Pita Factor When Working For Architects & Eng.

deckndave

I have 2 really good prospects right now one is an architect, the other an engineer. What has been your experience when working with these types of homeowners? Have you found yourselves happy with your profit at the end of the job or found yourself wishing you had added in a % for pita factor.

Deadhead Derek

add a percentage... trust me.

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Tom Struble

ill take the architect over the engineer

JumboJack

Me too...I did do a room addition once for a building inspector.That was fun.

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in texas with framing and cornish people will do it for 3.00 a foot. What do yall think about that? Just laber

silvertree

You can generalize, and although that's not fair, both of those professions can make the job more difficult. So can lawyers, doctors, and schoolteachers.
You meet them and flat out ask them if they are going to be difficult.
What have you got to lose.
3 years ago my engineer customer told me my framing was off by almost a 1/16". I told him to measure again tomorrow because it might be off by an 1/8" if it rained overnight.
A few months ago I layed out a kitchen for an electrical engineer and he was totally cool.

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Vote for Pedro
Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
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Bodger

Ditto that.
And my limited axperience with those guys has been that they have a tendency to shop you out trying to get the best deal or some sort of professional discount.

KentWhitten

Multiply by 2. And do it exactly like the architect shows.

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macatawacab

You have to know how to read people as they are not as to their professions. How did the negotiation to get the job go, what questions, how many times have they called you already, etc. After a while you can tell some are going require more hand holding and you need to get paid a little more for the greater use of your time.


Ditto to what Silvertree said.

WisePainter

I have found that the client's career does not predetermine their attitude or "laidbackedness" quotient.

Age does predetermine how easy it will be getting the check out of their fingers at the end of your contract.

>Young people, hard to work for because they are just young and all full of ideas and attitude.

>Middle aged, finally found their groove in life and ready to see just what that newfound money gets them. Big appetite for the bling with deep enough pockets to provide the necessary "motivation" we contractors look for.

>Old folk.
Man I either pity them and lower the price to just above free ninety free, or they are so hard to deal with because they are penny pinchers who are never satisfied.
Good luck with the latter. They will feel the back underside for lacquer that matches the face of cabinets...examine the walls so closely that they are running their cheek along the wall while looking for that stray "booger" that was left by the roller...or my favorite: stand right behind you watching, watching, watching, watching.
And when you go to get paid they feel the back underside of the cabinet...

sunofab*tch friggin mother of pearl dah~miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiT!

Sounds like either way you are guaranteed a payday.
Avoid old people.

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deckndave

Wow wisepainter, you shouldn't be allowed within a 2 mile radius of a retirement home!

I actually have not yet met the engineer (he has hired his father in law to run the project) but the deck he wants built will be an absolute work of art.

Thanks Silvertree! I'll ask my client when I met him if he's gonna be an a$$hole. JK JK!

I realize it's gross generalizations here, but we contractors have to "profile" our customers to a certain degree. I just wanted to validate those generalizations and hear from you guys! Thanks for the input!

Tscarborough

Churches and attorneys: Money upfront and hard contract.
Architects: Wavier of responsibility if built to their plans and specifications (personal work for the architect, that is) instead of to industry standards.
Engineers: Contract states all tolerances and allowances, per industry standards, and they are not allowed on the jobsite when it is manned.
Retired people: Money upfront and not allowed on jobsite when it is manned, or dangerous (dangerous meaning not finished).
Doctors: 2x PITA factor, hard contract

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Bodger

I've had questions on that one with my lawyer a lot. Not necessarily when working with architects on their personal properties, but on residential jobs where I am the primary.
How much can I protect myself from some bit of work that looks kinda hinky to me as drawn, but still got past the city plan check and the inspector.
I was basically told that a waiver of responsibility isn't worth a hell of a lot of something fails. You can't waiver negligence, and if that is what it is ultimately deemed to be, it can come back to the GC.
Not contradicting you here, Tscarborough, just wondering what yours or anyone else's experience has been like in those circumstances.
Kind of off topic maybe,

SCCTrim

I have yet to see anyone mention machinist...I have done work for 2 to this point. They are accustomed to dealing with tolerance's..kinda remind's me of silvertree's post. I told one of them your accustomed to dealing with thousandths...we don't take measurement's with calipers and micrometers.

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silvertree

Here's exactly what happened with my engineer customer.
He had this ruler kind of thing that he measured corner to corner window openings with. He says I'm off by 1/32 " here and there, like, Paul this window is 62& 3/8" and the next window is 62& 13/32".
I take my ruler and open it in front of him and show him it only goes to 16th".
He really shut up after that. Was a good job then on.

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Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
203K Loan Consultant Minnesota

Tscarborough

A general waiver isn't worth spit. If you list specific design and construction details, it is iron clad.

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Bodger

Good to know.