I think that would be a nice gesture. Especially the ones that were under budget and on time. Maybe that would give them an incentative to continue that in future builds. Something has to motivate these trades people to be more reliable. A check would be appreciated of course, if you feel it's within your budget.

For the subs who had employees, we gave cash bonuses to the actual workers and a promise of referral to the contractors they worked for, (subs). For the subs who worked solo, we gave cash and a promise of referrals. We gave the engineer a gift certificate for him and his family to a nice in town resturant w/ promise of referall as well.

I've seen a lot of threads on this topic, and I really think it's a personal choice that has to be taken on a virtually case-by-case basis. People have widely different relationships with their builders, and I believe customs differ in different parts of the country as well.

In my case, I don't have a GC, per se, but I have one main builder who, with one assistant, has basically built the whole house and coordinated a lot of the work. These two people have been there every day (well, figuratively speaking), and they are the ones I have worked with daily on planning and directing the build. They are also both neighbors who I know fairly well, and one is my second cousin.
I am planning to give something to those two people but not to anyone else - masons, electrician, plumber, HVAC people, etc. Some of them I hardly know, and many of them will have finished their jobs weeks or months before the house is complete. I feel I have a solely professional relationship with all those people, and a gift would not feel appropriate.

I haven't exactly decided what to give the two builders. I WAS thinking we would finish around Christmas and I would give them each a combo "Christmas/thanks for finishing the house" gift basket. I was thinking about maybe a ham, some homemade baked goods, and some type of alcohol. I don't think they're wine guys, so I was thinking a nice bottle of whiskey or a case of one of the nicer beers.

I suppose that would still work in January (or whenever the house is finished).

Sierraeast, can I ask you how much you gave each person or a range of what you gave? I just have no idea.

OwlatHome, I have a very similar circumstance to you. I have one main builder, who has 3 workers who have been there nearly every day. My problem is that we are in a small town and all these guys work together on each build, the HVAC/plumbing, painter, etc. They don't work for my builder, but pretty much all see each other at each project. If I give to one, I am feeling like I have to give to all. I am very conflicted on this, other than I know I want to do something special for my main builders, the 4 guys. My husband works for a major airline, so I thought model airplanes, ball caps, can cozies, etc. all that have the logo on it. They have been fascinated with his job, so it seems appropriate to bring that into the picture.

I know all of the subs well, see them at town meetings and get-togethers, but not socially. I am just worried if I miss someone, maybe someone who had completed their job months ago, like the taper/mudder, I would offend someone. It seems almost easier to not do anything for the subs.

I tried a search for "gifts", "thank yous" and didn't find anything. I thought it odd that no one has brought this up before. This forum is such a wealth of information.

I was just thinking about this the other day. I have a GC and he is a really nice guy. I have been very happy with everything up to this point (besides we are already 3 months behind from when we should have been in the house). I have no idea what to do for him. His wife is very sweet and does the administrative end of his work. I would like to be able to do something he and his family could all enjoy.

I was not planning on doing anything special for the subs. I feel like this is their job and DH doesn't get gifts when he does his job! LOL! We have tried to bring food and beer when we know it is their last day on the job.

I will have to start giving this some thought more.

minnt- This is just my $.02 worth. Don't be offended- you asked. One way to look at it, is that you paid these guys dearly, I'm sure. Do we really need to give a gift? Isn't what you paid them for- to do a good job? Is this how we have created a generation of spoiled, lazy people- to pay extra to do a job that should be done properly in the first place? On the other hand, if you do want to do something nice, I sure wouldn't go the route you have outlined, regarding the items from the airline company- that seems pretty cheap- the items are not from you- they are advirtisement for the company- not a gift that says you gave any thought to. If you wanted to give the advirtisement items as a 'throw-in', fine, but don't give it as the main thank you. Owl and Sierraeast gave a good scenerio I think. Another way to look at it, is- if the workers have been picked out by the GC, then it is his job to be giving a bonus, not yours. Please forgive any misspellings- eyes are so dry I can barely see the keys on the computer!

My husband and I are GCing our house. We don't plan to give gifts mainly b/c it doesn't feel appropriate. Every day I'm off work (every 3rd Friday) I feed everyone who is working on the house and I consider that a bit of a treat. Some days I make chili for everyone, other days I order take out, sometimes just homemade sandwiches and drinks. And I always feed anyone there on weekends.

We did hire one carpenter who was a family friend and he did help us a lot. We're paying him well for his work but I would consider doing something special for him at the end.

Also, my Dad works everyday with my husband for free. We are planning something nice for him. It won't be associated with the holidays though. I'm thinking of a nice SLR camera he's been looking at but not willing to spend his money on b/c he doesn't *need* it.

