I’ve been in the construction world for about 7 yrs now in upstate NY. copper and cedar roofs for a while and then historic home restoration for some time. Finally a buddy and I have decide to go off on our own to start a contracting bus. mainly roofing. low and behold our second bid that has come our way is a million dollar house that needs all the exterior trim and cedar shingle siding (w/ weaved corners) applied. All of which we feel extremely confident with. It’s the pricing were worried about. There will be approx.70 sqrs. of siding and W/ out the plans I don’t even know exactly how much Ln,ft of trim work. Majority of which will need to be done w/ a hi lo (cherry picker)which will have to also be put into the bid. Being that it will be our second job we would like to get the ball roling properly, and the goal being that the ball roles up hill.Please can you give us some advise on what we should price this at. sqft for the siding and lnft for the trim work. We are looking for different pricing philosophies in general.
Stella
Replies
Somehow, when typing your opening post, my name got in your "To:" box. your post should have been addressed to "ALL".
Unfortunately, I know nothing about your problem, but I'm sure someone does. I wish you the best of luck!
:-)
stella
I just ordered today 40 sq of red cedar perfections. 18" and green for my historic house here on LI.
You didnt mention what youre going over. Plywood or skip sheathing. IS that part of the job?
what are you nailing it with? A hammer or gun? Nails or staples? Galvies, SS or aluminum?
Cedarbreather, skip sheathing, plywood and furring strips? Or just over felt paper with treated perfections?
5 1/2" exposure?
edit: By the way, I'm paying about $38 per bundle.
Be well
andy
"My life is my practice"
Edited 3/24/2004 4:19 am ET by ANDY CLIFFORD(andybuildz)
Hey Andy,
The GC is providing all the material. Theyre going to be treated perfections laid over Tyveked plywood sheathing. we are using siding guns.
I don't think you have enough information to make a bid. A contractor that hung a lot of shingles would be able to look at time and material records from previous similar jobs and see approximately how much it took. If you don't have those records, the best you can do is ask around and see what others think. I've been shingling a lot and for what I'm doing, figure 1/2 to 1 square per day. Mike Smith posted recently that he figures 1/2 a square per day.
Anyway, I think you're in dangerous territory if you throw a bid at this one--big, big job and you could get eaten alive. Best thing to do is to ask the GC to approve a small preliminary contract for hourly work. Shingle one typical wall by the hour, see how that goes, and then multiply by the rest of the house to see what it will take. Same for the trim, run a few hundred feet of it to see how it goes.
Successful bidding requires that you know as much as possible about the job. (i.e. how much material you'll need, site conditions requiring special tools or equipment, etc, etc, etc.).
For things you can't forsee, you need language in the bid which will allow adjustments in the price/schedule if necessary. Don't be afraid to include decreases as well as increases. Depending on the size of the project, it's good to plan periodic progress meetings with the customer so they are aware of any problems and what you plan to do about them.
In my experience, customers can accept changes if they understand why they're necessary. Arguments are usually the product of lack of communication and unexpected surprises.