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I have received 2 quotes on framing a 1800 sq.ft house which is from the foundation to the roof felt. Including windows and no drywall or siding It will be stick built except will be using floor and roof trusses. One framing contractor quoted 2.50 per square foot and one general contractor quoted 5.00 per square foot. I am building in the North Carolina foothills. Is this 2.50 extra the GC profit or did I get a low bid form the framer?
JW, Roger
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Without examining the blueprints, either one could be right or both wrong.
Gabe
*Gabe is right. How in the world could we tell without seeing your prints, and knowing something about the labor costs in your area ?You need to be talking to your 2 bidders, not to us.
*Without seeing anything I'd say neither one is charging you enough.Bob
*My experience is it shouldnt take 2 guys more than 5 days at 8 hours a day to finish the job. Just for labor at 5.00 per sq ft. thats $4500 a week clear for each framer. I could easily quit my current position as a product development engineer (which the requirements are much higher than a framer) and be making 4 times what I make now. JMHO, Roger
*Roger, If you can make that kind of money, after all you are the one who knows the details, then frame it yourself; in fact quit your job and go into framing as a profession.
*Pro-Dek, you are definitely my kind of contractor. Whenever I hear a hapless homeowner tell me what framing should go for I know that the information comes from his brother in law's second cousin's wife's uncle who knows a guy that watched some of those knuckle dragging Neanderthals pound nails for about two hours three years ago.
*Maybe you should rmanbike. how cut up is the home? Howisaccessibility? what time of year is construction to begin? how close is supply and is it reliable? who did the concrete work? and is it even buildable on? who supplies fasteners, seismic and hurricane holddowns? is it to be hand-banged or pneumatic? what type of sheathing is used? Is the contractor insured/lic./bonded? who supplies the boom, or is it to be done by hand? etc. etc. etc.
*Dig the footings,build the forms for the footings, & walls,install the re-bar,wire tie,spacer ties,wheelbarrow the concrete from the front to the back,layout the bolts for the sill,drill and attach the sill,take off the footing walls,build the floor,build the walls,sheath,paper,windows,siding trusses roofing...........and then when you finish this WEEK will you pursue the framing or the engineer job?Bob
*I hear you!!! Everyone thinks that it is greener on the other side of the fence (wall/partition/what have you) This kind of makes me laugh..Oh yeah... It needs to be built 'tits' too.
*Non-pro answers!!!!!!!!!!!
*I can't wait for R to get my price to trim the house, and see how much money I make. I'm all ears...
*Rmanbike, beware of the low priced crews. I know of a crew that started to raise a gable wall, with the gable attached, with wall jacks. Well, the wall jacks weren't long enough, so the foreman went home!That wall remained that way (on a 45 degree angle) over the weekend and into the next week before the contractor got back to it. You get what you pay for.The 2.50 sounds low, but then again, it may be alright. I wouldn't do it for that. The funny thing is this. I'd be looking for a minimum of 4-5 per square foot myself. And I know I'd get it done in a week with my partner. And we would make great money on it. The cheaper guys will take two weeks and use four men. After taxes, they will be lucky to make $12 per hour. I don't get it. Never have, never will. blue
*CCB has got it right!! You need more details on what's covered in there bids. Make sure you get everything in writing so there's no misunderstandings down the road. Also, make sure they are licensed/insured/bonded and have workmen's comp for the workers.
*You guys also have to consider that every market is different. I know that 2.50 a foot seems low, but, there are guys framing tracs in Raleigh N.C. for even less. Before I left Raleigh we were framing tracs at around 1.60 to 2.00 a sq/ft. You really had to move. Nobody called it fine homebuilding, but you got what you paid for.R don't know what part of N.C. you are in but I know Raleigh was booming with tons of framers when I lived there. So it should be easy to get another price to compare with these. Do make sure that whoever you hire has all his insurance in order. I worked more times for guys without insurance than I care to remember.blue, I know it seems low but thats what alot of the guys have to do to stay in work. And believe me they won't take two weeks, if they are framing at that price it will be two to three days. Not all the low priced crews are bad either,they just charge what they can and have to deal with it.
*I understand about the crews doing them in a few days Clay. I don't understand why they would take several weeks for a few days pay. They can make more per hour at the Mobil station.blue
*True a-lot of the crews probably would make more. I spent enough years doing the whole run and gun thing.I always felt bad for those guys that took more than a few days to build a trac house, er excuse me "semi-custom home". They were usually the ones working by the job.
*I have a custom homebuilding buisness in New York State. We build mainly new homes but also do some commercial general contracting. I have my crew do a lot of our house framing and we get any where from $5 per ft. on up. I once built a home that I charged $10 per ft. for the framing and still lost money. The plan and details vary the cost quite a bit. A good framing contracter in our area costs $4-5 a ft.We provide our own lift, order materials, cleanup etc. I have 3 trucks, a shop, office expenses, a $60,000. lift, and Excellent employees who get paid holidays and vacation. Some have been with me over 15 years. Why is it that when someone buys a car, they see the difference in quality of work between the Yugo and the Mercades, but in a house quote everybody supposedly builds the same house as long as the material spec's are the same. Stupid, huh.
*John, now you know why I'm leaving the business....blue