i think the contractor's mistake is in how he presents his bill. i
have had a similar problem before with customers not liking the fact
that i added a percentage to my labor. i wised up and started charging
more and leaving the percentage off it. people like that better. and
why should contractors even advertise their markup? you don't go into
a car dealership and read a car price plus the dealers markup do you?

Everyone can find out the car's markup easily and bargain from there.
This guy expects a blank check. His fee should have been included with
the labor charge and it would be more readily accepted. As he is doing
it now it seems like a ripoff to me.

marson wrote:
i think the contractor's mistake is in how he presents his bill. i
have had a similar problem before with customers not liking the fact
that i added a percentage to my labor. i wised up and started charging
more and leaving the percentage off it. people like that better. and
why should contractors even advertise their markup? you don't go into
a car dealership and read a car price plus the dealers markup do you?

wrote in message
oups.com...
Everyone can find out the car's markup easily and bargain from there.

That's a myth. There are incentives you never hear about. Cost data that's
published does not reflect these incentives, which often change weekly.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
Everyone can find out the car's markup easily and bargain from there.

OK forget the car analogy. how much does that loaf of bread cost the grocery store?

That info is readily available as well. Point is a car is a known
quantity as far as markup. This contractor can makr up any price

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
Everyone can find out the car's markup easily and bargain from there.

That's a myth. There are incentives you never hear about. Cost data that's
published does not reflect these incentives, which often change weekly.

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:20:12 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, Jud
McCranie quickly quoth:

This is about new construction, not repair. My family is building a
new house. We agreed to "cost plus 12%". We got the first bill
(basically for the foundation), and the contractor is adding in $800
per week that he is paying himself for supervision. In addition, he
is counting that as a cost. On this bill, it makes it cost plus over
23%. His bookkeeper says that the additional is for "profit and
overhead". We understood that he was to take the cost of labor and
materials and add 12% and that was what we paid. To me, it is like he
is getting paid twice - he is to take his profit out of the 12%. He
is working mainly on two other jobs and is rarely there.

Does this seem right? Should we be paying $800/week for a supervisor
that is rarely there, count that as a "cost" and also pay him 12% of
the cost?

How many weeks does it take to put in a foundation?!? Dig a day, frame
a day, pour a day, inspect another day. That's about half a week.

Well, next time you'll know to get actual costs from the contractors
who are doing the "cost plus" estimates, won't you? Rats!


--
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
-- Rodin

"Larry Jaques" wrote

How many weeks does it take to put in a foundation?!? Dig a day, frame
a day, pour a day, inspect another day. That's about half a week.

Wow. We took a lot longer. Of course there was excavation, form up, footer
rebar, type two fill, steel mesh, and oh, yeah, the plumbing. Those
plumbers can take a week by themselves.

I guess your foundation was for a shed, and not a real house.

Steve

Larry Jaques wrote:

How many weeks does it take to put in a foundation?!? Dig a day, frame
a day, pour a day, inspect another day. That's about half a week.

Either that's information garnered from a home improvement TV show
(they're not filmed in real time and frequently gloss over or entirely
ignore the schedule), or you're in a part of the country which doesn't
have much in the way of foundations (slab on grade with haunched
perimeter). It'd still take more than half a week unless the house had
no mechanicals or complexity.

R

On 15 Sep 2006 06:00:44 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm,
"RicodJour" quickly quoth:

Larry Jaques wrote:

How many weeks does it take to put in a foundation?!? Dig a day, frame
a day, pour a day, inspect another day. That's about half a week.

Either that's information garnered from a home improvement TV show
(they're not filmed in real time and frequently gloss over or entirely
ignore the schedule), or you're in a part of the country which doesn't
have much in the way of foundations (slab on grade with haunched
perimeter). It'd still take more than half a week unless the house had
no mechanicals or complexity.

Right, SoCal and SoOr, so no complex foundations or massive
excavations for frost lines, etc. The half a week can take months due
to delays in inspection, etc.


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On 15 Sep 2006 06:00:44 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm,
"RicodJour" quickly quoth:

Larry Jaques wrote:

How many weeks does it take to put in a foundation?!? Dig a day, frame
a day, pour a day, inspect another day. That's about half a week.

Either that's information garnered from a home improvement TV show
(they're not filmed in real time and frequently gloss over or entirely
ignore the schedule),

I forgot to answer that part: Those pours only take half an hour.



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