Small company wants more work

I am a small company in Denver and do mostly Custom Homes and remodel. I am thinking about bidding tract housing projects and need someone to help me with bidding. Do any of you guys do trac housing and can you give me some help with pricing. I know this is a lot to ask but it's worth a shot. BTW, I've been reading this group for years. Any advice, etc, will be appreciated.

Dave

Reply to
Guitarzoid
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Who is running the show, a bunch of Lawyers out for a quick buck or a real Contractor ? There are too many Clowns who think * they are Hard Nosed Businessmen....LMAO. Fact is they are just stupid. Know who you deal with ! Too many jump into the * Slumburb business without proper knowledge. ( They call themselves * Developers ? ) Too many brush off the locals authority then run into money problems as they find there is NO way they can build all they thought they could. You may not get paid ! Get the MONEY first, say in a Trust or a large down payment to cover costs to start the job. If they are good their Bank will agree and understand your concerns.

Look, one job like this that goes bad will ruin you....be careful, be very careful ! If it has ANY ODOR WALK away unless if as you say you are small and are able to throw away $100,000. Don't get stars in your eyes over a large job.

Then remember how to fight with your fists. The Drywall guys will bitch you're too slow, Electrical will have wires in the exact place you need to run your Copper ( Plumbing takes precedence over Electrical for Code. ) Carpenters will bitch about that 3" or 1 1/2" PVC you drilled though their 2 x 4 and so on......... I added 10% for the Bullshit Factor. That was just for Beer to settle me down and not kill someone.

Good luck and leave the Farmland to Farmers.

Reply to
pmartin

On pricing get the Architect plans, take them to a few Large Plumbing Supply places. They also will provide you with a Bid for your business.

Often on State or City work these places already have a bid price, then you add your Ins., Workers Comp. and so on so you see a profit the hard part is to finish on time. You need a good crew.

Reply to
pmartin

Not sure what you're looking for here Dave. PPF (price per fixture) is only an average on the entire job. What specifically are you wanting and maybe we can help.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you were in my area, I would tell you that average PPF is approx. $435-$450 per fixture. A simple trac home with 2-bathrooms could be figured like this:

bathroom #1 Bathtub, Toilet, Lavatory (3 fixtures) bathroom #2 Bathtub, Toilet, Lavatory (3 fixtures) Kitchen Sink (1 fixture) Washer Box (1 fixture) Water Heater (1 fixture) Connection to city service (sewer/water) (1 fixture)

total fixtures = 10 x $450/fixture = $4500

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure in approx. 1-1/2 days per bath. So a 2-bath house should take you about 3 days to finish the rough.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But you REALLY need to figure out where these numbers are coming from. I would never bid strictly per fixture. Per-fixture pricing is ONLY an average of prices in my area. And frankly, $450/fixture is pretty weak. Other areas are getting $600+ per fixture. So make sure you bid appropriately. And make sure you know what those numbers mean. You can't treat a jetted tub as ONE fixture because the damn tub alone will cost you over $1000 with the valves. So don't f*ck yourself by throwing out a per-fixture price. KNOW where those numbers are coming from.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just like on your water heater you can't really bid it as ONE fixture because there are lots of factors that affect the price of a water heater. Is it in an attic? Do you have to install the flue pipe and combustion and ventilation air? Are you running the gas line? Will you be installing a pan and drain line for the pan? Do you have to wrap the water pipe with insulation? Do you have to wrap the expansion tank in your area?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On your sewer line...are you going to run your sewer line 50-feet or are you going to run the thing 150-feet? makes a big difference in the cost. Are you sub-contracting your excavations or is the contractor opening/backfilling your trench? Do you have to use service weight cast iron at the street connection or can you use PVC fittings? Are you digging through dirt or solid rock? do you have enough grade or will you be installing a pump?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All sorts of things to consider when bidding a job. I personally have

5-pages of "terms and conditions" that I have built over the years. They include all the little things that over the years have cost me or other friends in the trade money because they were not addressed in the original contract.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I found that it helps to break the house into sections. Assuming a house with a crawl, I break the house into floor level, crawl area, and attic areas. When I look at a job, I know immediately the I have certain fixed costs on all of my fixtures "at floor level". For instance, every tub will require a tub waste, a valve, and other odds and ends to finish my rough (at floor level). Since all my floor-level costs are the same, all I have to do is figure out what my crawl costs (for building drainage system and water supply) and my attic costs (for venting) and my sewer/water service costs + backhoe costs are going to be. I keep these costs in my computer and I build averages based on previous jobs. So I have an "average cost" for a tub and for a toilet and a lavatory and etc. Since I know what my costs are going to be,the only real question is "how long is this shit gonna take". Again, I figure in 1-1/2 days per bathroom. So a 2-bath house will take me 3-days on the rough. 1-day on the sewer/water. 1-day for my final. So I'm looking at a total of 5-days + materials costs. What is your time worth? If you're used to getting paid $100+ per hour on repair work, you're in for a big disappointment. New construction ESPECIALLY trac housing doesn't pay anywhere near that well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't know if this is what you were looking for because you were never real specific on what you were looking for. Let us know and maybe we can offer a little more

Reply to
Blackbeard

I think what I really want to know is prbably what the profit margin is on tracy housing. I know that it depends on the region of the country and it even varies from county to county out here. I need to expand and am looking into the tract housing area to do it in. As I look closer at my situation I think I have a bigger problem in how I run my company. I can get work but dis-organization prevents me from growing. I've been in business for 5 years am 48 years old and have 2 part-time workers. Maybe I should'nt try to do it all myself.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Dave

Reply to
Guitarzoid

Get, ' Contractor Magazine and Plumbing Contractor. ' Both are free for the trade and the first has top ideas on how to run your Company.

Reply to
pmartin

If your work is that great, I would love to see it. Not too many guys around that take so much pride in their work that they consider it artwork. Good for you for setting a higher standard.

As for the drug use, I can't endorse recreational drug use. And I would suggest that you STOP. If you quit using for no other reason, there is one very real reason you should consider.

If one of those huge boilers loses its center of gravity and rolls over on top of you and breaks several ribs and puts you in the hospital, workman's comp WILL NOT PAY. Because of the strict laws regarding drug-related injuries, your employer will have no choice but to let you go. And I know, you probably don't use while on the job - but if its in your bloodstream, insurance companies love to point the finger and cry drug-related injury in order to get out of paying.

So if you think the marijuana helps you be more creative and etc., that's your decision. But do be aware that a seemingly small injury (broken arm, broken hand, broken finger, etc) that puts you out of work WILL NOT be paid by workman's comp. Which means you also don't get short-term disability. So if you have enough cash laying around to pay your mortgage/rent and other expenses for 3-4 months while you are out of work with no short-term, I would suggest that is a bad decision on your part.

You are creating a very large RISK that could seriously effect your entire future. Why are you doing that? For the effects of a little doobage...

And do you realize that if somebody else KNOWS that you're a pothead, they could deliberately pull a short-stop on your ass and you would be considered 100% at fault (or your company). If I short-stopped your ass on purpose, I could bilk your employer out of almost $90,000...even if I was not injured. Come'on man - take a serious look at the potential consequences of your drug use.

not a smart move my friend.

Reply to
Blackbeard

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