latest bid results - not getting better

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CopperTone

Senior Member
Location
MetroWest, MA
SO much for the economy turning around - just got my butt whipped on this bid. Even if I knocked 10% off my bid - I still would have been 12th.
This job is a prevailing wage job 20 miles west of boston. (JM rate is $64/hr)
this job was to wire 10 houses completely - new 200 amp services, all 12 wire NM cable, 3 bedrooms, kitchen, bath, laundry, heat, dining room, living room, front entry, attic, basement(all in conduit) , hallway, smokes, hearing impaired strobes and door bell system.
oh - and provide all the light fixtures too - lighting package was 14k (no mark up yet.)
If I bid 88k I'd be thinking of going out of business

88k
101k
104k
108k
117k
123k
127k
136k
137k
144k
144k
148k
155k
158k
165k
170k ** our bid
177k
233k
270k

maybe I was a little high - but anything under the 148k bid is just plain irresponsible in my opinion - We have plenty of work right now and have for the past 3 months so we're not starving for work like some people appear to be.
 
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Power Tech

Senior Member
Location
Lebec, California
I've been getting my butt kicked in the bid arena too.

Service and Custom electrical has been steady.

Is the prevailing wage in your area $64?

Here it is $52, I thought LA is the highest in the nation.
 
Sierrasparky

Sierrasparky

Senior Member
Location
USA
Occupation
Electrician ,contractor
Maybe the lowbal contractor is doing all the work himself. Or maybe with other owners of the company.
You don't need to pay prevailing wages to yourself.
I would challenge the bid if you had the time.
 
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AV ELECTRIC

Senior Member
I noticed that this is residential contract is there a lower prevailing wage for this job. Where ime at there are alot of different wages for different kinds of work in the electrical field and different wages for aprenticess. Being creative and doing your homework could cut alot of labor.
 
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CopperTone

Senior Member
Location
MetroWest, MA
yup the prevailing wage is $64/hr - thanks to the boston local 103 - The guys love these jobs because they get paid so well.
The price was for all 10 houses - one level houses - not very big houses but still would take 2 guys 6-7 days rough to finish each house because of the specs. -ie- (everything in emt in the basement)

The wage was not different because of the residential factor in this case - the wage rates are printed in the bid package. It is possible to use an apprentice for a portion of the rate but only one really because you would need one JM on the job and it really is only a 2 man job.

unless the company plans on sending 10 JM and 10 apprentices and whips them like mules to do each house start to finish in 5 days all houses being done all at the same time.

Still - the low guy really screwed himself in my opinion - I actually laughed out loud when I saw the bid results - the numbers are stupid funny.

We bill out $1000/day for a JM and apprentice - non rate work. We get that all day long every day.

For Rate work it would be more like $1400/day -

these guys out there are just not making any money at all -

I would rather work 2 days a week at our regular rates then work 5 days a week at 30-50% less than our regular rate.
 
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petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Why would anyone be dumb enough to build a house in this economy and pay such insane rates in the first place?

Some kind of government work?

The thing is that the economy can be self correcting eventually but if prices get propped up like this it will take a lot longer.
 
growler

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
CopperTone said:
This job is a prevailing wage job 20 miles west of boston. (JM rate is $64/hr)
Click to expand...

benaround said:
Prevailing Wage in Az. = 22.32 for JW, the company that got that job is probally from here.
Click to expand...


Doesn't work that way folks. If a company form AZ goes to MA and bids a job they pay the prevailing wage and fringes for the location of the job and not the location of the company. Also prevailing wage and fringes are determined at the local level and not state wide. I looked and in many areas of AZ you will end up paying at lot more than $22.32. For a non union shop you will end up paying both wages and fringes. The total package.

I have worked prevailing wage jobs for one company that only did goverment contracts and found out that many areas don't have a very good wage rate, not even as much as the base wage rate agreed on by the company. You can change wage rates just from going from one job to another or just by going from one county to another and the fringe rate doesn't stay the same either.

Coppertone is right in his area wage and fringes add up to $65 an hour.
 
growler

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
petersonra said:
Why would anyone be dumb enough to build a house in this economy and pay such insane rates in the first place?

Some kind of government work?

The thing is that the economy can be self correcting eventually but if prices get propped up like this it will take a lot longer.
Click to expand...

Bob when projects are funded by Federal stimulas money they require the payment of prevailing wage. It's federally funded.

It all works out in the end, when an electrician goes out and starts making some money on a job like this then he starts paying bills that makes other people happy and they start paying their bills.

The economy is not going to self correct because there is no free market economy. The Federal Government has manipulated the economy for too long just to let this mess try and solve it's self.

When people get hungry they get mean and when they get mean they are ready for a revolution and that's what governments try to avoid. There is always another Hitler and another Stalin out there just waiting for the right circumstances (mobs of hungry people in the streets willing to listen).
 
growler

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
iwire said:
Lets stick to electrical issues please.:)
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Sorry about that I was just trying to point out the importance of some government funded projects during these rough economic times. Normally I'm against government spending but at times that's about all that's keep some communities going. The money doesn't stay with the electrical contractor or the GC it gets spread around to others in the community.
 
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