If you or your spouse is a contractor.....

[DawnM]

we have now gotten 3 quotes on the project.   the numbers are within $5k of each other overall, but are still very high.

My DH was going to just do the whole thing but realizes there are parts he doesn't want to tackle or can't (like the plumbing, cutting a hole in the wall for a door, and the concrete.)

What would the reaction be to responding that we want them to do only X and Y but that we no longer need them to do the rest?  Would they be upset that we are asking for a new quote or not giving them the larger job they wanted?

How could I best word it?

Thanks

[Scarlett]

5 minutes ago, DawnM said:

we have now gotten 3 quotes on the project.   the numbers are within $5k of each other overall, but are still very high.

My DH was going to just do the whole thing but realizes there are parts he doesn't want to tackle or can't (like the plumbing, cutting a hole in the wall for a door, and the concrete.)

What would the reaction be to responding that we want them to do only X and Y but that we no longer need them to do the rest?  Would they be upset that we are asking for a new quote or not giving them the larger job they wanted?

How could I best word it?

Thanks

I don't know but I saw a cartoon once about this subject and the contractor told them the price would be double if they helped.  LOL

In all seriousness, I doubt they will be ok with that.  It is hard for them to guarantee a job when the home owner is in the middle of it.  I think if you say you want to do the finish work...painting etc they might be ok with that.  

[DawnM]

Just now, Scarlett said:

I don't know but I saw a cartoon once about this subject and the contractor told them the price would be double if they helped.  LOL

In all seriousness, I doubt they will be ok with that.  It is hard for them to guarantee a job when the home owner is in the middle of it.  I think if you say you want to do the finish work...painting etc they might be ok with that.  

 

Oh, no, we aren't doing it in the middle.   We have the concrete walkway, the exterior door to be cut and framed, and the plumbing to be done.   Then AFTER they leave, we will do the rest.    We are not helping them or doing something in the middle of their work.

[fairfarmhand]

How much would you charge for all the work minus the painting, trim, and flooring?

So basically they would stop short of finishing.

I don't think they would want work with you doing odd things within the project, but stopping short of what was quoted is definitely doable. 

[Scarlett]

4 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

Oh, no, we aren't doing it in the middle.   We have the concrete walkway, the exterior door to be cut and framed, and the plumbing to be done.   Then AFTER they leave, we will do the rest.    We are not helping them or doing something in the middle of their work.

Oh I see.  Yes in that case, just ask for them to revise the estimate without the things you will be doing later.  No need to even mention you will be doing it.  For all they know you just can't afford it all. I am sure that happens all of the time.

[Spy Car]

No expert in this, but here anyway many General Contractors run their own crews, but will sub-contract out specialized jobs like concrete work and plumbing out to firms with expertise in that particular area. 

It takes some time, effort, and is good to have ties to the building trade, but some people in your position act as their own General contractors and sub-contract out the jobs to the same specialized sub-contractors.

I imagine that puts you at the bottom of the priority list in busy construction times as a "one off," but during leaner build times it might make sense to hire  people to just do the specialized work you don't want to take on?

What do I know about his? Not much. I'm just talking out loud.

Bill 

[Katy]

The price of construction materials has quadrupled in our area in the past 14 months. I don’t think there’s a bargain to be had right now. Some lumberyards are closed. More people at home want their homes improved. I doubt prices will drop until this whole mess is over. 

[DawnM]

6 minutes ago, Katy said:

The price of construction materials has quadrupled in our area in the past 14 months. I don’t think there’s a bargain to be had right now. Some lumberyards are closed. More people at home want their homes improved. I doubt prices will drop until this whole mess is over. 

 

I know that concrete has around here.  We are rethinking our walkway.

[DawnM]

I guess I just wondered if we should have another quote on our "new plan" as present it as half the job in the first place rather than backpedal.    

[Katy]

47 minutes ago, DawnM said:

I guess I just wondered if we should have another quote on our "new plan" as present it as half the job in the first place rather than backpedal.    

