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re: How long is too long to wait for a contractor to give an estimate?
Posted on 2/19/18 at 2:15 pm to TDsngumbo
Posted on 2/19/18 at 2:15 pm to TDsngumbo
Wood or are you going with ornamental aluminum?
Edit: The reason I'm asking is that if you're going with anything steel or aluminum then he's going to have to check with vendors. We manufacture and wholesale fence (along with a little commercial/industrial/government install work) and our raw material prices have jumped twice since the start of the year, increasing our cost by 29%. That gets passed along to the installer and a 25% material increase can bury a small contractor if he doesn't pass that along to the customer.
Edit: The reason I'm asking is that if you're going with anything steel or aluminum then he's going to have to check with vendors. We manufacture and wholesale fence (along with a little commercial/industrial/government install work) and our raw material prices have jumped twice since the start of the year, increasing our cost by 29%. That gets passed along to the installer and a 25% material increase can bury a small contractor if he doesn't pass that along to the customer.
This post was edited on 2/19/18 at 2:20 pm
1
Posted on 2/19/18 at 2:21 pm to crispyUGA
Wood. Nothing fancy at all.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 2:28 pm to CoachChappy
quote:
30 minutes. Its a fence not a damn house.
This. I crank out fence quotes daily. All I need is type of material, height, LF and gate(s) size and type.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 2:30 pm to TDsngumbo
If he takes that long to give the estimate, imagine how long it will take him to complete the job. Your job must be too small for him to give much attention to. Look elsewhere
Posted on 2/19/18 at 2:30 pm to TDsngumbo
Yeah, a good fence man would be able to price wood on the spot. Not sure about in Louisiana, but here in Columbia you're looking at about $18/LF for wood.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 2:45 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
Wood. Nothing fancy at all.
$20/ft
you're welcome
Posted on 2/19/18 at 5:28 pm to whit
quote:
This. I crank out fence quotes daily. All I need is type of material, height, LF and gate(s) size and type.
Where are you located?
Posted on 2/19/18 at 5:33 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
Good point.
ETA: I just realized who you are. I hate that I've been agreeing with you more and more lately. I may need some sort of professional intervention.
If you pay more attention to my words, you will realize I often have good points.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 5:59 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
How long is too long to wait for a contractor to give an estimate?
My rule of thumb is if they are a headache in the beginning they will be a headache through the whole process. Just cut bait and find someone else. Most reputable fence companies have those figures on hand...they measure the yard, get your preference on material and give you an estimate. It's not that hard. I agree with others in the thread...mine was done in half-hour or so.
Along those same lines, I was building up my patio a few years back (a pretty big investment - adding outdoor kitchen, extending the base out and adding some seating) and it was like pulling teeth to get someone to come out and provide some ideas and an estimate.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 7:02 pm to TDsngumbo
I do quotes quickly and our stuff can be fairly complicated. It really makes for an easier sell.
When I check in for status on projects I invariably get hit with “we’re still waiting for the other quotes to come in”. After this happens a couple of times I ask them if they think their work will get done in a timely fashion if the other contractors take that long to put out a simple quote.
When I check in for status on projects I invariably get hit with “we’re still waiting for the other quotes to come in”. After this happens a couple of times I ask them if they think their work will get done in a timely fashion if the other contractors take that long to put out a simple quote.
This post was edited on 2/19/18 at 7:03 pm
Posted on 2/19/18 at 7:27 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
He came out on Friday and did his thing and told me he'd email me an estimate by the end of the weekend.
Here it is, Monday afternoon, and I still have no fricking clue how much this project will cost me.
If he came out friday, I would wait another day or two before writing him off. Contractors like to take weekends off too and depending on what you want, it might not be so simple. There are factors that might adjust the price that he has to account for.
quote:
I need a fence built in my yard and although I can do it myself, I'd rather not. A week ago today I had a guy come out to measure. He said he'd email the estimate to me. By Valentines day I still didn't receive the estimate. I texted him and he said he was still working on it and that I'd have it soon.
By Thursday I still didn't have it
yep, frick that guy.
If I can't get to something I usually tell people up front that I might be slow on it. It isn't a slow play but I get swamped with my contract work but i am usually happy going and looking at stuff and helping people as much as I can.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 8:04 pm to cgrand
quote:
20/ft for wood fence
So I can get a 10' red cedar fence for 20/ft?
Posted on 2/19/18 at 8:13 pm to Obtuse1
nope
you can't get 30' high mahogany either
you can't get 30' high mahogany either
This post was edited on 2/19/18 at 8:16 pm
Posted on 2/19/18 at 8:18 pm to Obtuse1
quote:Why stop at Cedar if you’re trying to take a comment out of context*?
So I can get a 10' red cedar fence for 20/ft?
Demand a Chesnut or Oak fence for $20/lf.
*Something I would NEVER do.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 8:23 pm to soccerfüt
maybe his HOA is tired of his deer herd getting loose
Posted on 2/19/18 at 8:33 pm to TDsngumbo
If it takes this long to get a price how long will it take to get the fence. You need to move on!
Posted on 2/19/18 at 9:02 pm to soccerfüt
quote:
Why stop at Cedar if you’re trying to take a comment out of context*?
Hard to take cgrand's post out of context when there was no context. There had been nothing in the thread to establish the height or type of fence (including species of wood if indeed OP wants wood).
My point was it is silly to throw out a number when height and type of fence has not been established by the OP.
Posted on 2/19/18 at 10:04 pm to Obtuse1
quote:
Wood. Nothing fancy at all.
$20/ft
you're welcome
Posted on 2/19/18 at 11:36 pm to cgrand
Tree Fiddy
Posted on 2/20/18 at 1:38 am to TDsngumbo
on a very routine job, we give an estimate on the spot depending on circumstances, if someone is at the office, then they can look up any unknowns, and get the number by the end of the business day, on a bigger job with moving pieces, it might take a week but id say 3/4 times it's a number on the spot. But either way the end owner is notified, hey, we can get your bid today, or ill send it over on Wednesday, ext.or hey, we have x,y,z and f done but we're waiting on b. end of the day keeping end owners happy is critical.
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