getting estimates from contractors
cao1987
bathroom in my basement and I didn't get a call back sooner than a week
and half. I ended up having to block it off for my Thanksgiving party. Has
this happened to anyone else?!
-------------------------------------
Chelsea
ransley
wrote:
Because they are FREE and they are working to make Money, and people
usualy are just getting Bids. Im sure you didnt have a check ready for
him.
PeterD
It's usually caused by not planning ahead far enough. Fast estimates
are not likely, you should have called earlier.
Problem is that people call for estimates, then ever do the right
thing which is to hire the person giving the estimate! Instead they
try to use the estimate as a negoiating tool against a different
contractor ("Hey Bob said he'd do it for $xxx, can you underbid him?")
and so many contractors do estimates when they have the time.
jloomis
It takes on many aspects......
Many estimates are to "compare" other estimates already given.
Some estimates are wanted only as a whim......The client usually has no clue
or even finances to support any such building.
Insurance estimates are even better.....
Many take the insurance estimate along with the others to present it to the
insurance company only to take the monies and never call the contractor.
One such job a fence was hit on a major roadway. I explained to the client
I would give them an estimate (for 100.00) since they were planning to do
the work themselves......I did a detailed estimate.....never heard back from
the client and the fence was repaired..........never recieved any monies....
About 6 months later a call came....."We have a fence to repair and is an
insurance bid" Oh, that address sounds familiar......I went there and it
was the husband this time with a knocked down fence....wanting a bid.
I explained to him that I did give a bid for the last accident and never got
paid! Showed him the "old estimate"
Well, I made another estimate, and he paid me for the latter.....
Some folks are just fishing.......
I do T and M jobs with a rough estimate......I feel best that way, and so
does the owner most of the times....
Plans change, ideas change, color, tile, bath fixtures......
Bathrooms in particular can be a long process with plumbing, drywall, paint
drying, tile........wiring......with not much money...for a contractor for
the time involved.
I guess in the long run it really depends on how hungry the contractor is,
and how honest the client is with the job description and accessibility.
jloomis
"cao1987" <Che1s4short_at...@foo.com> wrote in message
news:89562$4b22b7a6$45499b77$17...@news.flashnewsgroups.com...
PeterD
wrote:
>Estimating is a very interestring process......
>It takes on many aspects......
>Many estimates are to "compare" other estimates already given.
>Some estimates are wanted only as a whim......The client usually has no clue
>or even finances to support any such building.
>Insurance estimates are even better.....
>Many take the insurance estimate along with the others to present it to the
>insurance company only to take the monies and never call the contractor.
>
>One such job a fence was hit on a major roadway. I explained to the client
>I would give them an estimate (for 100.00) since they were planning to do
>the work themselves......I did a detailed estimate.....never heard back from
>the client and the fence was repaired..........never recieved any monies....
Your mistake, "Where's the check, I've got your estimate ready..."
would have been my approach! <g> (but you knew that...)
>
>About 6 months later a call came....."We have a fence to repair and is an
>insurance bid" Oh, that address sounds familiar......I went there and it
>was the husband this time with a knocked down fence....wanting a bid.
>
>I explained to him that I did give a bid for the last accident and never got
>paid! Showed him the "old estimate"
>Well, I made another estimate, and he paid me for the latter.....
And not the former? He got a good deal!
jloomis
I like to trust people.
You know you can catch more flys with honey than with vinegar.......
jloomis
"PeterD" <pet...@hipson.net> wrote in message
news:f6v7i55jo2b0soreq...@4ax.com...
PeterD
wrote:
>I got paid for the former also......
>
>I like to trust people.
>You know you can catch more flys with honey than with vinegar.......
>
>jloomis
Good to hear you got both... I wasn't clear on that part. I've found
that honesty works in about 99% of the cases, especially if the other
guy is basically honest, but I rarely bill/give credit for small jobs.
(Unless it's my grandkids, then it is sometimes a writeoff!)
TonyG
having to accomodate their schedules. Plus in most times we are all
working and have to do them at nite or on weekends. Some of us have
families and obligations. Some of us can't use our minds well after a
long day at work. Some of us just don't want to do it as it is often a
waste of time. I often don't do them if I think I am bidding against
someone else in my small town.
On the other hand if some told me that they were not going to use me or
wanted it for a comparison or bargaining tool and gave me a fist full of
dollars I would do the work for them in appreciation of rare honesty and
good faith.
Tim Conde
Depot and shop it around to all the yard rats. That's why I give one flat
figure for all the work. They tell me what they want and then I generate one
number. I always walk away on the bids where the homeowner wants a highly
detailed scope of work and why I am going to do it a certain way. That's
when I know the homeowner is either shopping or is wanting me to give him a
detailed "how-to" so he can do it himself.