You can ask for it, but I suspect most contractors will be a bit insulted, shrug and say they're now too busy to do a half job and are booked out for months.  Whether they are or aren't.  Chances are the high prices have more to do with materials than hours anyway.  I know in more than one house we priced something out and the contractor's price was slightly less than we could do it ourselves, because he had discounts for materials and the labor was less than the materials discount he got. 

[Lecka]

We need a new fence, but are told lumber has gone up dramatically in price in the past year.  

We are hoping the price will come down next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit:  And we are fortunate it is something we are able to put off.  

Edited March 5, 2021 by Lecka

[katilac]

I don't think they would be insulted or anything. They might be too busy for a smaller job, and if so they'll tell you that. No big. 

[DawnM]

19 minutes ago, Katy said:

You can ask for it, but I suspect most contractors will be a bit insulted, shrug and say they're now too busy to do a half job and are booked out for months.  Whether they are or aren't.  Chances are the high prices have more to do with materials than hours anyway.  I know in more than one house we priced something out and the contractor's price was slightly less than we could do it ourselves, because he had discounts for materials and the labor was less than the materials discount he got. 

 

I wish that were true for us.   It isn't.  

[Annie G]

35 minutes ago, Katy said:

You can ask for it, but I suspect most contractors will be a bit insulted, shrug and say they're now too busy to do a half job and are booked out for months.  Whether they are or aren't.  Chances are the high prices have more to do with materials than hours anyway.  I know in more than one house we priced something out and the contractor's price was slightly less than we could do it ourselves, because he had discounts for materials and the labor was less than the materials discount he got. 

Wow- you’re lucky. We’ve never had that happen. Our contractors usually get contractor discount at Lowe’s or HD which is the same price we pay since it’s the same as a veteran discount. And labor is so expensive. 

[Selkie]

We are in construction-related businesses. They will not be insulted, but they may not be interested in doing a smaller job. Also, the price for the smaller job may not be significantly less expensive due to economies of scale (mobilization and staging costs, etc.).

[DawnM]

9 hours ago, Thatboyofmine said:

Can you call a plumber to come give you a price on their part of it?   Then call a concrete company?   See how much those are going to cost and see if the 3 quotes look too high after that.  It may be that it's cheaper just letting the one contractor do it all or maybe not... 

can you tweak the original plan?  

Just throwing out an idea... 

 

Thankfully, one of the guys who came out said he doesn't do concrete or plumbing, so this week we had a concrete guy come out for the sidewalk.   The sidewalk will be $4,500.   It isn't even a very large sidewalk!   

A plumber came out, we told him we want 2 quotes, one for a reg. system with ripping up concrete and one for an up flush system.  He came out 2 weeks ago, still no quote.

DH and I decided we want to start with the sidewalk and the new entry door and then get a plumber.   DH is able to do the rest, he just didn't want to spend the time.   But we may have to.   

We have two full quotes and they are comparable.

Sidewalk

New entry way door

Take bar cabinets out and relocate them

Build a 7' wall to enclose the new bathroom

Put in plumbing and new bathroom

450 sq. ft of new LVP flooring

$53k

We need to get that down to $30-$35k if at all possible.

[Annie G]

The sidewalk quote might be the going rate in your state but I’m in an adjoining state and we’re currently doing some construction and we’re paying $9000 to have the area graded, foundation footings dug, a 23 by 25 foot foundation, with 18” concrete retaining walls on 2 1/2 sids, plus a 10 by 10 patio.   I don’t think we’re in an especially inexpensive area, as the flagship state university is here and there are always tons of construction projects going on.  (Today our concrete guys are doing a university job and we’ll be back on ours Monday) So a second quote might make sense for you.

Hope it works out for you, both financially and stress wise for your dh. 

[DawnM]

and I texted the plumber and asked for a quote and he texted back today and said he doesn't want to do it.  