Ilmbg- no offense taken. I just thought the logo items are a usual thing these guys see. They all have hats from the tool companies and shirts from suppliers. Our lumber yard sent out nice thick hooded sweatshirts for everyone, including my husband and me when it got cold. I can't afford thick sweatshirts (the ones we were sent were subsidized by a window company, noted by their logo on the sleeve).

I also can understand the point that they are paid a good wage for work done. That is why I am leaning towards something small, like ball caps. I can get them for under $5 a piece, but it still adds up when I consider all I want to buy for. Once again, we are a small community here and if I buy for one, I really should buy for all. My builder didn't choose the subs. I am GC-ing and I chose all the subs. We will have an open house eventually for the workers and their families. I suppose that could be thanks enough.

Hi Minnt, I guess i should have not termed it a cash bonus for the employees so much as appreciation for them driving to our site. It's 12 miles one way and for the carpenters, i gave them an extra 1 hour on their pay each week to help out w/ gas. The roofers i gave each 50.00 just as an appreciation. The same w/ the electrician and plumbing sub as they worked solo.

Whether it's appropriate or not, it was just a small token of appreciation for their efforts. I wish i could have done more and while true they all make a good wage, their employers dont buy their gas, provide benefits, or pay for their tools when they need replacing as well as items such as blades, bits, etc. I guess you can say that for most occupations though. It's just something i felt good about doing. A referall for the contractors/sub is an invaluable gift that keeps on giving!

Sierraeast,
Thank you for your response. We are also a bit far out of the way, but there is no way I would have been able to pay everyone an extra hour pay throughout the build. My builder paid his guys, so I am sure he has something worked out with them for their gas and time for the drive. I just asked my painter and he said he never gets anything extra, but in about 5-10% of the jobs he is on, the homeowner throws an open house. He says it is very seldom, though. I am glad I asked him and knew he would be honest about it. I think I am going to stick with my idea of the logo items and maybe some extra cash for the 4 main guys.

I think the open house sounds really great- then all the working specialists can see how everything looks when it is all put together! But then again, maybe they are so sick of the site that they don't want to see it! (I bet they do want to though). Whatever you do, it will be fine- I am sure there are people out there that don't even say 'Thanks for your hard, careful work'.

While the subs came and went we had three guys at our home everyday through every step of the process. The building foreman and his two workers. Not only did we continuously thank them over the course of the project but in the end we gave all three a $100 gift certificate for Bass Pro. They seemed surprised and were very appreciative.

I have been giving the hats and watches out to everyone who is around (painters, granite guys, electricians, plumbers) and they seem to appreciate them. The electrician has been wearing his hat all week. I will give my four main guys gift certificates to something, maybe Cabellas, who have a huge store near us.

We gave our builder's 3 main guys (who also worked with us on a previous house) $50 cash. They seemed to really like it!

I didn't want to give our builder $$ (he's as much of a friend as our builder). Anyways, he has an old carhart jacket he wears, and he has made the comment on several occasions that he needed to change the oil in his jacket (dirty), so we got him a new carhart jacket and some nice gloves. We haven't given it to him yet, but I think it will make him chuckle.

I just wanted to throw in what I'm planning to give my builder at the end of our build.

We all have pictures of our build process, right?

At the end, I'm putting together a hardbound scrapbook of it for him.

It's definitely not your typical cut out and paste type book...

There are a couple of companies online that have templates and you can just upload your pictures and type in whatever captions. It's really very simple.

The company then prints the book and hardbounds it so it looks like a nice "coffee table" book.

I want one for ourselves anyway so I'll order an extra copy for my builder.

They start around $30 for about 20 pages.

Here is a link that might be useful: Do-It-Yourself Photo Book

kaydles,

My builder wouldn't appreciate those photo books as much as I would, BUT those are AWESOME! I will be creating some for ME! Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome, Jenny! Yes...I have quite a few of them myself! Perfect gifts for grandparents or Mother's Day!

I dunno...I think a builder would really like them since it would also be a nice marketing tool for future clients.

kaydles, I would think most builders would like it...our builder did some work for us on a previous house. We offered to take pics (he's been building over 20 years), but he said he really didn't need any.

What he likes to do (we live in a small city) is just send prospective clients to your house, LOL!

Nothing says thanks like a nice new Carhartt! Great idea.

I wouldn't give them anything! Or, maybe you could give to them what you give to your kid's teachers - a stupid coffee mug to add to their collection of hundreds. Or, maybe a handmade Santa ornament made of popsicle sticks with lots and lots of paste.

