Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place?

Status
Not open for further replies.
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place?
  • Thread Starter
#131  
I wanted to put a pool in and got three or more quotes at the time 20 plus years ago. After seeing the price all 30K and above to nearly 60K. I said well, look like no pool for us.

I set out to build it myself. I drew a crude sketch on paper and emailed it to a company in Florida ( I'm in Ca.) to do drawings for the permits for $300.00. Hmmmm, I took a chance, and WOW they delivered technical drawings with pool plumbing, lighting, cement, tanning shelf, holes for umbrellas, filtration, and on and on.

Next, I asked a pool guy doing work across the street if he knew people to od the work on the side, after 5 pm, on Saturdays, Sundays, etc. One by one I called each subcontractor, hole digger, rebar, plumbing, electrical, Shotcreting, Gs lines, Tile guy, and more.

I ordered all the equipment online at a discount pool supplier. One by one they gave me quotes and when I added it all up I was under 10K for the same pool I was quoted over 30K.

With the concrete guy, I decided to concrete the entire back yard and down both sides of the house. Here a funny part. Knowing the distance from the street to the backyard I expanded a pumper truck to arrive on pour day. To my astonishment, I looked out the front window and there were 10-15 people all with wheelbarrows standing, waiting for the truck to show up. I thought NO WAY.

Sure enough, the truck showed up and each man took a load of concrete in his wheelbarrow and raced it to the far corner of the yard, next, then next then next. Soon they were like ants perfectly choreographed, perfect timing running in this HUGE wheelbarrow circle. carefully passing each other one coming, one going.

I seriously doubt a pumper truck could have done it quicker. My guess is the contractor looked at the price of a pumper truck and figured he could get a gaggle of men to do it cheaper.

The most surprising thing I witnessed was the guy doing the pool plumbing was using the truck, and tools from one of the most prestigious pool companies in my area that quoted me 60K for the pool.

Apparently he was the foreman and was doing "side jobs" using the company equipment.

Granted I got zero guarantees ( EXCEPT the equipment I purchased) on my project as I was the contractor. I permitted everything and got city inspectors. The only hiccup was when the inspector came out before the shotcrete he said the rebars were an inch too close to the property line. I jumped in the poll yanked the rebar back an in and he was fine and signed off.

Here it is 20 years later not a single issue with the pool or any of the work. Sure I replaced pump motors, some plastic valves being baked in 120 degrees plus sun.

I added extra liability insurance to the house and property with the help of my agent in case anyone got hurt. I did not ask for contractors' licenses since I figured they were all doing side jobs.

The shotcrete guy that does all the pools in our area told me the company gives him free use of their equipment to do side jobs as a "bonus" - I doubt it.

I never knew so many employees would take advantage of their companies by doing side jobs that would otherwise go to the company. I don't agree with what they are doing, I don't condone it, but I also wasn't going to kick them off my job as it was too late.

Who would have thought that I needed to ask the question " WILL YOU BE BORROWING YOUR BOSSES EQUIPMENT TO DO MY JOB" Yes every one of the workers could barely or not speak any English.

Live and learn.
 
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #132  
Recently got some quotes for 350 linear feet of retaining wall... materials probably $5k. Equipment rental and dump fees about $3k. Job cost $40k. Four guys, five days they said... do the math, that's $160 per hour per guy... that's way more than I make so the decision is easy.

Usually I find that I can do a job for about 20% of whatever quote I get, and sometimes that includes buying some tools. With the retaining wall I could buy a mini excavator and still save money.

And then if your like me you end up with a lot of tools and equipment. I almost bought a mini-ex to replace a waterline. But then I found a highly qualified contractor that did the whole job for a very reasonable rate.
 
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #133  
And then if your like me you end up with a lot of tools and equipment. I almost bought a mini-ex to replace a waterline. But then I found a highly qualified contractor that did the whole job for a very reasonable rate.

I wouldn't begrudge an honest man an honest wage for an honest job. Trouble is...where do you find an honest man these days?
 
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #134  
I wouldn't begrudge an honest man an honest wage for an honest job. Trouble is...where do you find an honest man these days?

Few and far between from what I see and hear.
 
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #136  
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #137  
Then I commend them and you. There sure seem to be a lot of folks that can't find one.

Oh yeah... I have heard all of the horror stories. Several years back a competitor of mine took 500K from a company we also built for. He did fair to shoddy work, was cheap, and extremely personable and likable. Everybody loved this guy. Several people in that company lost their jobs and I was hired to finish the projects he skipped out on.
 
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #138  
Just like a grocery order, I don't think people realize how all the "added" costs, mostly imposed by government add up. Kicker is, a guy or contractor can be totally compliant and not worth a crap as a tradesman. Or a decent human being for that matter. lol
 
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #139  
Few and far between from what I see and hear.

Not as much as you might think. There are a lot of honest people out there. Not saying you do this, but a lot of people are trying to find honest people on line. I don稚 think this is the way to go. I am an honest small timer. I get jobs by referrals, which are in my opinion, worth way more than 100 5 star google reviews.
 
   / Anyone else getting quoted insane prices for work around your place? #140  
As a contractor, my goal is to make as much money as I can, but to also have work lined up so I'm actually making money and not waiting for the phone to ring. I've been fortunate in my pricing to never have a day that I didn't have work, and usually 2 months worth of work booked up. Right now I'm booked out to November and when I get to that point, clients sometimes disappear on me, or life gets in the way and they have to postpone the job.

A lot of the jobs I get are from other guys that where way overpriced and never finished. I think a lot of them are trying to make up for not having a lot of work lined up. One house had been going on for a year and all he had done was the sheetrock was in and textured. He moved some walls around, but got the measurements wrong, and that's when he disappeared. It took me 2 months to finish the house so they could sell it. At first, they expected to get $200,000 for it, but when the realtor came back to see the finished house, he listed it for $315,000

Most of my clients are repeats and most of them never ask for a bid, or what it will cost.

The high dollar homes in the fancy neighborhoods are the hardest to deal with, and the slowest to pay. At first, I got a lot work in those areas, but now I don't even bother because they are all so broke and either want to renegotiate pricing, or they give me checks that wont be good for a week.

I also don't do commercial jobs anymore. It takes forever to get paid once the job is done. I learned to pad the bid quite a bit because of this, and it still wasn't worth it

I've thought about raising my rates, but I also think that their is a lot of unknown in the future, and it would be better to have jobs that pay quickly, then to try and max out what I can get today and risk not having work tomorrow.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

2011 Manac 36245B30 43ft T/A Walking Floor Trailer (A50322)
2011 Manac...
2022 Toro Workman 07921 Electric Utility Cart (A51694)
2022 Toro Workman...
John Deere (A50322)
John Deere (A50322)
2003 FREIGHTLINER FL80 DUMP TRUCK (A51406)
2003 FREIGHTLINER...
2010 Ford Edge SE SUV (A51694)
2010 Ford Edge SE...
2017 Wanco WSDT3-S S/A Towable Radar-Speed Trailer (A52377)
2017 Wanco WSDT3-S...
 
Top