[Scarlett]

43 minutes ago, DawnM said:

and I texted the plumber and asked for a quote and he texted back today and said he doesn't want to do it.  

Yikes.

 

[Scarlett]

9 hours ago, DawnM said:

 

Thankfully, one of the guys who came out said he doesn't do concrete or plumbing, so this week we had a concrete guy come out for the sidewalk.   The sidewalk will be $4,500.   It isn't even a very large sidewalk!   

A plumber came out, we told him we want 2 quotes, one for a reg. system with ripping up concrete and one for an up flush system.  He came out 2 weeks ago, still no quote.

DH and I decided we want to start with the sidewalk and the new entry door and then get a plumber.   DH is able to do the rest, he just didn't want to spend the time.   But we may have to.   

We have two full quotes and they are comparable.

Sidewalk

New entry way door

Take bar cabinets out and relocate them

Build a 7' wall to enclose the new bathroom

Put in plumbing and new bathroom

450 sq. ft of new LVP flooring

$53k

We need to get that down to $30-$35k if at all possible.

Is this for the upflush or traditional?

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

Is this for the upflush or traditional?

Traditional.

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

Yikes.

 

I bet he has known that since he came to our house and just didn't want to tell us.   grrrr.

[teachermom2834]

3 hours ago, DawnM said:

I bet he has known that since he came to our house and just didn't want to tell us.   grrrr.

This part is really frustrating. We had some work quoted and waited and waited for a quote from a guy that came highly recommended. It finally came in more than double the other quotes. Just tell us you don’t want to do it and quit wasting everyone’s time. Grrr. We’ve had a lot of projects done the last year and the quote process has been the worst of it. 

Edited March 6, 2021 by teachermom2834

[DawnM]

Ok, so I am waiting for the verbal ok from my dad and then I plan to contact one of the guys we liked and tell him we want to hire him but we need to scale it down.  I plan to explain that we would like to do the flooring, the moving of the cabinet, and the wall.   We would like him to do everything else and we would like to choose some less expensive options for the bathroom.   I am hoping that instead of $50k, we can get it down to $35k.   

At this time we plan to keep the carpet in the room, only change the flooring in the bathroom, and I have some ideas for the wall that will be somewhat temporary, but will be better for my dad than a "real wall' right now I think.

[DawnM]

Oh, and the guy we really liked kept taking a week to get back to me, kept adding things to the quote, leaving other things out, etc.....4 weeks after he came he just emailed me over the weekend to say he now can't start until at least August.

He doesn't want the job.  

[RootAnn]

@DawnMSorry you are having so much trouble with this project. It is really tough to get contractors right now because so many people are getting work done. Contractors have their pick of projects and if you don't lock something in, their schedules can fill up fast.

We've had a contract signed for four months with one & just found out they have to delay starting by another week. So, when you decide on someone, get a contract in place right away. It is tough to get anyone to come out to our area (rural) anyway, so it took 4-5 calls to get anyone who was even willing to quote the job for us. (And I know we are paying extra for them to drive here because it adds two+ hours on their day every day they work.)

Good luck!

[madteaparty]

We just gave up on building because we can’t get anyone to return a call. 

[BlsdMama]

On 3/5/2021 at 5:19 PM, DawnM said:

I bet he has known that since he came to our house and just didn't want to tell us.   grrrr.

Could he tell you why? Is there some unforeseen complication? Just too little work? Etc.?

 That might be valuable information. 

[DawnM]

3 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

Could he tell you why? Is there some unforeseen complication? Just too little work? Etc.?

 That might be valuable information. 

He just said it isn't a job he wants to take on.

[Amy in NH]

On 3/7/2021 at 10:50 PM, DawnM said:

Oh, and the guy we really liked kept taking a week to get back to me, kept adding things to the quote, leaving other things out, etc.....4 weeks after he came he just emailed me over the weekend to say he now can't start until at least August.

He doesn't want the job.  

