What's bidding like in your area?

[Chris]

I have been starting my own Pipeline company for the last couple of years. Last year I got my contractors license and have been slowly getting everything together and have been bidding for the last few months with no luck at all.

I also work for another contractor at the moment as a Project Manager and Estimator. I picked up a couple million dollar job a year ago which has kept us alive but since then I have bid a Several projects and just can not get our numbers low enough. We do jobs as small as a hundered bucks at a residence or a several million dollar commercial project but here in So Cal we have been hit hard this last year.

What's it like in your area?

[majakdragon]

With the economy, things are hard all over. Bids must be tight and many contractors are low-balling and hoping for extras to make money. One thing that I think is going to put another nail in residential work (for new homes) is the new Sprinkler law. I figure this will raise the price of a home by about $1300. The way it was passed should be looked at again and repealed.

[Nailer341]

Right now in bidding 10 jobs, we are lucky to get one.

I think so many contractors are coming in unreasonably low, and leaving key parts off of the scope. Then they gouge the owner to add in items that should have been on the bid in the first place.

We have been bidding projects with an On time-On budget philosophy, with no change orders unless it is something terribly wrong for 15 years.

This philosophy seems to be a thing of the past.

We bid a dental office at 80 psf and had someone come in at 50. There is no way they could build it for that. not possible.

This particular office had high end flooring, granite counters, med. gas, etc. There is no way it could be built for that.

At the end of it all the Dr. paid 112,000 for the job after being hit with the "extras".

Tough times right now.

[Chris]

Nailer you are a GC correct?

I have always bid with as little change orders as possible, I usually bring it up when bidding if something is not going to work. My problem is like you I am bidding against guys that know things wont work as on the plan or they even exclude certian things and then change order them for more later. A lot of GC's that we bid to only want to look at a low number, they themselves don't really care if it is qualified or even complete because they want to present the low number to the owner. It is rediculous. I just bid a project in Lakewood yesterday for 120 grand that three years ago would have gone closer to 180 and I am sure we will not get it.