Electricians, plumbers, and GCs weigh in
Hello all,
As some of you know, I’ve moved to Colorado Springs from Michigan and get to have the fun of finding good subcontractors all over again.
I’m getting some calls for finished basements, and I have some questions for the electricians and plumbers out there:
If I go to look at a job that requires your services, is it okay to ask you to come out and give me an estimate for your part of it, or is it really annoying for you to look at work that I don’t have yet?
What’s the proper protocol here?
Should I just make a guess at what it’ll cost and inlude that as an allowance?
In Michigan I had a very good relationship with my subs, and we knew each other well enough that pretty much all they needed was a good description and a drawing and they’d go from there.
Thanks for any input.
I have CDO.
It’s like OCD, only the letters are in alphabetical order like they’re supposed to be.
http://www.truenorthcarpentry.net
Edited 11/14/2008 10:40 am by True North
Replies
Good question.
I'm a GC too, so I'll be following to see what the subs say. (bump)
Ideally we'd have a full set of plans to circulate to the subs, who'd give us their prices, then we'd put our bid or estimate together, but for smaller residential remodel work, we all know that's almost never the case.
Whadda ya say, subs? how many times can we ask you out to estimate a job we may not get before you stop returning our calls? Do you charge some GC's an estimating fee if they've got a bad percentage of deal closing?
depends on how hungry everyone is too, I bet.
k
Thanks for the response. I was feeling kind of dumb, like I was the only one who didn't know this stuff."depends on how hungry everyone is too, I bet."That's for sure.I have CDO.It's like OCD, only the letters are in alphabetical order like they're supposed to be.http://www.truenorthcarpentry.net
Thanks for the response. I was feeling kind of dumb, like I was the only one who didn't know this stuff.
I'm not sure it's something that can be "known" for certain. I mean, there's a whole set of practices regarding plans and solicitation of bids, but those practices don't apply to a lot of jobs. It seems to depend on the relationships, as you've noted, and possibly on how together you seem when you present the job and issues.
And how hungry everyone is....
I often try to give the client ballpark figures for the subs and a firmer estimate for my own work, to find out if they want to hire me or not, before I call a plumber. But I work T&M, so I'm not liable for higher than expected sub costs.
As far as not wasting subs' time on jobs I may not get, I will often pay subs 50-100 bucks to come out to a site. Half the time they turn it down, or ask for less than I offered. Occasionally I lose money, but I figure it's a cost of doing business, and I'd rather honor the subs' time.
If I get a weird feeling about the client or the job, I always warn the subs, and let them decide if they want to bother.
k
I do mostly smaller projects, kitchens baths additions etc.
I'll give the sub a general run-down of how I see the project and ask if they are comfortable giving me a ball park figure or whether he wants to see it.
Typically for jobs like a basement I ask if customer has plumber or electrician first and give them a crack at it. They already know the jobsite and usually are willing to meet with no charge for estimate. This also builds a network of subs quickly.
It is pretty much industry standard for a GC to collect bids on subtrades. Matter fo fact, you should get a few bids for each trade to be sure you are getting a good price and everything is consistent between bidders.
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
TN
I think you asked the question perfectly. You can ask our opinion but just ask the electricans and plumbers in your new home town.
I think it would be worthwile to meet them(maybe over a cup of coffee) and show them a sketch with good info so they can budget properly if it is inconvenient to get into the home. Basically an interview!!
The reason for meeting is
1. Get a feel for them.
2. Look em in the eye and make sure they look back
3. Discuss their business and how they run it.
4. Make sure they can speak professionally as you are sending them into your clients home.
5. Lots and lots of other stuff
Once you have a feel for the guy/girl you can then start sending them other stuff to price or have an agreed upon pricing so you can budget for them (whichever the two of you agree to)
If they are not going to see the job, make sure you have all the info so neither of you get hurt.
1. Are there a couple extra spaces in the electric panel
2. Is the existing wiring a spiderweb nightmare
3. any special conditions
and plumbing
1. relo of lines
2. Type of existing lines and where
That's how I do it anyway.
I use the same subs for all my projects and they are more than happy to look at a job at any time. They know if I get the job, they get the job and appreciate that I have found the next lead.
I usually can guesstimate what their costs will be, but sometimes there are things they see that I did not notice.
The best way to find out is to simply ask the folks you hope to use.
Bruce