We need to have our house resided with new soffit/fascia and gutters. I have the money to do most of the work, however, the estimates are between $1500-2500 more than I have. The estimates have included removing the existing 60 year old cedar shingle siding (I had removed 1/3 when we started getting estimates) and capping the doors and windows with 1X4s so they will stand proud of the new siding.
If I remove the rest of the siding myself and cap the doors and windows, I will save up to $3000, and we can proceed with the work. (The work is not a problem, as I worked in construction through high school/college). Will this anger the companies that have given me estimates? I am wondering if the work I would do is the higher profit work, and therefore lose the interest of those who gave me the estimates. Any advice?
Jason
Replies
You shouyld approach the bidder who gave you the proposal you like best, and ask them the question. As long as everyone is on the same page going in, there shouldn't be a problem, but the scope needs to be well defined. Tell them exactly what you plan to do, and stick with it. Maybe you would agree to strip all the existing cedar and load it into a dumpster that you provide. Detail exactly what you will do to the doors and windows...who does the painting & caulking? And you need to agree on a schedule, so that they don't start and then find that you aren't out of their way, causing delays.
Do it right, or do it twice.
Jason,
My husband and I are DIY a new house and have worked with contractors all along. No one has had a problem with it and everyone has been willing to come back or has come back again and again for various projects, so I don't think anyone was put off. It might have something to do with our community (Colorado Mountains). I think maybe those of us living where we do have kind of a DIY spirit and the contractors are used to that. Hard to say. All you need to do is ask.
I think it would be a great way for you to save those bucks.
Here are my concerns tho, if I were the contractor.
1- Schedule.
If I plan to start putting on the new siding in two weeks but you don't have it done yet and ready for me, you slowed me down and cost me money to re-schedule.
2- Responsibility.
Who is responsible for the underlayment keeping water out of the house in s driving rain? If I do the whole job, no water will get in. Period.
But if you tear off and leave it to me to install the tarpaper or Tyvek and there is a week of gap...
3- Quality.
I have worked behind DIYs before who did crappy prep work for me, meaning that I hada to cleanup behind them and finish the job they had agreed to do before I could get started.
ie. I was to sheetrock and trim out a room that the HO had supposed ly removed the plaster from. I noticed that the wall seemed a little uneven under the Typar he had put up on the studs. (why he used typar there is another long story) I got to checking and found that he had left clinkers of plaster all over the place in the lathe, lathe that was half hanging off, lathers nails protrunding from the wood surface, etc. It took me a whole entire day to clean the walls in that one room enough to be ready for sheetrock. Be sure you don't add to the instalers work for the installation price by leaving a mess. He will either laugh and walk away or he will charge accordingly for the extra work.
In short, have clear professional descriptions of what each of you will do and then follow through on it.
Excellence is its own reward!
I dont think i t would be a problem at all. give the contractor a call and talk to him. he has a family ect like the rest of us and understands budget as well or better than most. So give him a call. I had some windows installed recently as I was to busy finishing up other projects and made a simular deal, They installed them I finished the inside and painted. They cut me a deal and I finished the work the way I wanted it to be anyway.
Darkworks: Its all 'bout da squilla
Well, my biggest concern was that contractors would be really upset that I was trying to steal their profit. . .of course I would not be giving them a profit at all if I couldn't afford the job in the first place. It sounds like that will not be a problem.
I don't expect to get in the way of any time table. The contractor expects to begin work 3-4 weeks after I sign the contract. I have some of the shingle siding off already and expect that to be done in 2-3 days. The house will be fully ready for them to start work long before they are ready. The other job is to build out the windows 3/4" so they stand proud of the new siding. In total that will save about $2400, which puts the job within budget and allows for some unforeseen problems.
Thanks for the advice - Jason
I don't think that most contractors really want to do the tear off, unless that is their specialty. Have you notice that works comp companies charge more for demo work than new work?
If a home owner wanted to tear out a kitchen before I got there, that is great. Never had one follow through with their end of the project, let alone make room for me.
Is the build out of windows just apply9ing a thicker trim molding or something more detailed. The reason I ask is that the trim and siding are a package and if you do one while they do the other, who is responsible for leaks? You'll want to iron that out with them in your negotiations..
Excellence is its own reward!
Jason,
Here's how I've handled customer "howsabout we do the demo" proposals, depending on the scope of the job:
1. Big Job.
"Fine with me. Get it done, call me and I'll come out and rebid the work."
They usually get between 50-80% done before they call; still, it's usually a real savings to them.
2. Small Job. i.e. tear out carpet and prep for hardwood floor installation.
"Sounds good. Be careful with the baseboards... yes, they all have to come off...and you'll reinstall them, get some touch-up paint. Hopefully the carpet pad wasn't glued, you need to get ALL of the staples. Be very careful with the masking, as you now have no one to complain to about the dust, etc..
If you aren't ready when we get there we will either charge you per man hour to get it ready, or, if we won't have time to meet schedule, we will rescedule the job when we can."
They usually get darned close, and then, (usually the wife), tell me "NEVER AGAIN".
On a fair sized job like yours, I say go for it. I would ask about warranty issues, as has been noted.
Final Note: Beware dump fees!
skipj
Great response! I thought it was only ME and how did I get stuck with "winning" the bid.
My only concern is U are sure it'll save U $3000 or $2400.
I'd do as someone already said...pick the guy ya like.....call and let him know your new plan.....then ask him what the savings will be.
If someone called me and said "I'm gonna do X amount of work and U take $X dollars off the bid...I'd hang up.
I'll decide how much time and money you just saved me.
Just get the new arangements and payments in writting before U or him start.....
Don't forget the cost of a dumpster....U gotta pay for that..either yourself or by leaving that much into the bid.
I don't mind customers doing their own demo if it actually gets done and cleaned up and out.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
As it turns out, I have approximately 3 weeks to get everything done. That should be plenty of time to get the rest of the shingles off, but I am thinking that it would be better just to let the contractor do the rest of the work. I had started removing the shingles before I even started getting bids, so everyone expected the demo to be done before they started, though all said it would be $900-1450 if they did it. As mentioned, they were all very pleased that they would NOT be doing this part!
I hadn't thought about the issue of who would be responsible for leaks/warranty because of my doing the build up of the windows before they are trimmed. I have decided to stand clear of this, since I don't want to do it wrong and have to have the contractor clean up my mess.
I did contact the contractor this evening. Our refinancing check should arrive Wednesday and it is a little less than I was expecting because of closing costs. I explained this to the contractor briefly and he was perfectly happy to come out, point out things he'd like me to do before he starts and redraw the contract before signing and down payment. I think it was much better to tell him my budget was less than expected instead of flat out telling him what I was paying him for and what I was subtracting for my work.
Thanks everyone for the advice! - Jason
Sounds like a good plan. Is th trrim painted? Maybe you can get a little lower cost from the contractor if you do that part when he's gone. Ask about doing cleanup at the end of every day.Do it right, or do it twice.
Good deal.
It's nice to start a project with everyone on the same page.
Keep us posted. JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite