Should I pay my contractor more than he quoted me?
 

I know this guy is losing money on my job. He told his drywall guys it was a two hour job. They were here for 5.5 hrs. today and are coming back tomorrow to paint. The boss quoted me $280 for everything. They are to replace about 15 sq/ft of drywall, texture and paint, replace and paint some baseboards, install new carpet pad and reinstall my old carpet. All that for $280. I have the paint and carpet, but they're sourcing the carpet pad and drywall.

The day after I got this quote, my new gun safe happened to arrive, so I told him I wanted help installing it and he's already drilled the holes in my subfloor for it. And after he gave me the quote, the home warranty company called and said they were sending me a check for $250 for the drywall they tore up. So I'm really only out $30 and a lot of aggravation over all this. I don't feel too sorry for the the contractor, but I surely want his guys to get paid. FWIW, they're not Mexicans and they are licensed and bonded. I get the feeling the drywall guys are just down on their luck and working for peanuts, but are very good. This how it looked before they started working on it. I figure the contractor is a good $130 into materials, so he's got another $150 between him and his two drywall guys. I was planning on paying him another $50 for the help with the gun safe, but really feel like I should throw another $100 into the job. Am I way off?

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If you like the job, it sounds like you do, I would give them more, maybe think about what other bids were and hellp the guy out. Next time he will be back and do even better. That looks like you are getting about 8 hours work for $150 for the two guys and the guys overhead. He isn't making anything.

I think it's the right think to do. As you said, it was an "estimate".

I'm thinking a fifty dollar bill each to the grunts, (no disrespect intended) plus a cooler full of ice cold beer for the end of the day?

Ok, next question. How much to pay and do I pay the contractor or his guys? I think the contractor is coming himself tomorrow and only one of the drywall guys. I got a dozen Dunkin' Donuts and had coffee waiting for them today, but they were three hours late, so I don't feel like doing that again tomorrow. I did give them some good Warsteiner beer after they were done though.

Hugh, he gave me a written estimate and I gave him a check for half upfront. Is he likely to come back with a higher final bill or just hope that I tip him another C note?

Your call. I think the rationale sounds legit and I kind of doubt they're playing games over this small amount of money. Most contractors make money off of getting in, getting out and onto the next job, not dickering around over small sums of money and backing up over work they've already done.

The rules change when you get into bigger sums and multi-trade, more complex contractual type work, but it sounds like it's legitimate and I wouldn't lose sleep over the extra fee if you're all right with paying it.

Most contractors are good honest working guys - there is a small percentage that is utter and complete sleaze though, and unfortunately they ruin it for the rest. Most of the ones I deal with are decent, but every once in a while... And you can't be afraid to play hardball.

You should ALWAYS get a written contract for any work - I don't care if it's replacing a faucet. On that, I would never budge. You'd be surprised how a $1,000 quote can turn into a $10,000 lien on your property faster than you can say "huh?". Always get things in writing, I don't care how good a vibe the guy gives you. Just my personal and professional $0.02.

Although the GC came in low, I'd be inclined to pay what the job is worth.

Just tip him whatever you think he has earned.

Tips exist for a reason. :)

If you think you will ever use him again -- then most surely take care of him.

A little cash, a little beer goes a long ways.

You might even ask for something small done that's a little extra
and than way over pay for that if you think that there would be
a pride issue for you GC if you paid him more than he asked.

I've got a Porsche mechanic that I work with that is the same way.

I gave him $200 extra plus a GC to a decent restuarant to take his
family to dinner.

That was 2 years ago -- he bends over backwards to fit me in
and take care of me.

Mike

Welcome back Snipe!!!!!!!!!!

If the bill he gives you seems low, just ask him does that really cover it all? I don't want you to lose money on this job.

My God some of you guys sound like you were appointed by Obama. Bailouts for ALL!!
He gave you a price, he lives by his price.

Unfortunately, on the couple of occasions I have tried to be a nice guy by either paying more than half up front to let them know I was serious about the job, or doing the beer/pop thing, its bitten me in the arse with lousy work or something stupid happening.

