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How do I bid prevailing wage?

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sourkrause

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi everyone. I am new to this site and am hoping that someone will finally be able to help me with a problem. I am a wallcovering contractor here in CA and trying to make the transition from primarily residential to primarily commercial. I have been bidding jobs but got stuck when it comes to prevailing wage. I understand the concept, but don't know how to get started or how to qualify to begin bidding. If someone can leet me know what steps I need to take to begin pursuing these projects, can you please fill me in.
 
#2 ·
There shouldn't really be any "steps to follow" unless the particular project requires you to hold a license or certificate in order to bid on that work (many government agencies require this). Otherwise, you simply need to get a copy of the prevailing wage rates and benefits costs for paperhangers in your county, and make sure to use those rates when preparing your bid. Once you win the job, be prepared to provide certified payroll to prove that you're paying the proper amounts, so make sure you include $$ in your bid for the additional paperwork and accounting time.
 
#3 · (Edited)
sourkrause said:
Hi everyone. I am new to this site and am hoping that someone will finally be able to help me with a problem. I am a wallcovering contractor here in CA and trying to make the transition from primarily residential to primarily commercial. I have been bidding jobs but got stuck when it comes to prevailing wage. I understand the concept, but don't know how to get started or how to qualify to begin bidding. If someone can leet me know what steps I need to take to begin pursuing these projects, can you please fill me in.
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Find out what wht projects are up foir bid. That should be public info posted somewhere, ( contracts office), on the military base etc, etc. Find out what gc's are bidding on the projects and contact them. Find a retired contracts man that represented that base and see if he/she might consult you. I thew an ad in the paper one time for an experienced govt. contracts person and got a lot of response and a lot of free advice. .. As a gc there are lots of hoops, half of which you can ignore, and the other half you had better get right.
 
#4 ·
The only difference between PW jobs and others is the hourly rate, and the nuisance factor of paperwork and jobsite interviewers stopping your crew and asking them questions about their pay rate, etc. The pay rate for your craft is usually part of the job documents, but may also be obtained on the Dept of Labor website. Overtime rates are strictly enforced, as are proper work classification rates. A word of advice: If there is a labor rate change at any time for the duration of the job, you will have to pay the higher rate from then on.
 
#5 ·
Prevailing wage is not always something to write home about as is the case in my city. With no Union presence for certain trades around here the PW is researched and set off the existing non union scale which ain't much. For painters, paper hangers, drywallers, and grid guys, pw is at about 16 to 18 bucks an hour. The local trades where there is at least some union presence, (therefore setting the pw), the pw is double or triple. ... Disgraceful in my opinion. ... People that complain about unions should come to Non-Unionsville and see how they like it.
 
#6 ·
K2 said:
Prevailing wage is not always something to write home about as is the case in my city. With no Union presence for certain trades around here the PW is researched and set off the existing non union scale which ain't much. For painters, paper hangers, drywallers, and grid guys, pw is at about 16 to 18 bucks an hour. The local trades where there is at least some union presence, (therefore setting the pw), the pw is double or triple. ... Disgraceful in my opinion. ... People that complain about unions should come to Non-Unionsville and see how they like it.
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Wow! I just bid to frame a fire station and the scale for carpenters is 48.00.Which is about twice what I normally pay. So that is how I bid it. I figured what I would normally do it for , then doubled that plus an extra couple of grand for redtape.
 
#7 ·
Look up the bid tabs on old jobs and bid accordingly.

Bid a small job first and bid it to get it. If you get it and lose money on it, at least you will know what it takes the next time. And the next time you won't lose money on a big job.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Yeah I like Knucklehead's method best, another thing to remember... you'll be out of pocket for about 90 days, A project we worked on some 10 years ago, took 120 days to be paid in full, man when people talk about "red tape" they mean it. plan for the worst, and if you don't think you have the capital... best not start the job, your not likely to be able to get an emergency 'bailout' if you get in trouble! -- sure fire way to go under quick and painful!
 
#10 ·
Bringing back an old thread :thumbup1:

I recently had a GC send prints to me for bidding on a prevailing wage framing job. I have never bid a prevailing wage job before. So if I understand this right, I can bid the job at whatever price I want, but I have to pay all of my guys the minimum prevailing wage hourly rate set by the state?

