kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
Some of this comes from in order to be competitive there are those out there that hose the rest of the trade by their methods. Unfortunately their methods end up putting them out of business in the long run if they don't change them.Too high.
"The fact that ECs have to supply materials is one of the things that sets us apart from a lot of other subs"
You're going to have to help explain this to me. an EC is no more a bank than any other trade. If it's not a T&M job, a portion of payment is expected up front. My thinking is "if you cant afford, at the very least, materials up front, why should I believe you can afford any of the work?".
Is this mostly industry-wide where ECs are installing materials on their own dime? If so, this has to stop. You wouldnt expect a fancy countertop co to install a $10,000 tiger stripe unobtanium-rock countertop in your home w/o at least first paying for the custom countertop, would you?
I remember a comm job I did about 7 years ago, talking to the head electrician there... he was lamenting that they were almost $200k in arrears on that project just on materials. It didnt make sense then and it doesnt now.
HVAC trades and even plumbers will compete against one another and do generally need to supply materials for what they do, yet don't seem to screw over the whole trade with their business practices as much as electricians seem to.
Framers and drywallers or other similar type trades often are only providing labor or limited materials so it is easier for them to put in their time then collect for it, as they don't have a huge material bill to lay down and hope to get reimbursed in a reasonable time for it.