Really, come on. These overpaid guys should get a special gift just for doing their jobs? Which is most important - your kid who is influenced every day by his or her teacher or the guy who installed your backsplash? Take the money you were going to give to all those contractors and give it to your kid's teachers. THEY deserve it!

shannonhouse,
I know what you mean. That is why I think the ball caps are good for me. The guys like them and they didn't cost me that much, so I don't feel like it is too much.

I do some personalized photography art that I was thinking of giving our builder to hang in thier office. Yes it is kinda a plug for me and likely would get me a little business but also I think they'd really like to have it too.

Otherwise I hadn't thought about it much.

If there is anyone else buying / building in a community with a larger builder, what I did a few months ago was gave our main sales lady a nice desktop business card holder. While it wasn't much, she did appreciate it as it looks a lot more professional sitting on her desk then the plastic $1 one she had.

For the subs who had employees, we gave cash bonuses to the actual workers and a promise of referral to the contractors they worked for, (subs). For the subs who worked solo, we gave cash and a promise of referrals. We gave the engineer a gift certificate for him and his family to a nice in town resturant w/ promise of referall as well.

I love this idea, and it's what I'm planning to do kind of when we're done with our house. Since it isn't custom, but in a community, I am going to go online and find every site that I can give feedback to, then print it out and give it to the sales lady to bring to their weekly meeting.

owl_at_home I haven't exactly decided what to give the two builders. I WAS thinking we would finish around Christmas and I would give them each a combo "Christmas/thanks for finishing the house" gift basket. I was thinking about maybe a ham, some homemade baked goods, and some type of alcohol. I don't think they're wine guys, so I was thinking a nice bottle of whiskey or a case of one of the nicer beers.

Make sure this is something they will use. My neighbor gets a lot of these and has so many that he ends up giving them away to neighbors. You also may want to make sure they drink. When my dad was in the gas station business he used to get a lot of booze but never drank a drop. He usually ended up regifting or chucking it.

I love the home-made cookies, it's what I usually give as well. There aren't many people that don't appreciate those. lol

My MIL always sends us a fruit basket or food related item. Yesterday my SIL called to ask exactly which one she should tell the MIL to order. We told her not to, since the fruit is always too ripe, and none of us being fruit people, it gets thrown out.

If she needs to send us something, I would rather have a book of stamps, and don't doubt that some builders would also appreciate stamps as they are something that would get used.

ilmbg This is just my $.02 worth. Don't be offended- you asked. One way to look at it, is that you paid these guys dearly, I'm sure. Do we really need to give a gift? Isn't what you paid them for- to do a good job? Is this how we have created a generation of spoiled, lazy people- to pay extra to do a job that should be done properly in the first place?

I agree some what. If they come in on time / under budget, then I would give something. My son remembers every person that tips him, even if it's a few dollars. He gives them his card with his tech / cell number on it, and if there is a problem he will make sure that he takes care of it asap. I don't doubt that it's the same with builders.. if a problem happens in a new home, they're more likely to take care of it asap if you give them a little something.

sierraeast I wish i could have done more and while true they all make a good wage, their employers dont buy their gas, provide benefits, or pay for their tools when they need replacing as well as items such as blades, bits, etc

I don't doubt that a gift card to Home Depot, Sears or Lowes would be very appreciated, no matter what the amount. As you say, bits break, some aren't cheap. My son must have 20 receipts from buying bits from this year alone.

kaydles - I just wanted to throw in what I'm planning to give my builder at the end of our build.
We all have pictures of our build process, right?
At the end, I'm putting together a hardbound scrapbook of it for him.
It's definitely not your typical cut out and paste type book...
There are a couple of companies online that have templates and you can just upload your pictures and type in whatever captions. It's really very simple.
The company then prints the book and hardbounds it so it looks like a nice "coffee table" book.

Thanks for the link! I might order one for ourselves.

For a builder of a custom home I think it's a great idea; and if you could add some sort of letter of referral on how happy you were and the reasons why, I don't doubt he will use the book often.

Nothing says thanks like a nice new Carhartt! Great idea.

You're right! If you can't afford one, I know that our Sears stocks them, and JC Penney sells them online. I'm unsure if Carhartt sells gift certificates, but giving one from either there or one of the other 2 stores that sells them, I'm sure would be appreciated. Even if they got a $25 gift card in an envelope with a picture of something made by Carhartt, they'd get the idea of why you gave the gift certificate you did.

BTW, JC Penney sells flannel lined work pants & jeans. Cheapest jeans are $25, with the work pants being $30

So far, every person I've bought them for loves them, my hubby especially. I even have some for myself.

Those of you using relatives, it would be easy to buy pants for them.