I looked up the prevailing wage for a journeyman carpenter in Washington which is $48.47. An experienced framer in my area generally gets paid about $15 to $18 an hour. A typical bid for a frame is about $6.50 to $7.00 a sq. ft. So in order to bid on a prevailing wage job, I would have to take the difference in wages, say $48.47/$18 = 2.69 and multiply that ratio by a typical $7.00/sq. ft. giving me 2.69 * 7 = 18.85. So I'd have to charge $18.85/sq. ft. as opposed to $7.00/sq. ft. on a non-prevailing wage framing job? Am I on the right track? Seems so out of wack.
 
#13 ·
KennMacMoragh said:
Bringing back an old thread :thumbup1:

I recently had a GC send prints to me for bidding on a prevailing wage framing job. I have never bid a prevailing wage job before. So if I understand this right, I can bid the job at whatever price I want, but I have to pay all of my guys the minimum prevailing wage hourly rate set by the state?

I looked up the prevailing wage for a journeyman carpenter in Washington which is $48.47. An experienced framer in my area generally gets paid about $15 to $18 an hour. A typical bid for a frame is about $6.50 to $7.00 a sq. ft. So in order to bid on a prevailing wage job, I would have to take the difference in wages, say $48.47/$18 = 2.69 and multiply that ratio by a typical $7.00/sq. ft. giving me 2.69 * 7 = 18.85. So I'd have to charge $18.85/sq. ft. as opposed to $7.00/sq. ft. on a non-prevailing wage framing job? Am I on the right track? Seems so out of wack.
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Is it prevailing wage residential or commercial? There is two different rates.
 
#15 ·
KennMacMoragh said:
Commercial, it's a water district. Where do you find the two different rates? I only see one I would assume all public works jobs are commercial, the government doesn't build houses do they?
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Looks like they don't post it anymore. There is or was a difference. And yes the government does build houses. The everett housing authority used to hire carpenters at residential rates. I do know that residential prevailing wage rates haven't been reviewed since Reagan was in office. There supposedly being reviewed and updated by the current labor department.
 
#16 ·
KennMacMoragh said:
Commercial, it's a water district. Where do you find the two different rates? I only see one I would assume all public works jobs are commercial, the government doesn't build houses do they?
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Ken, yes the govt. does build houses. Look at the funnies very carefully, prevailing wage stuff is usually way different than any residential/commercial codes you may have dealt with. Watch closely for spec'd hardware, excessive blocking/nailing schedules & common nails. READ the specs carefully that you don't have to pre drill nail holes to prevent splitting. Make certain you understand what types/grades of lumber & plywood are being spec'd. Don't forget clerical wages to prepare the certified payroll & the multitude of paperwork that goes with these jobs. Be very familiar with the RFI/RFP process & it's flow through management. NOTHING gets answered overnight. Also read the specs for any type of anchors that may need independent testing & who pays for it.
 
#17 ·
Thanks Griz, yeah the specs they sent me are 881 pages :blink:

It's a small building too, only one story. It's basically a big garage with a small office attached. They had a geological survey done, require performance, payment bonds, stick framed roof. I am still searching for things like you pointed out. This whole job will cost them about three times what it actually should. But it's all our tax payer money so I guess they don't care.
 
#18 · (Edited)
This is my first time bidding a framing job with the prevailing rate. My question is: How to structure the bid? Do you show the amount of time each Foreman/Journeyman is expected to take on the job. Then for each multiply by the rate for each and show the numbers that way. OR bid the job as you would any other with just a lump sum. Obviously keeping in mind the rate you must pay your men, through certified payroll sources. Thank You if you know the answer. Bidding my first rate job near the Jersey Shore
 
#20 ·
For Griz

For figuring my cost I need to know the the total it will cost me for each man to complete the job! Do I have to itemize each employee's proposed time and total, then add those numbers to my profit and give a total? Or just my bid price alone? This may seem silly, but i am a bit lost here. The first time is always the hardest. Thank you for any future help.
 
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