Local Renovation Quotes

Inspiration

After watching friends struggle to navigate home renovations—endless calls to contractors, confusing contracts, and unmanageable payment schedules—I knew there had to be a better way. As a homeowner who’d been through the same stress, I wanted to create a tool that demystified the process, putting transparency and control back in the hands of people renovating their homes.

What it does

HomeRenovation Quote is a web platform that streamlines home renovation planning. Users submit their project details (property info, scope, budget, timeline) to get three tailored contractor quotes, compare them side-by-side, review contracts for unfair clauses, and track payment milestones aligned with industry standards—all without unnecessary friction or hidden steps.

How we built it

We started by mapping core user pain points, then designed a card-based, intuitive UI (optimized for ease of use) with React for the frontend and Node.js/Express for the backend. We integrated the OpenAI API to power contractor matching and contract analysis, used MongoDB to store quote/payment data, and AWS for hosting. Chart.js was added to visualize payment progress, and PDF.js to support contract file uploads.

Challenges we ran into

One big hurdle was standardizing quote data to ensure fair, easy comparison—we had to balance flexibility for different renovation types with consistency. We also struggled with training the AI to flag contract clauses accurately, requiring iterative testing with real-world contract examples to refine the logic. Additionally, validating payment milestone percentages (ensuring they total 100%) required robust frontend validation to avoid user errors.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We created a fully interactive platform that eliminates login/registration barriers, making it accessible to all homeowners. The contract review tool reliably identifies unfair clauses and offers clear revisions, and the quote comparison feature simplifies decision-making with highlighted price/timeline differences—all while maintaining a clean, uncluttered design that feels approachable, not overwhelming.

What we learned

We deepened our understanding of user-centric design for home services—Western homeowners prioritize transparency and simplicity above all. We also learned how to integrate AI tools effectively for real-world use cases, and the importance of validating edge cases (like incomplete user submissions or unsupported file types) to create a seamless experience.

What's next for this project

We plan to add a messaging feature to connect users directly with contractors, expand support for regional renovation standards across more European and US states, and build a mobile-responsive version. We also aim to partner with local contractor verification services to add an extra layer of trust for users.

Built With

• amazon-web-services
• css
• html
• mongodb
• openai-api