bugstruck
Platinum Member
John, Your getting some good advice here and a bit of nonsense comment in my opinion. Let me go off tangent a minute.....If your working for a General Contractor in the State of Maryland you are covered under his MHIC liscence to do any residential work. Farm work may be exempt from MHIC regulation unless perhaps you touch the farmer's house. However, you still need a Maryland Contractors license which is the simplest of licenses to obtain in our state for non-residential work. Been awhile but I'm guessing it's $15.00 obtainable thru the Clerk of the Court in your County of residence. Additionally, if this becomes a business venture (already is) you need to get Workman's Compensation insurance. Any General Contractor who is REAL will request a Certificate of Insurance. Be careful because unscripulious Contractor's will suck new guys in, let them do the work, deduct costs for insurance the Sub doesn't have, inflate the rate, etc. etc. . Minimum Liability, Workman's Comp., and road vehicle insurance thresholds will have to be met. Not necessilary Maryland minimums, but those imposed by the General Contractor's underwriter. Gettin interesting now... As a sole propreiter you can waive your Workman's Compensation coverage (Owner only) but here's the problem; you will battle the State of Md. at every turn. Been there, done it. They can't stand sole proprietors who don't contribute to their cause. It's our law and but drives em nuts. With a "Contractor's license" you will be limited to Commercial work and work under a General Contractor on residences. To go homeowner direct it's Maryland State Home Improvement Commision License or bust. That's more involved and totally unrelated to your ability to do the work. It's all about sales regulations and your business knowledge. If you're up here I bet you can pass the test first go. Failure rate on the initilal test was over 50% last I knew. Don't underestimate it. Back to your question....
$1,100.00 may not be enough. Your contract with the General Contractor is Stipulated Sum the way it sounds. Your only recourse to collect additional $$ is if there is a Change Order to the Contract; assuming there is a written Contract, cleary defined work scope, and escalation clauses for unforseen conditions. If you're not under Contract, and additional work is required, you have to hope both the Contractor and the Farmer are good people who are not adverse to parting with money they didn't plan on spending. Don't know many of them.
Here's why you may need more $$. Amazingly, in this instance, the General Contractor could be right and some guys who operate tractors could be wrong. The $55.00/hr. rate is about right (maybe 65.00) for you and the machine only. Your total hours sound a little high at first blush but if I'm working in an animal trench I'm not in some flat field with known good soils. The work doesn't start and stop over 60' of trench. Did you look at the job and estimate it? That shouldn't be called out as a work scope line item (contract) but you need to be paid and recover something for time spent. Is your tow vehicle and trailer free of any costs? Certainly not. You need haul in and haul out fees on this. These costs are real and need to be added. Is this animal depression you are getting ready to excavate 100 years old with perpetual rainwater problems? If so, you may be amazed at the sad state or incredible compaction of the soil you remove. Your Contract needs an escalation/exclusion clause for; excavation material not suitable for backfill and for rock, among a few others. You certainly don't have rock excavation costs in here. You don't have overburden disposal costs for unsuitable soils should they be encountered. You don't have borrow material excavation and transportation costs in here to find good backfill if it's needed. Enough said.
I'd go at say $1,900.00, do a formal Contract (yours or the General Contractor's as long as it reads right) , get your Liability insurance and Contractor's license at an absolute minimum, call Miss Utility, and do the work. IMO Erie is the best Liability insurance around for your needs. You'll figure the balance of this out as you go. Just wanted to make sure you had your head up for the launch.
Best of Luck.
$1,100.00 may not be enough. Your contract with the General Contractor is Stipulated Sum the way it sounds. Your only recourse to collect additional $$ is if there is a Change Order to the Contract; assuming there is a written Contract, cleary defined work scope, and escalation clauses for unforseen conditions. If you're not under Contract, and additional work is required, you have to hope both the Contractor and the Farmer are good people who are not adverse to parting with money they didn't plan on spending. Don't know many of them.
Here's why you may need more $$. Amazingly, in this instance, the General Contractor could be right and some guys who operate tractors could be wrong. The $55.00/hr. rate is about right (maybe 65.00) for you and the machine only. Your total hours sound a little high at first blush but if I'm working in an animal trench I'm not in some flat field with known good soils. The work doesn't start and stop over 60' of trench. Did you look at the job and estimate it? That shouldn't be called out as a work scope line item (contract) but you need to be paid and recover something for time spent. Is your tow vehicle and trailer free of any costs? Certainly not. You need haul in and haul out fees on this. These costs are real and need to be added. Is this animal depression you are getting ready to excavate 100 years old with perpetual rainwater problems? If so, you may be amazed at the sad state or incredible compaction of the soil you remove. Your Contract needs an escalation/exclusion clause for; excavation material not suitable for backfill and for rock, among a few others. You certainly don't have rock excavation costs in here. You don't have overburden disposal costs for unsuitable soils should they be encountered. You don't have borrow material excavation and transportation costs in here to find good backfill if it's needed. Enough said.
I'd go at say $1,900.00, do a formal Contract (yours or the General Contractor's as long as it reads right) , get your Liability insurance and Contractor's license at an absolute minimum, call Miss Utility, and do the work. IMO Erie is the best Liability insurance around for your needs. You'll figure the balance of this out as you go. Just wanted to make sure you had your head up for the launch.
Best of Luck.
