Thread: Finalizing the addition to the house.......

Good luck on the addition and the negotiating. I'm glad to see someone standing up for what they have determined that they want. After all, it is your addition and you are paying for it.

I hate people that try to take advantage of others, bid the job right, do the job right and you will have a satisfied customer that will get you guess what more work, simple but true

Guys as a HVAC contractor myself, I have to say the market has made things this way. You have to bid a job at the minimum code level to get work. There are a lot of contractors competing for work in todays economy. Most people bid a basic job and additionals can be hashed out with the customer as needed.

Originally Posted by BlackWidow

Guys as a HVAC contractor myself, I have to say the market has made things this way. You have to bid a job at the minimum code level to get work. There are a lot of contractors competing for work in todays economy. Most people bid a basic job and additionals can be hashed out with the customer as needed.

I have put plans and specifications together for 55 years....it is an art to avoid change orders, schedule delays and cost over runs and was part of my job......most drawings will say, "in case of a conflict between the plans and the specifications, the drawings will govern.....the problem, as I believe Randy was trying to illustrate, is that some contractors will base their bid on what code says is acceptable without qualifying that in their bid.....for instance, Randy wants studs at 16" c/c (stated on the drawings and/or specs) and the contractor bids the job based on studs at 24" c/c without qualifying that in his bid........then after the problem comes up, they want a change order (more money) to put the studs at 16" c/c due to their own mess up....sorry, but they get no more money......should have looked at the plans and specs better rather than try to build something based on what they have built in the past.....

also, sometimes drawings will specify a particular product, lets say a kitchen sink, and give the model number, color, gauge thickness, etc , and they will also say "or approved equal".....if the contractor wants to provide something else, it has to be equal and approved by the owner.....if they provide something cheaper (without notifying the owner) to save money, they can be made to replace it....

a lot of time and money goes into preparing a good set of plans and specs......contractors should go over them with a fine tooth comb before submitting their bid.....

it looks like Randy knows what he wants and is going to hold the contractor to the drawings (regardless of what code says is adequate)......good job Randy....