Tip him / pay him whatever you think reasonable, just don't expect them to get all excited about the extra dough.

YMMV.

I tip the guys doing the work with a previous conversation with the boss so he doesn't get upset if he finds out.

I think the two drywall guys are brothers, but only one is coming tomorrow. I'll slip him $100 and sternly tell him to give some to brother.

I also fired my pool guy today, but only because I had intended to pay him for just a month and to teach me how to do everything. I told him upfront it was a one month gig, but that I'd be calling him for repairs and to take care of the pool when we travel. I think he was a little offended today when I reminded him that today was his fourth service and I'd be good for a while. Now I'm researching chemical costs and it seems it might not be much more expensive to let him handle it for $70 per month.

I don't think you should take any action until your final conversation/payment with the boss man.

If you slip the labor guys $100 and then you talk to the boss at the end and he says

"uh, so it took longer than we thought, how about $400?"

You already slipped the other guys $100 and it's now an interesting situation.

Wait till the end and if indeed he sticks to the $280 figure, make your decisions at that point.

Should I pay my contractor more than he quoted me?

Yes...and it will bring good Karma for doing so.

I think he is new and made a big mistaken on $280 estimate. If you are happy with the work, and think it's fair, why not help them out? Next time you call them, you will be happy with their work for sure.

$280 to patch, match texture and paint. Tell him to come to LA and I got a job for him and his crew. A bucket of primer cost 20 bucks, and paint is another 25 bucks. Patch and drywall and texture is about another 60 bucks plus the cost to go and get it. Don't forget, he drove out to look at the job and gave you a quote and that all cost money. He way, way under bid job. He's got workman comp to pay, and that aint cheap. He made nothing on this patch job from hell. Think about it, would you want to work for 3 bucks an hour? time's tough, and he might just need this to keep his guys busy or else he will loose them. Don't make someone else pay fot the leak in your house. I always make sure my subs do not under bid my jobs. If I feel they did, I inflate my numbers and talk about it when the job is near done and pay them more if necessary. My sub contractors loves me and would do anything for me because I almost never complain about their pricing and make sure they are pay and on time even if I get burn by the home owner. After all, they earn me money.

Do the what you think is best and the right thing. Good luck

Jeff

I guess I have a slightly different take on this. First off, a deal's a deal. After all, would you be seeking a reduction in the final cost if it only took 1 hour? Of course not.

It looks like the guy did two jobs for you: The first was for $280 to fix some dry wall, etc. The second was to help install the safe.

If it was me, I would ask the contractor if he is whole on the first job becuase it looks like he may have come up short. Once you know where he stands on that job, remind him that he did an extra for you in helping to install the safe and you need to pay him for the extra labor. Be generous for this extra. He will know why.

It's never a bad thing to have a good relationship with a good contractor. You never know when you'll need one.

I'd nix the beer thing tho...if one of them gets in a wreck on the way home & is determined DUI it could come back on you. Give 'em the money to buy their own beer...or, give them the beer, unopened, when they leave.

Agree with Pwd. Beer is over rated with construction guys. I don't really drink but like a good beer once a month or two. My 2 men does not touch the stuff and the third will have a beer if he's doing concrete work at my house, and only at my house, during the hot socal summer. So, beer will not do us any good. Give them the money. Everyone can use money especially if you know they lost their shirt.

*****in A !

Ok, I have about $200 cash on me now and am waiting for them to show up. I plan to write him a check once we discuss it when it's done and will decide how much cash to give after that.

As for the materials, I supplied the paint and carpet. He supplied the carpet pad, said he got it for $85. His guys brought the drywall and the boss told me he already had it laying around leftover from another job. I know his guys had to stop by Home Depot to buy the mud and a local tool rental place to rent the carpet kicker. And the boss bought the baseboards. He's gonna end up paying for two days of renting that carpet kicker because he's already another 40 min. late today. I definitely want a relationship with a good local contractor for future work. But this constant tardiness is starting to irritate me. He was three hrs. late coming for the estimate, ditto for yesterday and I simply cannot sit home all day today.

