Commercial Caulking

Ryanl

I have been a painting contractor for 15 yrs and got out and have been in sales. I want to start a commercial caulking company here in the northeast. I noticed there are only 3 caulkers in the state and business is booming! One of my clients is an EFIS guy and said he can hook me up with contracts for his commercial jobs to do the caulking phase which he doesnt do. I will also bid other new construction jobs myself as well.

My question is since I dont have any experience BIDDING just caulking , does anyone have any points to consider when bidding and completeing this work? Is there anything out of the ordinary.thanks

mbenike

If you really have no estimating experience, would it be a bad idea to hire an estimator? If that is not in your plans, be sure to qualify your bids when you send them in to generals. Write down exclusions to your quote such as dumpsters, etc to avoid confusion and incurring extra costs while doing your work. Also remember not to forget anything. If you are going to bid on the caulking/sealant phase of a job, remember to bid off of BOTH the plans and specifications. Sometimes there are things in one but not the other. Also, remember to be high quality and trustworthy... then you'll be just fine.

Kingfisher

Ryanl, I have heard of residental calking companies too. Guys who come in at the end of the job and clean up everyones gaps to totaly seal the house. Gives the contractor peace of mind knowing its is sealed everywhere. I know it should be covered by other trades but saw this and thought you may want to look at that angel too Seems it would be very high end that want to be perfect or track homes that can't suppervise everyone well enough

sheeter

Some things to consider would be specified caulks. Dow will cost you more than Pecora. Prices on backer rod varies as well as the type of backer rod required for a particular joint. If you're going to be caulking to masonry substrates and precast, you will need to use primers, which will be slower to perform. The average two man caulking crew can caulk anywhere from 250LF to 350LF per day, depending on the joints. I typically pay contract caulkers $1.50 per linear foot plus all materials and equipment.

__________________
Sheeter
"It's hard to be humble when your good"