not make it dishonest, but it does make it provisional, and provisional prices move in one direction.
The City is broad and explicit: all new construction, and any alterations, replacements or removals of existing structures, covering structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical disciplines. If you are changing something rather than cleaning it, assume the question is live and check.
Through the City’s ePermits system, which handles building, engineering and landscaping permits. The City is specific that uploads must be regular unlocked PDF files and that PDF portfolios are not compatible with its system.
The City states that owner-builder permits can be applied for in person only. The route exists; it has a trip attached, and the Building Division is closed on Fridays.
Monday to Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. - a four-day week with long days. Its Government Center is at 4800 West Copans Road.
It is a sum set aside for something not yet chosen - tiling, fittings, appliances. It is a legitimate tool, and it is also where two quotes for the same job stop being comparable. Count them in every document you are given.
An itemised scope, named products where they are decided, allowances labelled as allowances, exclusions stated, who files the permits, who closes them out, and what happens in writing if something is found once work starts.
It happens on older houses and it is not a failure. What matters is that the contract already says how it will be priced and who decides, so it is a process rather than an argument.
Usually not, but somebody responsible does. We attend the inspections on our permits, and we tell you the outcome rather than leaving you to find out at closeout.
Because it is precisely the number that makes incomparable quotes look comparable. You get an itemised figure in writing after a survey, and it says what happens if something is found once work starts.
We will price the same written scope, gladly. We will not match a number without knowing what is inside it, because that just moves the difference into an allowance.
Yes - across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, 104 municipalities. The filing routes genuinely differ between them, which is the reason we check rather than assume.
Why Elbaz
What we will actually
put our name to.
- Licensed, bonded and insured
Elbaz Construction is a licensed Florida general contractor, CBC1265280. Permits are pulled in the company’s name.
- We hand over the documents unasked
Licence, current insurance certificates and references come with the quote, because the City tells residents to ask for exactly that.
- We itemise, and we state exclusions
A quote that can be compared line by line is more work to write and much harder to argue with later.
- Design and construction in one contract
The people who draw it are the people who build it, so a reviewer’s comment comes back to the team that can answer it.
- We say what we do not know
What a specific address needs is the Building Department’s to determine. Any contractor telling you before checking is telling you something the City has not.
- Permits closed out
Every permit we pull is closed out at the end of the job rather than left open against the property.
No awards, no rankings and no numbers we cannot show you. Everything above is either public record or visible in the work on this page.
Reviews
I highly recommend them for home improvement. They renovated my master bathroom and a few upgrades for other guest bathrooms. They are very professional, courteous and transparent. They are great at communicating and finding ways to streamline the work. Sean has impeccable project management and customer relationship management skills. Very pleased with the work!
Omri B
Genuine Google reviews of Elbaz Construction, shown as written. None of these reviewers is identified as a Coconut Creek client and none is presented as one - they are shown because they are real, not because of where they are.
Redid my whole bathroom and kitchen. Great service - Great quality - very quick - very professional !! Highly recommended!
Adir Davidov
They are amazing! Very professional. Met my exact requests with so much patience and knowledge. They renovated my whole house and the whole process was such a breeze. I highly recommend them!
Lee Morali
We hired them to renovate our investment property and they provided exceptional quality service for an affordable price!
Shir Partush
Amazing experience with the entire company! They did a great job in my house for some work that needed to be completed, and I am extremely happy with the result. Super professional & great service. I highly recommend Elbaz Construction.
Mia Zafrani
After I've been Looking for a good company to renovate my house , I found those guys! These people are super professional super honest super Fast !! Don't hesitate to Rent their service! They are number one!!
carmit cohen
Service Areas
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104 municipalities across three counties — and we hold the licence to build in all of them. Not sure about your address? Ask us.
Keep reading
Related guides
- Renovation vs Remodel
Where repair ends and remodelling begins, and why the distinction changes what you file and what you should be quoted for.
- How Much Does It Cost to Remodel a House?
What actually moves a renovation number, and why the total at the bottom of a quote is the least informative line on it.
- How Much Will My Home Be Worth After a Remodel?
The relationship between what you spend, what you change and what it is worth after.
- A Guide to Choosing a General Contractor
What to ask, what to check and what a licence number actually tells you - written before we knew a city would ask residents to do the same.
Related services
- Broward County
- Planning & Permitting
- HOA & Historic District Approval
- Residential Permit Expediting
- Zoning & Variance Assistance
- Full-Service Home Renovation
- Kitchen Remodeling
- Bathroom Remodeling
- Roofing
- Windows & Doors
- Design-Build New Homes
- Home Remodeling in Margate
- Home Remodeling in Coral Springs
- Home Remodeling in Deerfield Beach
Start here
Tell us about the property
The address, roughly when the house was built, what you want to change, and whether you already have quotes. If you do, bring them - we would rather price the same scope than a different one.
We check what is already permitted on the property, then survey it. You get an itemised document with exclusions stated, plus the licence and insurance the City tells you to ask every contractor for.
A rate per square foot, a promised review date, or an assurance that anything will be approved. The City publishes none of those and neither will we.
Thanks — that came through.
Your details are with the Elbaz Construction team and we will come back to you, usually the same or next working day. If it is urgent, call (754) 236-0675.
Get three quotes.
Then read them properly.
Coconut Creek asked residents to do the first part. We are happy to be one of the three, and happier still if the brief is the same for all of them. Start with a survey and a written scope.