I just did a search and didn't see any discussions about this, but should we be thinking about giving gifts to the main players in our build? Especially since I am acting as the GC. Just a small thank you to the main builder, his crew, the electricians, plumbers/HVAC guys? I am thinking of ball caps with the logo from my husband's company on them or they have canvas strap watches with the logo that aren't that expensive. Or should I be thinking of something bigger than that? I have no idea if this is appropriate or not. Is it too cheap and should I be writing bonus checks to some of them for coming in under budget and on time?

My son installs DirecTV. I can't tell you how many gifts he gets like this that he brings home & never uses them. It's possible that once the job is finished they won't ever use them again. I look at them thinking that the money that was spent on them could have been used on drill bits

I also can understand the point that they are paid a good wage for work done. That is why I am leaning towards something small, like ball caps. I can get them for under $5 a piece, but it still adds up when I consider all I want to buy for.

If it was me, I would set it up with the main builder that either everyone would go to the local pizza place for lunch one afternoon, or the pies could be delivered; I'd also have a party perk for coffee. Nothing says thank you like a free meal, and if the main builder works with you, the guys that normally would brown bag it, would be told not to bring lunch. Both my son & step son buy food / coffee out when they don't feel like bagging it, they both spend a "good" $10 a day. It adds up. Not having to pay for food / coffee one day is a nice treat.

If there were people that left the job due to being finished, they could come back for pizza.

I wouldn't give them anything! Or, maybe you could give to them what you give to your kid's teachers - a stupid coffee mug to add to their collection of hundreds. Or, maybe a handmade Santa ornament made of popsicle sticks with lots and lots of paste.
Really, come on. These overpaid guys should get a special gift just for doing their jobs? Which is most important - your kid who is influenced every day by his or her teacher or the guy who installed your backsplash? Take the money you were going to give to all those contractors and give it to your kid's teachers. THEY deserve it!

Shannon as a teacher (continuation HS), I wish I would get gifts. I have been doing this for almost 5 years and have only received one gift (fudge) from a studentÂs family. Of course, usually when I call home, I am told I am the first teacher to call in years. I do not expect it. It is my job!

Certainly I do not think that my carpenters, who are friends and paid well, need any incentive to do their jobs. I do buy the beer, whiskey, and lunch when they do stuff like put in extra time on the weekends. But I almost always take money from them during our lively poker games.

Good question, and I have seen it on here a time or two (usually around the holiday's!).

We aren't doing anything for our subs. We are GC'ing ourselves, and chose crews that all work for a "main" boss. Most of the companies send their workers out, and we've only seen the boss on 1 or 2 occassions. So we definitely "know' the workers more than the boss. I presume their boss will give them a Christmas bonus?

At first we had hoped to be in for Christmas, and we plan to do an open house. I had thought to have a large tree with wrapped Sea's candy and sparkling Cider bottles for each person to take something home with them when they leave the open house.

Now we will be lucky to be in before Valentine's day. I won't have a Christmas tree up, or course, but still may do the chocolates and cider as a little thank you for them to take as they leave our open house. All of the trades have asked if they can come back to the open house, so we will definitely be hosting a big party for them to come see the finished product.

I think it's sweet if you want to give a gift. And for those who don't, I don't see anything wrong with not giving one either.

Congrat's on your new home. When will you move in?

We had a crew of four that framed our house and will be back to trim out. This morning I took them baskets of snacks to the job they are working on now. Roasted pecans, peanut brittle, etc. They will be back trimming out our house in the next few weeks so I would rather keep them happy and show them how much I appreciate them. That makes it nicer for all of us involved!!

totallyblessed,
I am really close to finishing. I am actually closing on our mortgage today, but we still have work to do. We have cabinets to finish, including all of our built-ins in the closets. I just don't see us moving in when those aren't done. We weren't planning on moving in until mid-January anyway.

I have just a few hats left and so far, everyone has liked them. I will give my main 4 guys a cash gift. They have done it all, from pouring footings, roofing, framing, door installation and final trim work and everything in between. They don't hire subs for much of the work. I think it is appropriate for me to give them a bit extra. They have done lots of extra stuff for me and have been pleasant doing it.

I try to be a considerate and generous person, but I'm not giving them anything-- none has been on time or under budget anyway, so I guess I'm exempt on that basis.

My house is waaay out of town, about 22 miles for most of the workers, even farther for some. But they knew where it was when they made their bids. If they'd finished on time, they'd have avoided most of the spike in gas prices, and they generally drive on my dime, getting to the site about 10, leaving no later than 4.

I have 2 concerns here: 'tip creep'-- that we'll end up in a situation where our plumbers will expect an extra 20% gratuity on top of their $75/hour rate; and drawing the line-- if the builder who makes way more a year than I do needs a present, what about my doctor, lawyer, accountant?