Joe wrote:
On Apr 2, 4:39 pm, "RogerT" wrote:

snip

Ideally, I would like
to find an experienced contractor who will charge me by the day for
the labor part of the job, and I will pay for the materials.

snip

Those are called day laborers and usually can be found early in the
morning at some of the Borgs in big cities. Some speak English, some
don't. English speaking ones will better understand what you need
done.
If you want to have a real contractor on the job, ask for references
and get quotes. Forget about buying the material. He will probably be
somewhat amused and decline the job, and the amount isn't worth
haggling over.

Joe

Thanks. I defintiely don't want a day laborer. I do want an experienced
contractor who often does Chicago grid ceiling systems. My thinking is that
it may cost around $400 to $500 per day for that type of person (based on
maybe $50 to $62.50 per hour) for an experienced contractor -- but I'm not
sure.

I didn't mean that I would buy the matierials to save money or whatever. I
just meant that I would pay the person for his time plus whatever the cost
of the materials turned out to be.