Condo Trim Bid...

LEVELBEST

Alright guys I am bidding on a job that is being done here in Greenville, SC by a GC and I am not sure how to bid it. I walked through one of the units(they are high end condos) today that was done and I measured some things. I havent been to the copy shop to get the plans yet so I am not sure of the Sq footage. I also forgot to count the number of cuts/corners on the crown. But if anyone can help I would appreciate it. Also I am bidding this job turn key short of the doors, which are 8ft tall split jamb w/o casing of course.

600 ft of base
600 ft of shoe
600 ft of Crown
600 ft of Picture 6" below the crown
1200 ft of casing on the doors and windows

Any ideas on a price? The base is 7 1/4" and the crown is pretty much standard.

Thanks guys!!

send_it_all

What is the trim made of?
Number of corners would help.
How many doors? Sizes?
How many windows? Sizes?

1200 feet of casing on windows/doors isn't enough info... not for me anyhow.

Based on what you have said....a preliminary number that comes to mind is about $8500 give or take.....

jmic

When will they stop ?

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

wink

go threw your past records and find an average time on hanging doors, and installing the casing. then find your average time to install the rest of the trim. now divide that number into how much trim there is to do, now you know how long it should take you. multiply this number by your daily overhead, add in a little for proffit. there you go roughly speaking. what's that you say you don't keep records, might be a good time to start. good luck with the project. of coarse you could always go online and let someone else decide if your buisness will be profitable or not.

LEVELBEST

LMAO!! You guys are harsh!! I have been doing this for quite some time, and I know how to bid a job. Problem is this in a fairly new thing to me as far as bidding on a project of this nature. I generally sub out my work all except for the trim, but this is one that I am gonna do turn key on my own. I havent bid a job like a set of condos before, and I damn sure havent bid on a job with freaking 8ft doors, lol.

Anyways, for those that would be interested in helping someone out here:

There are 5 4-0 double doors, and 9 3-0 or smaller single doors. There is also one pocket door, but I know none of you can help me on that without seeing the actual opening. I was just hoping some of you could give me a general idea of what you charge per linear ft for base, shoe, crown, picture, and casing.

Thanks again to those of you who offer advice, and thanks too for those of you that want to flame a somewhat newbie to the site!!

LEVELBEST

but in all honesty, what good is a site like this to any of us if we cant ask these types of questions without getting flamed?!

JumboJack

The simple answer is what I or someone else would charge may not be what you should/would charge.If I have much lower overhead than you and I pay myself or my guys less than you then my # would be very,very bad for you....Get it?

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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

AtlanticWBConst

I don't understand it either, if the OP is a "Residential Builder/Contractor", like it says under their forum name, why is this being asked?

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- Build Well -

jmic

Level, by any chance is your name John ?

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

DEAD_ONConst

My personal pref. is to do as you have done Level.

Measure out how many feet of each, cost out what your material price is for each style per foot of trim, add 15% for profit and then triple or quadruple that number, depending on what you think YOUR particular market will bear. This will cover your overhead, time and profit on your labor and your profit on your material. This WON'T cover staining/painting/finishing trim.

I don't bother "counting" corners, because that doesn't take into consideration how many times you may have to cut/nudge a corner (not meaning "cutting corners") to get a tight miter in your Base/Crown/Chair.

LEVELBEST

Thank you for a serious answer. Btw, for those other guys that are asking, i am a residential contractor, NOT A GC OR CONDO BUILDER!! My question was mainly bc I am looking at this job that is 24 high end condos and didnt want to lose the job based on the bid. I am gonna sub all the work out, just like I do when building a house, I just wondered what yall thought I should bid. Approximately of course. I have been a fan of this site and learned a lot from it, but damn if some of you dont just love bashing other posters. Anyways, the condos are 2800 sq ft and I bid $5800.00 labor and $1950.00 materials per unit. What do you all think?

JumboJack

Perfect.

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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

LEVELBEST

well Jack idk if that is sarcasm or not but thanks for the reply, lol. I didnt mean to break any unspoken rules here about asking for help on a bid, lol. As i said I love this site so I hope I can be forgiven!! lol, that quote was materials minus those damn 8ft tall doors.

DEAD_ONConst

Well, the theory is that there are TOO many variables to deal with when bidding a job. As you know, markets vary WILDLY! So, by their very nature, it is hard to give you any advice that will be "perfect", or will work for you every time. I understand why some of the guys are hesitant to offer up advice, because of these facts. However, I have found by my "PERSONAL" experience, that they generally work, regardless of market. It does, IMHO, because I am basing my estimate on the "LOCAL" cost of materials, and therefore, the pricing "index" has been done for me!

All the suppliers in your area have already done your homework for you! They know what people are willing to pay and therefore, YOU can base your estimate on those studies. One trick I use is when you call your supplier about material, ask them to give you your "contractor cost" and the "retail" cost. This tells you TWO things, what they are paying for the material and what their markup is! You see, your cost 'typically" will fall in the middle. So, you know what YOU are paying and what the Over-the-counter price is, so, you can deduce what their cost is and negotiate a better price for your self, and in turn better your material profit, which gives you more leeway when bidding! ie., you can afford to take a hit on labor to make the bid "look" better! You really haven't lost anything on the back end!

Just my two cents, or 12 cents, however you see it.

LEVELBEST

Thanks Dead On, I appreciate the response!

JumboJack

You are missing the point.What I charge or what another guy will charge will not necessarily be what you can or should charge.Let's say we both can do the same job in the same amount of time.If your overhead for the month is 1800.00 and you pay your carpenters 11.00 an hour and my O/H is 3500.00 and I pay my guys 25.00 an hour do you see a problem?

Read Wink's post again..THAT is how you bid a job like this.Not by asking other contractors from all over the country how much THEY charge.
I am starting to think that when someone asks "How much should I charge?"
they are really asking "What's the most I can charge?"

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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

Trimcat

I think what everyone is trying to say is bidding is a bitch... there's no magic formula to it.... the truth is you have to just sit down and crunch the whole thing over a few times and hope your number is right....