Depending on what it is I will let them. Sinks fixtures etc. Lumber no way! Takes me more time sorting it.

 

don't call for warranty:laughing:

 

I tell my customers that if they choose and buy the materials, then any ill affects resulting from material selection will be their responsibility, and could also affect the time lines of the project.

So far I've been 99% responsible for all material purchases. With the exception of fixtures, I pretty much refuse to pick out fixtures, to many emotional opinions on those items.

 

Here's how I handle it.

You can purchase the material on your own. If you need my help in this venture, my hourly rate is $xx, plus a vehicle surcharge if you need me to pick it up.

If you purchase the material, I have no ties to it and will not be responsible for handling any damage claims that may arise, unless you pay me my fee of $xx per hour to handle the claim.

If you purchase the material and I schedule the job, you will be billed $xx rescheduling fee if the material is inadequate to perform the contracted work and I have to make a return trip.

If you let me buy the material, I will guarantee that it is in good condition and meets job requirements, for a modest mark-up of xx% for my troubles.

 

pretty good response. but wouldnt they feel a tad bid offended b/c you're already making money and yet you want to make MORE money off them just because a slight mistake happened?

 

Tell them once the contract is signed, you will give them a list of why they need to order. Any material delays need to be dealt with by them. If materials are late and employees are waiting, charges will be extra.

I hate stuff like this. Actually I hate not ordering materials myself because something is always missed.

I got a call Tuesday from a home remodeling company that I did one roof for last year. They were in a bind and needed a roof done. Cedar re-deck. No new plywood, no roofing nails, no ridge cap, tacker staples or anything else. Just shingles and felt.

Took me 3 hours to get everything. They won't like that bill.

 

I know the question wasn't for me, but come on. A slight mistake costs money.

Every thing cost money. We do this for a living, not a hobby

 

I had this exact discussion with the guy I work with today....except it was contractor ordering fixtures vs. sub.....mark-up etc....

I likened it to the HOer purchasing their own materials.

If you buy it you own it, Is my thinking, and responsible for the warranty of work.

If I purchase the fixtures and have the plumber install and there's a leak down the road, it's on my dime unless it's proven without a doubt there was faulty installation....or like lone stated, pay the mark up and you're free of the warranty liabilities.

 

In the past I've ordered the material and let the customer call or go down to the supply house and pay with their card or whatever they want to do, especially on roofs I can just call the order in and the customer has to spend their time taking care of payment, that's only if they ask I'd they can purchase materials

 

How do you guys feel about windows?

 

I like them. They let light in and you can see what's going on outside.:whistling

But unless it's a stained glass window from Aunt Martha's estate: You want me to install it, then it is I who will do the ordering and will mark it up for that responsibility and time consumption.

 

When they ask if they can buy materials, ask them if they take their food to a restaurant.

 

This creates to many issues. Are they willing to buy the exact product and at the same place as you. Im sure you know exactly what is needed for the best job, doubt they do, If they dont have the materials on site, are you willing to cut the day short and go back ( possibly many times) for nothing, and will you sign off a job with your name behind it not knowing the products or how they have been handled?

 

I have this issue come up all the time. My policy is such:

I include allowances for fixtures/some materials in all my fixed price quotes. (ex. tile - $4.00 sq ft / toilet - $350 / shower faucet $500 / etc). My allowances are based on MY cost. That means that I am still making the markup required to run my business. So, if the customer supplies his own toilet, I deduct $350.00, not the marked up amount.

If the HO wants to supply fixtures:,
A: I do not warranty products not supplied by us.
B: If there is a problem with a supplied fixture, my hourly rate kicks in. C: If I have to pick it up, my hourly rate kicks in, plus fuel.

Not too many customers see the value in this. I am upfront with my clients as to how we price jobs. They get the buying power of my trade discounts which are 10-40% off, plus a reasonable mark-up.

 

You can let him, just make sure you tell him that you can not warranty material he purchases.

 

To the op I had this discussion with a HO years ago about a roof. My suppliers will deliver my materials to the roof, the average big box store will not.

I don't care if they buy the materials or not but as others have stated, we only make money when we are working. If your material delay causes me not to work, you need to pay me!

I did help a customer shop once and loaded the material into my truck and delivered it all on the clock of course.:thumbsup:

He had a revolving credit card at the Cheapo Depot and wanted to finance his material.

Chad

 

I have never seen it work out that a HO buys materials and it doesn't cause extra labor on our part. So I just add extra labor to the proposal.

 

If the HO buys materials, that really means that you will be buying materials also.

If they make a mistake, you'll have to correct it. I mean you can keep sending them back to the store but if you want to get the job done in a reasonable amount of time, you'll eventually decide that it would be better to just go yourself.

The other complication that you run into is that the HO starts to tally up what you use vs. what you waste even if the "waste" is really a by-product of the job and they expect some sort of adjustment.

I was doing a low voltage prewire in a house under construction. The HO bought his own materials and he complained to the GC that I was wasting his wire. As most of us know, the principle is that you can always cut off what you don't need but you really don't want to splice in what you don't have if a run comes up short. And we were dealing with a 6000 sq. ft. house that had 200ft and 300ft runs.

But I agree that there are some things that the HO should pick out. Fixtures and things like that are more personal and the HO is more accepting of the blame if it does not quite work out the way that they want it to. But because we accept the blame and costs associated with the mistakes that we make, it's not a crime to make a bigger profit when the job comes in under budget as a result of needing less material than originally estimated.

 

im completely with lone on this, the odd time im ok with it is for really small jobs or if i just ran out of lumber and need only a few sticks and the h.o is going to pick up fixtures and get them to pick up 4 or 5 studs. saves me time and h.o can kill two birds with one stone

 

When clients ask to provide the material, they typically aren't they type of clients that we work with. Or they are really that naive and aren't sure what questions they are supposed to ask.

Every company needs a certain amount of money a year to operate. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter if you add markup to the labor, or to the material, or to the subs, or all of the above. The only thing that matters is that the markup you charge pays for the expenses. So the contractor in the OP who was being "honest" by not charging markup on the expenses, I call BS. He has to charge more markup on the labor portions of the job to make up for the lost markup on the material. Maybe it's a sales technique. Sounds fishy and sounds like someone who doesn't know their books.

So can the client provide the material for their project? Sure, but you better believe that I'm going to keep the same markup for the material as part of the total project price (I mean I still have the liability of replacing the material if I miscut a piece right?). Plus I'm going to inevitably be charging the HO to wait on material or make extra trips or something. Sounds like I just need to provide the material and get this project underway...

 

Here in Springfield when customers try that "What if I buy Materials",a dipchit contractor already gave them a crazy bid.So I try not to compete.

 

Maybe someone already mentioned this, but if the h/o's think you can't afford any kind of punctuation, they probably thought they were doing you a favor by purchasing the materials. :w00t:

 

I have dealt with this previously and have learned x amount of money by a customer demanding I purchase material from certain vendor after contract was signed.

That vendor was 2k higher and I ate it ! Didn't have it written in contract.

Now I include preferred vendors with a spreadsheet of material from vendors. The home owner is free to search his vendors but it is written in contract that any difference in pricing is extra to h/o.

I also make it their responsibility to ship it to job site and any trips I make to pick up things not delivered is a charge of time and milage.

I also charge a percentage for buying from non preferred vendors ( I usually get a discount).

Some h/o's want to bring their own subs in. I make it very clear that their cousin joes girl friends uncle will receive 1099 and that I'm not responsible for the outcome of their work. Also include that any interference or delays caused by their contractor to other trades or timelines is also chargeable t&m. I state in contract that their contractors will work under my
Timetables and also that they will work during common construction hours and days. Any if their work that fails inspection will be taken over by me and charged t&m. That usually always backs the customer away from bringing their own in when they see how much responsibility they are assuming to save a thousand bucks.

 

Is it really worth it

You can not fault the home owner for wanting to save a buck.we all are guilty of it. However some people mark up materials to cover//defray costs. The HO is looking at the bottom line and it is this very short term to spite our face logic that will catch up to them in the long run that some one will get the call back for. In my field the HO wants to buy their fixtures at home depot or lowes. The quality and finish is not the same as the supply house. I think that sometimes consumers are mislead to buy a quality product when they are just purchasing the brand name. In actuality some the products that they buy are seconds as I am told.
Even if the HO buys the material it is inevitable that they will forget something and you will have to pick it up. Now we all know the HO should pay for this, but this is the real world and sometimes this is the price of doing business. Me personally, I would rather stay home than work for free!

 

I agree on one thing, when the HO buys material they always seem to complain about waste. Even if they do not understand that its a by product of the project. Romex is the biggest thing they do not understand. They think you can just keep splicing these pieces together.

 

GWB is the one where I've seen homeowners go ballistic about waste. I guess they think the hangers should use a truckload of short butts to finish the lid in the living room? The last time this came up on a job was one where the HOs were always underfoot, questioning us about every little detail. At the end of the job, we all decided that it would have been worth it for us all to kick it and send them on a cruise for the last 6 weeks of the job.

On the original topic, we've been willing to let the client supply materials, but only if they are exactly what we specify: no substitutions. Years ago, we discovered that material mark-ups were not appropriate for what we do. If we were doing strictly "blow and go" in new construction, I could see using that. OTOH, we've had jobs where my lead painter and I spent two days applying $20 worth of material. The costs normally recovered by marking up materials are included in our labor charges.

 

so a customer asked me if they can buy their own material. the project i quoted was for over 45 thousand for roofing and siding. one bid he received was for 28k and another for 55k. the 28k guy offered the homeowner to purchase the material himself, to show how friggin honest he is because he doesnt profit off of materials.

now, i know some of you out there probably have the homeowner purchase the materials sometime in the past. when a homeowner asks you, "can i buy the material and just pay you for labor?". how did you respond and did you end up getting the bid?

i got the bid and i bought the material. i just wanted to see how you guys would respond before i shared my answer.


im not sure how everyone prices their bids, but i charge labor, material, and 40% o&p.

There is nothing wrong with a customer supplying material as long as (a) you still mark-up the material and (b) the discount you give them is less than what you can buy the material for a local store and (c) you don't warrantly the material.

That sounds really tough but its honest. The reality is its much much harder to run a job with customer supplied material. They cannot get nearly as good a deal as you can (even its a home depot part you can get bid room pricing). The count is always wrong. Who is pays for waste? Who pays for broken items? Who picks the stuff up? Who warranties the parts? Are the brands the type you normally work with? Are additional parts available if there is a problem.

The point is that its not efficient or effective to have a customer buy material. There is no savings. So, the cost of the job stays the same or is actually higher.

 

My response to this is the same as my response when a HO asks what the price will be if they help. (Only got this one once or twice over the years.)

I just smile and say it will cost double.

These types of people are either really uneducated about the building process, or are way too focused on price to be rational.

The uneducated can be educated about extra labor charges, no warranty, liability, etc. The price focused are just going to hire a hack or the cheapest proposal anyway so it isn't even worth the time to try and explain it.