True story: I got a call from some old guy's daughter who had been given my
name in a referral. She wanted me / no, she NEEDED me to give an estimate on
a job in her father's house. Oh, he needs this, we're acting immediately,
the whole story. I got the telephone number for the old man and called him
to setup an appointment. But rather than just set up the appointment and go,
I felt him out. Different answers. If I wanted to come out and give him a
free estimate, that'd be great. He was gathering estimates now. Oh, how
many? Well, he had 25 or so and his daughter had at least that many on her
own. Well, at least he was honest.
For me, if they aren't willing to pay $50-$100 for an estimate, they aren't
serious. Among my friends, the days of free estimates are gone. If you
don't prequalify and explain there will be a charge, but that it will be
refunded if you choose us to the do the work, you will take up your entire
40 hour week giving estimates for jobs you will never do. Screw that...
Tim
I got a referral to a job about 50 miles from my house.
Lesson learned: Prequalify before you bid.
"cao1987" <Che1s4short_at...@foo.com> wrote in message
news:89562$4b22b7a6$45499b77$17...@news.flashnewsgroups.com...
RicodJour
wrote:
Has anyone had to block off your bathroom...? Probably not. :)
It sounds like you started the project before you had your ducks in a
row. That's always a risk in anything you do.
R
Tim Conde
I hate getting a call when someone else started the work or jumped ship in
mid-stream or whatever it was and I get the call to come and bail it out.
Usually that happens when someone sees my bid and thinks "$13 grand for a
bathroom? Heck, I can do it for three grand." They usually have a neighbor
or a relative who watched Bob Vila a few times and in their mind, became an
expert.
So they begin and start running into dry rot behind a shower, or mold, and
they blindly replace visible things and forget the hidden ones because they
are hard to get to, and before you know it, they are ready to tile the
shower. So they attach backer board and mastic the tile to the shower, grout
it and they are done. That wax ring on the toilet flange still looks pretty
good, so we can reuse that, and the blacksplash on the sink still looks
pretty good. The caulk has hardened up but that's OK, we'll just reuse that,
too. In a couple of weeks, when the toilet is leaking on the floor and the
tiles are falling off, I get a call to come fix a couple of things.
Everybody thinks construction is easy. I carry a one million dollar
liability insurance policy because it isn't.
Tim
"RicodJour" <rico...@worldemail.com> wrote in message
news:108db644-6a8b-4c39...@d10g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
jloomis
>
> Everybody thinks construction is easy. I carry a one million dollar
> liability insurance policy because it isn't.
>
> Tim
Yeah, I love the weekend warriors........
After having a nailbag on my back for 30 years and dealing with everything
from way down under to up on top.....I figure.....let them have it.....
They'll come back with the tail between their legs if not to me, someone
else.
jloomis
benick
"Tim Conde" <tcc...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:hg762g$5f3$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
> That is the danger with "I was remodeling..."
>
> I hate getting a call when someone else started the work or jumped ship in
> mid-stream or whatever it was and I get the call to come and bail it out.
> Usually that happens when someone sees my bid and thinks "$13 grand for a
> bathroom? Heck, I can do it for three grand." They usually have a neighbor
> or a relative who watched Bob Vila a few times and in their mind, became
> an expert.
>
> So they begin and start running into dry rot behind a shower, or mold, and
> they blindly replace visible things and forget the hidden ones because
> they are hard to get to, and before you know it, they are ready to tile
> the shower. So they attach backer board and mastic the tile to the shower,
> grout it and they are done. That wax ring on the toilet flange still looks
> pretty good, so we can reuse that, and the blacksplash on the sink still
> looks pretty good. The caulk has hardened up but that's OK, we'll just
> reuse that, too. In a couple of weeks, when the toilet is leaking on the
> floor and the tiles are falling off, I get a call to come fix a couple of
> things.
>
> Everybody thinks construction is easy. I carry a one million dollar
> liability insurance policy because it isn't.
>
> Tim
Soooo true....Especially for me being a drywall contractor....They see a
couple of DIY shows and think , "hey I can do that. "...After a few days on
a ladder making a MESS of it they call....PITA....Then there's the "what if
calls" and calls for detailed bids with the how are you gonna do that
questions that are just fishing expeditions for how to info cuz they want to
DIY...I do estimates when I have the time and are already near the job to be
bid unless it is one of my usual contractors I do work for...They ALWAYS
come first BEFORE any homeowner calls....Homeowners TRYING to run their own
job and schedule subs tend to be a royal PITA.......I also carry 1 million
liability....