Contractor who lost bid asking for details of winning bid
Sheila Edmond
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
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mike_home
9 years agoRelated Discussions
GC bid summarized vs line item detail - is this normal?
Comments (23)I had a similar contract with my GC: a summary that detailed the aspects of the job (eg, install 4 ceiling cans, customer to provide fixtures, install cabinets, customer to provide cabinets, install gfci outlets, etc) and a total for the scope of work. My expectation was that if the scope stated that he would install something, that meant he would be providing any items needed to do that. And some things I didn't research thinking that he would just know what to do-- like placement of the relocated phone jack and associated power outlet in a way that would actually let me put the phone there and look nice. So, the only difficulties with that contract that I ran into involved a lack of detail in some aspects: the quality of the drywall sub, issues with fit and finish/ quality of material used (so some things I should have thought more about and specified in advance), only one GFCI installed. Since I ended up refinishing the found pine floor (at my expense) instead of installing the engineered, he found reasons to not discount for the work not done -- like, they had to buy a $19 fitting for the frig water line installation, and a line for the gas stove install, and screws for the pulls -- and that supposedly made up for not installing a floor. I understand expecting to get so much for a job but he was saved a day of labor too. It wasn't enough to sour me on the guy, though. It wasn't worth fussing about in the end, to me. To someone with tighter resources it surely might have been. But, it couldn't have been planned ahead for. Some of the issues (and they really aren't major, in the total scheme I feel) kind of are his crew nickel and diming me -- Claiming something wasn't mentioned in the scope of work (it was), not wanting to finish this, not wanting to fix that, wanting to be done and on to the next job and have no further labor expense on mine. Problems I think can happen with any kind of contract. So, my advice is to discuss any detail that you can think of and make sure it is clear who is providing what, to what quality (like in my case-- style of trim around windows, lack of insulation behind the over-stove exhaust fan, the exact number of GFCIs and where, new location of phone line)....See MoreContractor Bid w/ Allowances
Comments (8)It is common for contractors to not allow a homeowner to supply important, hard to schedule, work and materials without expecting their fee to be paid although some don't mind. Usually it is a matter of how they compute their profit. Pulling something out of their work can upset the apple cart. Also, realistically, the GC will end up coordinating the work and sorting out who is responsible for errors. An allowance doesn't represent a bid price or a "not to exceed" price so don't take it literally and don't compare another supplier's price to it. Allowances represent small "Cost Plus" contracts inside of a "Fixed Price" contract. They should only be used when it is impossible to determine the material to be used at the time of contract signing and NEVER (in my humble opinion) for labor. If possible, include unit prices for labor in the contract. In the usual situation, the favored sub can give any price he wishes to the GC, even in excess of the allowance, and you would be stuck with it. Such sweetheart arrangements facilitate kick-backs to the GC cleverly disguised as discounts or refunds at a later date which is difficult to prove and prosecute. For this reason allowances are often very dangerous things and should be carefully defined or avoided. In this situation the best solution would be for allowance item be bid with more than one supplier and that you be able to approve the bidders list and select the winning bidder. That's the way it is handled in large projects. Of course, you would pay any amount over the low bid. If it is too late to include this feature in the contract you could request that your favorite sub be used and expect to pay the GC his fee. Because the sub is unknown to the GC you might save enough to pay the GC's fee. Of course, you'll never know that....See MoreHow did your contractor put together his bid?
Comments (14)I know all about small additions with kitchens that equal big bucks! Although mine is a little larger than 50 square feet, but not by much. It is depressing. I feel like we followed our architect's lead and got led down a rosy path but also got some very good professional judgment (as well as nice work) so it's confusing. If the estimate is based on the architect's drawings and specifications then it should be apples to apples in comparing the bids. If you haven't completed decisions on things like appliances and fixtures you can get all the bids without those (which you can get costs for easily anyway) just to make sure they are pricing the same thing. In our case the architect said that the different firms they recommended were all going to come in around the same cost and the same quality and since we really liked one over the others that's who we went with to get a bid and move forward (we're supposed to start in June). The problems for us really started with the one *estimate* we got (different GC) which was terribly LOW compared to reality. This was what we based our initial decisions on. This started us on the path to having plans drawn up that completely and overwhelming exceeded our budget. Now we're in what I hope are our last throes of making changes to get ready to rumble. By the way, the guy who did the low-balled estimate later would not bid the job unless either he was the only bid we were getting (of course we could still have rejected him and moved on) OR we paid him $3,500 to prepare the bid. It would have been interesting to have had him bid on the job since I think his estimate was 50% off (a poor basis for us to have made decisions)! Later we found out that the architect expected that GC's bid would be off by 20%....See Morecontractor bid question
Comments (32)I'm not saying I'll kick him off the job at all. but if he doesn't act in a reasonable manner when I tell him that he can't charge me for airspace and provide a good reason why he needs more money, I have options. honestly I don't know anyone who is patient enough to wait 9-12 months past promised end date ... I'm very understanding and reasonable. but I think I've had enough BS and if he can't put the finishing touches on the house, which has been in this finishing phase for 9 months, I have got to get somebody else who can....See MoreSheila Edmond
9 years agotigerdunes
9 years agoSheila Edmond
9 years agocindywhitall
9 years agoSheila Edmond
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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