Construction Jobs

Bruce – While its not a bad lead source i find that the blue book bids are solicted from general contractors who simply carpet bomb every trade in the industry to come up with low ball bids from small contractors so they can make all the money. Be wary of these, ive seen a lot of small contractors go out of business because they didnt know what GC they were getting in bed with. Up here in Connecticut one of those GC’s is Konover or KBB as they are now known. They saying around here is “Bend over here comes Konover”. They will hold you to every line of a 900 page spec. book and have the lawyers on their side that will bleed you dry or simply make you give up. This industry can be very very dirty.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

I agree with you 100% and I think everyone should be careful and do their homework. I’ve given some of these bid proposals to a contractor I know and his plate is full of work now for a year about a 1 hours drive from here.
Before he bid he checked all the avenues on the construction company and they came up with an excellent rating. He had no work and has not had any for over a year.

Even in my business I have to be extra careful now and do only handshake contracts with people I know, have done work for and referrals from the same people. I’m loaded with work now and feel blessed to have the work I do especially living in a resort area that has almost zero construction work. It’s people with money in their pockets to spend…prayer does work.

-- Bruce http://plans.testsitem3.info http://www.sawmillgirls.com

I’m currently working for a commercial millwork contractor and almost all our GC’s use Blue Book to distribute plans and specs. Most 900 page spec jobs are gov’t buildings. I once bid a military project that was 2800 pages of specs—for a simple Barracks building!

Yes, you are required to know and meet the specs, but, if you don’t or can’t meet them, you shouldn’t be doing commercial work.

My submittal drawings are laced with tedious and mundane details that noone will likely read, let alone follow, but that is what it takes to get the work.

We’ve been fortunate to have all the work we can handle for the last several years.
It helps that we can work anywhere in the lower 48.

-- "Hard work is not defined by the difficulty of the task as much as a person's desire to perform it.", DS251

Im glad to hear that you both have made good desicions regarding GC’s. Im working on a govt bid as we speak, my submittal for demo and asbestos is 600 pages … and i dont even leave them with anything, no product, no equipment, everything we do is dumpstered. Its unreal. And they wonder why its so darn expensive? Paying laborers $43.25 an hour?

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

chrsistef, it might be interesting to note that we rarely get contracts from blue book bids where we haven’t had an already established working relationship with the GC. Sometimes we get contracts and invitations based on referrals, but those aren’t as prevelant either.
Such “cold call” bids don’t carry the same weight as a bid from a sub whom the GC knows and trusts.

-- "Hard work is not defined by the difficulty of the task as much as a person's desire to perform it.", DS251

Yea, i find thatts the case on my end too. Those cold calls are usually just having their numbers checked out. All of the work that we get here in our office is through invitations to bid from GC’s weve done work with mostly.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

The bid specs that crack me up are the ones in union states that require local labor and that specify who gets paid what rate based on what they are doing. And you have to have x number of people of each position on the job site regardless of what it actually takes to do the job.
Is it any wonder America is in decline?

-- "Hard work is not defined by the difficulty of the task as much as a person's desire to perform it.", DS251

Well this contractor friend’s wife told my wife the GC wants him to continue with him as he has 3 years work refurbishing and building new buildings for a fast food chain. The GC is also paying him his draws on time and the full amount on time and it’s his normal fees for his work.

He didn’t have to go through 100’s of documents to bid on the job. He bid, the GC asked for a resume, checked him out and hired him. My friend is not a major domestic or international contractor. He’s a local contractor that got bit on the butt by the economy.

There are still honest GC’s out there but I do agree…make sure you know who you’re going to work for before you do the deal.

-- Bruce http://plans.testsitem3.info http://www.sawmillgirls.com

The cool thing for your friend is, if he performs well, he will get even more work from this GC and his other GC buddies for years to come.

This is a good thing.

-- "Hard work is not defined by the difficulty of the task as much as a person's desire to perform it.", DS251

Its funny isnt it when they do stuff like that. I was looking at a large demo job, taking down an olfd factory owned by the city. The city stipulated that the demo contractor had to remove the old beams and salvage them, load them on a trailer, and send them off to some company, and the city kept the money. So a contractor chimes in with “So what lengths would you like the copper cut up into?” ... i blew snot on that one. Needless to say the city official didnt think it was funny at all.

We have those rates around here and demo laborers are making 43.25 an hour. It baffles me.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

If you can get an in with some of those larger chains it can be a meal ticket for a long time. I havent had the opportunity to get in with one but i do know another demo guy who does all of walmarts work in the area. They keep him more than busy. Im glad to hear guys are working and things are starting to break. Last 2 years has been a tough go for sure.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

I think we are popular with some GCs because we can deliver pre-made components to the jobsite (AZ is a right to work state) and only pay local labor rates for the install and clean up.

Working for the Indian Nation is interesting too, because thier statutes require a certain percentage of your workforce be Native American. (Regardless of where the product is made)
The funny part is they nearly always have to create a waiver of that requirement because the Native workers just don’t exist.

-- "Hard work is not defined by the difficulty of the task as much as a person's desire to perform it.", DS251

We have a couple of casinos here and they have their own tribal OSHA and in some cases its way above and beyond even OSHA laws. Ididnt think that there were a ton of commercial guys on this site glad to bump into you both.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty