Just Bid on the First New Plans in 2 Years!

Those look like fun.

I smell another article coming:whistling

I hope you get it and at a price to make it worth all your skill to pull it off. They should be glad to get you.:notworthy

Have them give me a call, I'll straighten them out for ya if they need a nudge.

basswood said:

I used to mostly trim new homes... back when they still built those. Was given blueprints for a new home this week... it has been 2 years since I bid on another set of plans. Don't want to get too excited, as I might not get the work, but it was nice to be asked to bid.

It is interior trim and the coolest part of the job would be building arched timber trusses.:thumbup:

Cheers,

Bass

Click to expand...

I know how you are feeling. I hope you get it.

So I did not get that job... now almost a year later I have a new set of plans to go pick up... so my second set of plans to look at in 3 years. Wonder if I'll get this one. It has been a humbling last few years, honestly.

I am still not very good at making money on remodel work. I love new work. You guys that have been remodeling for your entire careers have my respect.

Wish me luck, off to meet with the builder.

Cheers,

Bass

Need to get the "new" out of your brain and charge for the "old" that exists in the remodeling of a room. It takes longer and you have to be careful of the stuff that is around the house. Makes things slower and more potential to damage something. add almost 40-50% for remodel vs new construction.

It's not just you finish guys who are struggling to find the new work. Up until about 3 1/2 years ago probably 99% of my bid work was new construction. Nowadays, probably only 30 % is new construction. Not to mention, often times now when we bid, there are more people bidding each job. Oh how I long for the good old days.

The bonus for me is that now I actually don't mind doing the addition/remodel jobs. In my younger days I simply hated em. Tough to bid, unpredictable, and messy. On the flip side, they also tend to require less heavy lifting, sometimes provide protection from the weather, and also present new challenges every day.

When people go to remodel they want the dream and in most cases are willing to spend the money to get it.

It has been my experience that a new construction project's budget has been blown up by the time they get to cabinets. Where as a kitchen remodel's budget gets built around the cabinet price.

Needless to say we do a ton of remodel work. Maybe one new house a year or so.

Gus Dering said:

When people go to remodel they want the dream and in most cases are willing to spend the money to get it.

It has been my experience that a new construction project's budget has been blown up by the time they get to cabinets. Where as a kitchen remodel's budget gets built around the cabinet price.

Needless to say we do a ton of remodel work. Maybe one new house a year or so.

Click to expand...

That is what I have found as well, the only aspect we are making good money on is cabinets, and also I am often able to pick up the rest of the trim at the same time. But if they call for only trim I am starting to pass. I am tired of bidding against 20 ppl for a $500 job, with the cabinets I am normal only bidding against 2-3 and get a week of work out of it.