Bingo!

If you have found a good one and one you like. pay them what the job is worth and remember you may REALLY need them again in the future.

Rick I had to pony up a bit more when I had my roof painted, but they found and fixed a leak.

I say a bit of cash goes a long way if you ever want to use them again. If not, it's a good lesson for the contractor (put a bit of cushion in).

Tip is going down by the minute now. Boss said they'd be here between seven and eight this morning. It's almost 10 and no sign of them.

If they were reliable all the way through this, I'd add a little money for them, too.

Since they are standing you up, I'd pay what you agreed to pay and move on.

I suspect they under-bid all their jobs and run late with everyone.


KT

I don't know if I'd call them reliable. One of his crew just called and said the boss was having drama at home and was locked out sans cell phone. He said to ignore any emails I get that may appear to come from him and they'll be out here by 1pm today. Oh man, now I'm killing another day sitting in the house because of these guys. I really need to run some errands, but I feel like if I don't get this done today, it will drag on for another week. Really losing my will to pay extra now.

Hmmm.... maybe you do get what you pay for.

No one likes having their valuable time wasted.



KT

A good contractor is worth their weight in gold. Back in my homeowner days I had a sliding scale for them with quality of work, price, and on-time being the main parameters. Like the old saying, pick any two. So at that point it depends on what is worth more to you. For me, the good work part is non-negotiable. So then it is the other two factors...what is more important to me, my money or my time?

I'm all for tipping the guys who actually do the work if they do a good job.

This interests me.
Go on, I'm listening... :D


KT

They're here now and hard at work. Should all be done today, but I know I've added to the bill some. They're painting the whole room now, as there were already a lot of bad patch and touch-up spots on the walls. Just ran to HD to get more paint and the boss is also installing another elec. outlet for the gun safe. Their work looks pretty good, but I've pissed away two days sitting in my house waiting on them.

Another reason to have/use a contract. You can build in a liquidated damages clause if they're late precisely to avoid problems of that sort.

As I've said elsewhere, I wouldn't let anyone turn a screw in my place without a contract. If they gave me any crap about it ("har-har, we don't do that for little work like this") there's the door. Next please.

There's a reason they call them CONTRACTors now, not builders. The industry standard is meeting minimum contractual obligations and nothing more. Without a formal written contract, you'll get exactly what you have in writing, which it sounds like is what has happened here.

Rick,

Considering that they are working on Sunday I was surprised to see them come at all, not to mention being late. Not many people work on Sundays...

Joe A

I didn't ask them to come today. They said they were doing it. I could have easily waited until next week. I just want it done by next weekend. They're laying carpet pad now. Paint and drywall work looks top notch. But this guy seriously has no clue as to how to bid out a job. They're gonna easily have 10 hrs. into this and there are three of them here today. I'd say he's looking at close to 50 man hours.

Rick

When i lived in scottsdale i did my own pool. If i remember it was fairly straight forward.

Run the pump at night, and run it for 1 hour for every 10 degrees over 60....???? Now I cant remember the hours. Someone in your neighborhood knows for sure.

For chemicals it was no more then a gallon of acid and clorine each week durring the summer. Substantially less during the winter.

Plus the afternoon pool scrub with the cold beer once a week.

yes

Well, it's done now. The quote went from $280 to $510, which was still a smoking deal for the work they did. But the drywall guys wanted $200 to paint the whole room, which took well under an hour, once I'd come back from HD to buy the paint. So I'm satisfied they got paid right. I was so irate by the time they arrived today, that I just felt less charitable. I don't know what to say. My biggest pet peeve in life is tardiness and unreliability. I've never been late for anything ever. I know it wasn't the drywall/paint guys' fault, but they got paid plenty for that paint job. And I sure wasn't feeling guilty for their boss. I gave them some more beer after it was all done today and I will sleep fine tonight.