Homeowners are finding that some contractors are shortening the
expiration dates on their bids or adding contractual clauses to protect
themselves from price hikes in materials.
You have to because of the price instabilities. One chain link job I did
last summer went through 3 bids and the last was over 60% higher than the
first in materials. With the price of materials and gasoline I have bumped
my stained glass installation bids by abut 30%.