Did you ever find someone to do your work?

I wouldn't assume they don't want the work; I would assume they are completely booked, and will use your small job as filler in between big jobs.  DH is a residential construction project manager, and he tells me about the scheduling process.  Smaller jobs just have to wait until they have an opening in the schedule.  They aren't going to pull their crews off of a whole-house build they've been working on for the past six months in order to do your 1-2 week job.  And they have another three whole-house builds under contract, which are being scheduled to begin anytime in the next two years as the crews become available.  Here in New England they are also likely to save small indoor jobs for wintertime inclement weather, and focus on the big outdoor jobs while it's not -15.

DH has also been counseling clients to purchase and store their building materials once the contract is signed so that they won't be stuck with huge overages on their final price as construction supply costs continue to climb.  The contract price for materials quoted is subject to change based on market price fluctuations.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Amy in NH

[BlsdMama]

1 hour ago, Amy in NH said:

Did you ever find someone to do your work?

I wouldn't assume they don't want the work; I would assume they are completely booked, and will use your small job as filler in between big jobs.  DH is a residential construction project manager, and he tells me about the scheduling process.  Smaller jobs just have to wait until they have an opening in the schedule.  They aren't going to pull their crews off of a whole-house build they've been working on for the past six months in order to do your 1-2 week job.  And they have another three whole-house builds under contract, which are being scheduled to begin anytime in the next two years as the crews become available.  Here in New England they are also likely to save small indoor jobs for wintertime inclement weather, and focus on the big outdoor jobs while it's not -15.

DH has also been counseling clients to purchase and store their building materials once the contract is signed so that they won't be stuck with huge overages on their final price as construction supply costs continue to climb.  The contract price for materials quoted is subject to change based on market price fluctuations.

This. Our bathrooms aren’t a “big” job. Our friends are working on major projects (derecho) and fitting us in. Originally planned for April, it will be mid May - mid June. I’m glad we purchased our cabinets a couple months ago. We just asked them to do a requote. Lumber has doubled and tripled in some areas. 

[Tina]

On 3/4/2021 at 8:30 PM, Katy said:

You can ask for it, but I suspect most contractors will be a bit insulted, shrug and say they're now too busy to do a half job and are booked out for months.  Whether they are or aren't.  Chances are the high prices have more to do with materials than hours anyway.  I know in more than one house we priced something out and the contractor's price was slightly less than we could do it ourselves, because he had discounts for materials and the labor was less than the materials discount he got. 

They are probably booked out quite a bit.  Finding time to do a smaller job is probably not a priority with bigger jobs pouring in. We recently got new carpet, and even they were out a month for installs!  Even the subcontractors are probably booked out. And it is true that the price of materials is going  up quickly.  Dh has heard that roof shingles will be scarce this summer, too.  You could ask for the partial quote, but I'm thinking you may be pushed farther down the line.

[DawnM]

On 4/30/2021 at 1:54 PM, Amy in NH said:

Did you ever find someone to do your work?

I wouldn't assume they don't want the work; I would assume they are completely booked, and will use your small job as filler in between big jobs.  DH is a residential construction project manager, and he tells me about the scheduling process.  Smaller jobs just have to wait until they have an opening in the schedule.  They aren't going to pull their crews off of a whole-house build they've been working on for the past six months in order to do your 1-2 week job.  And they have another three whole-house builds under contract, which are being scheduled to begin anytime in the next two years as the crews become available.  Here in New England they are also likely to save small indoor jobs for wintertime inclement weather, and focus on the big outdoor jobs while it's not -15.

DH has also been counseling clients to purchase and store their building materials once the contract is signed so that they won't be stuck with huge overages on their final price as construction supply costs continue to climb.  The contract price for materials quoted is subject to change based on market price fluctuations.

Yes.   We are going to go ahead and hire the entire thing out.   It isn't a small job.   It is a 3-4 week job and DH has decided to only do a small portion of it to bring it down about 4K.