You are correct. if it is not installed on the project, excess material is your property.

 

How does that work? Do you just present a total bid price - all inclusive?

I break out materials and labor, and the HO usually pays for a significant part of the materials up front, so anything left over that I can't return belongs to the home owner.

It's his to store, sell, throw away, whatever. If he has extra material I know he won't want/need, I might ask if he wants me to take it off his hands. Usually they say yes, since they haven't the slightest clue what to do with two pounds of 16d sinkers or half a roll of drywall tape.

 

The materials are yours unless it was a time and material job. I think your analogy of running out and asking for more money is pretty good.

 

Start clearing out all the leftovers before the end of the job.

 

Yup thats what I do. I take stuff as I have it left over through out the job. Like the time I over calculated some Hardie siding by about 50 pieces and they were already painted so no returns:shutup: I had to do a covert operation on that one:laughing:


Dave

 

my contract states that as soon as material is dropped on-site it is theirs, this protects me from stolen material. It also states the unit dimension (SF, LF) of each line item, as long as the job is done the excess is mine.

 

quick look at the contract, Did they pay for a deck, or x# of boards?

Ray

 

i always ask no matter what if they want to keep it, or if they mind if i take it even if its going to the dump. if its useless offcuts ill take them for firewood if going camping unless they burn via fireplace or chiminea

 

Because you are selling a product, you know, a new room, a bunch of cabinets, a new paint job etc. That is what they paid for. Anything left over is your profit, not that the bank will put it in their vault. You can reuse the materials on another job, leave them their (if they want them) or throw them away. You choose.

 

Its mine... I may offer it or some to them depending upon the situation. I order excess so I have more flexibility and many things I buy in bulk. Of course my contract is for a COMPLETED PROJECT using certain materials and the 1 line price never a breakout. Now I have had customers request that I order a couple extra boards for them and I certainly oblige them. Not out of my pocket of course.

 

I should start leaving stuff behind. I might have some room in my garage for my things.

I used to keep everything. Now I just keep most things.

Ok, I am a pack rat. You never know though.

 

got any old T1-11 ? I need a small used piece for some samples.

 

I bet so, planning on cleaning the garage this week.

 

Never had this situation I'm going to explain, but have read about other HO's saying this..........

Say you bid a job for 30 square of siding or roofing. The job only takes 28 and a few extra. Now the HO wants to only pay labor on the 28 square instead of the bid price, plus they want the extras.

Now that is just plain being cheap!

Never bid material and labor. Bid the project.

Like said earlier, if you run short on material and bid it wrong, you have to eat it, right? (most times)

We have come back to jobs years later and the HO still hasn't moved the shingles or siding or wood. They usually ask to throw it in our dumpster.

 

If you charge the customer for the additional materials upon creating your bid, technically those materials belong to the customer. Are you offering a credit to the customer for unused materials? Probably not.

If a customer ask to keep the the left overs and you know that they were charged for it. Suck it up and sacrifice the material. It's ethical.

Honestly, how often does a customer make this request? More often then not, left overs are considerd bonus in favor of the contractor.

 

I dont do technically, if I say it is mine then it is mine, I will leave a HO a gallon or less of paint depending on what I have left. anything more then a gallon is mine. I am selling the service not the product, I dont hit them up when I need more then I figured, and I dont expect them to think that they can hit me up for any extra I might have. I will leave them all of the water I clean my stuff in if they want all the leftovers, I mean there is paint in that water.

 

in my contract, materials are mine except what's installed and the price stays the same.:thumbsup:

 

I save all my empty cans of SW and just pour cheap crappy paint in those cans. Saves me a ton of money and I get to buy sweet ass tools!!

 

I've run into that half a dozen times on landscape fabric. I buy in bulk from Baileys. Big rolls, up to 3,000 sq. ft. After I install 250 or so sq. ft. I've had customers ask to keep the roll, mistakenly thinking it belongs to them. Now I write it up on the scope of work as "install 250 sq. ft. of landscape fabric". Plant material, mulch, earth, and the like I just install. As long as my math is remotely correct there's no leftovers. Hardscape products I always order a few extra and let the customer keep. A few years down the road a block may break and it'll be discontinued. Always leave the customer a few spares for routine repairs. As a rule I figure 1 block per 100 sq. ft. for future repairs.

 

I know this sounds sarcastic, and I mean no offense, but I am suprised by some of the responses I am reading here...


I don't leave materials behind (with the exception of the leftovers in a paint can (for touch up after someone scratches or dings a painted surface).

I certainly don't offer any credit or refund if we don't use all the materials purchased for a job. Heck, ussually we buy more than we need just so we don't have to stop and go back for supplies in case someone scews up. Return the overstock at the end of the project...

Aren't we "Contractors"???

I sell completed jobs. Often I subcontract a portion of a job out. I would be laughed at (not to mention extremely embarrassed) if I asked my subcontractors to refund any unused supplies (or leave them behind for the customer)...

Hey Electrician! I know you bid 1000ft roll of 12/2 wire for that project but only used 798 ft. Make sure you refund me the unused 202 ft or leave it behind for the customer... :w00t::w00t::w00t:

Hey Plumber! That toilet you installed didn't need the extra wax ring you included in the proposal, make sure you leave it behind or refund the value... :w00t::w00t::w00t:

------

Insurance companies always expect up to 10% extra materials on submitted proposals. Anyone ever been asked to give back the unused materials or drop your price in the end???

 

I certainly don't offer any credit or refund if we don't use all the materials purchased for a job. :w00t::w00t::w00t:

:w00t::w00t::w00t:

Yeah, saving the customer some money IS pretty laughable.

 

If you don't have too much you don't have enough.

