Bidding Commercial Projects

cburke501

We are a Union framing/general carpentry contractor. Recently, we've recieved a lot of invitations to bid through the Union because there is so much union work going on in the area. We've gotten a few of the jobs, but I'm wondering if our bidding itself is the reason we don't get more.

Our estimates have always been good, but I think maybe the actual bid we send in may be lacking. I usually take the total number we come up with and simply but that in a fax saying something like,"We will provide labor and material for ***X project in the amount of $***,***."

Should we be breaking our number out more specifically? Or is it dangerous to reveal our labor and material costs that way. As these are Union projects, the cost of labor is obviously public information. But would a GC be more likely to consider us if we had a more complex cost breakdown? If there are any commercial GC's or other subs who bid this kind of work, I'd love to hear how you prefer to structure the bid itself. Thanks.

Bob Kovacs

If your number is right, they'll call you to get the details- trust me. On the other hand, if the number is higher than other bidders, they're going to start with the guy who's number is low, and call him to see if he's got the complete scope- if he's lacking scope, they'll move to the next lowest number and see what they've got. If you're not getting called, it sounds like your bids aren't even in the ballpark. Of course, it helps to call the GC's afterward and ask them why you didn't get called- that will allow you to confirm my thought.