 

You guys crack me up. I learned from a car dealership general manager I do work for from time to time. There is a old saying...if someone has something good to say about you....they will tell 20 people. If they have something bad to say about you, they will tell 50 people. So it's your reputation on the line for future customers, word of mouth is one of the most effective form of advertising and I would not risk my reputation on some some junk scrap material with a penny pinching customer. Like another poster, don't make your excess material look like a large sore thumb sticking out, start moving stuff off the jobsite when you have rendered no need for it anymore. Don't wait till close of job to packup all the materials. In the customers eyes they paid big money and feel they paid for the materials including the excess regardless if they know for a FACT or not the excess was not included on the bill and part of your inventory/overhead you keep on hand all the time.

 

You guys crack me up. I learned from a car dealership general manager I do work for from time to time. There is a old saying...if someone has something good to say about you....they will tell 20 people. If they have something bad to say about you, they will tell 50 people. So it's your reputation on the line for future customers, word of mouth is one of the most effective form of advertising and I would not risk my reputation on some some junk scrap material with a penny pinching customer. Like another poster, don't make your excess material look like a large sore thumb sticking out, start moving stuff off the jobsite when you have rendered no need for it anymore. Don't wait till close of job to packup all the materials. In the customers eyes they paid big money and feel they paid for the materials including the excess regardless if they know for a FACT or not the excess was not included on the bill and part of your inventory/overhead you keep on hand all the time.

I totally agree - Move the material out before it's too late. Be accurate as possible on materials (no one is perfect). And if the customer asks for some give it to them.

I always leave customary materials for the client - tile, grout, sealant, trim, etc. If there is lumber, I move it or ask the client what we should do. Most cases they would feel happy even just spliting the return value. They get something and you get something. After all you did make a handsome profit from your client - no?

The only thing I really don't give credit on is drywall and related items since the measure is reasonably close at the end.

 

It depends on the job,
Time and material:
HO gets it all.
Contract Price:
Roofing: Leave some shingles behind for repairs
Siding: Leave a few extra panels for repairs
Whenever we use a product that may need partial replacement because of possible future damage,we try to leave the HO with something for the repair.
It lets them know that the appearance of your work is as important to you down the line as it is to them.

 

Reputation is important and all, but there's no way I'm leaving a 3,000 square foot roll of landscape fabric for a home owner that paid for a few hundred square feet of it. That's ridiculous.

 

Right..I would not leave that much fabric behind either. There is a reasonable and a unreasonable expectation. It's good to have it in writing but to argue with a customer over a "small" excess is not good business as far as reputations in the long run. At the end of the day, I always move excess back to my truck or van. I usually have a helper move the goods while I engage in some conversation about paperwork/payment with the customer. Or talk about other projects...that way it's easier done than right in front of them.

 

We sell the completed project, materials all belong to the company until installed. I will leave behind open packages such as a partial bundle of shingles or up to a square of vinyl siding under the guise of future repairs. I have no use for that godawful sickly color they chose, they can have all leftover paint. Even full cans. Primer is bought in fivers and go from job to job.

But if a client asks specifically for a few leftovers, tell him you don't ususally, that it's not part of the contract, but he's such a great customer why not. I'd rather his memory of me and my business be associated with pleasant thoughts, we do a lot of repeat business.

You can avoid the paying for only 28sq. when the job was bid for 30 by not specifying that quantity. Sell them a complete new roof and list all the products you will use, just not the quantities.

Lump sum bids remove many targets from the customers sights.

Good Luck
Dave

 

any of you run into this? you do a project and have materials left over and the HO wants to keep them. they say that they belong to them cuz they payed for the job. true they paid for the job.....but really not the materials. i always order more than i need...just in case. now if i was short on materials, shouldnt i be able to collect money?.....prolly not i tell the HO....if the materials are installed on your home,ect... then they are yours, but some people just dont understand.

The materials belong to you, the homeowner paid for a completed job, you are to provide a completed job, any leftover materials are your and you are free to do what you want with them.

I leave any color matched paint and some tile on the jobsite for future repairs, etc. but if I have plywood, block, lumber or other material, it either gets sent back to the supply house or I take it with me.

 

When writing the scope of work on my contracts it looks something like this:

Install 500 sq. ft. landscape fabric
Install 22 yards mulch
Install 14 arborvitaes
Install 12 flats assorted flowers & groundcover

I don't break out what all that costs. At the end is a final price.

How do you guys write your scope of work?

 

To use your list Bob, I might propose;

Install 1 complete layer of landscape fabric over entire_________ (describe area)
Install mulch x" deep over ________(describe area)
Note to self - look up arborvitaes
Plant assorted annuals/perennials and ground cover according to attached drawing. (and of course attach a drawing)

Good Luck
Dave

 

Did you get a discount at burger king when you said no tomatoes? That is excess material you "paid for".

Why cant contractors see themselves as a business? I sell people my BUSINESS all the time... Guess what a business is for?? Making MONEY! You cant feel like your ripping someone off if they sign a fixed price contract. They could have chosen someone else that was cheaper.

People who (unless doing T&M) just give rough estimates and then come back with a higher final bill are what give contractors a bad name. Write a detailed contract and include verbiage for CHANGE ORDERS!!

 

Typically I take the left over material when I leave. The exceptions to this are custom mixed paint, shingles (I try to leave a bundle or two), siding (A couple of pieces), carpet scraps (will leave them if they want them), and floor tile (2 or 3 tiles). I do mark up materials and I also spec quantities and manufactures of the material for in house work only. They pay for the amount specified. I don't itemize sub-contractor bids. Customers will only see a lump sum fee for work that will be subcontracted out.