ECN Forum
Posted By: Nick Porrta Potty - 01/07/03 04:20 AM
Do GC’s want to do anything anymore? I’m working on a bid for a large project with a very large GC. Now I have run into having to provide our own means to haul off trash before but this is a first! On this project each sub is responsible for providing toilet facilities for there personal as well! I can see it now, a better part of my day chasing other subs out of our trash bins and outhouses. Geee’s! What’s next? Shall we do all the trade coordination, deal directly with owners and architects and design the projects too? ……. Oh, [Linked Image] we already do ! [Linked Image]
Posted By: Happi_Man Re: Porrta Potty - 01/07/03 03:33 PM
We should do everything and just let the GC's collect the money and then not pay us...
Posted By: wolfdog Re: Porrta Potty - 01/07/03 05:04 PM
I can see it now.........card key access to your company porta pot.
Posted By: bobp Re: Porrta Potty - 01/07/03 06:34 PM
Nick,
I'm a GC in addition to being an Electrical Contractor. What you describe is ridiculous. What I would do is add the cost of a porta-potty to the bid (with appopriate mark-up), to include the extra time to deal with the potty people. I have never charged the subs for this and I pass the cost to the customer. Remember, not all GC's are A**H*****.

Bob
Posted By: Electric Eagle Re: Porrta Potty - 01/07/03 11:14 PM
I might be inclined to decline to bid on this project because if the GC is this cheap, change orders and billing will be hard to deal with. Does he(or she) not realize that this will cost more in the long run or does he think you'll just absorb the cost?

I have a few contractors that don't provide porta potty's. And they wonder why they have urine in the air ducts and sheetrock buckets full of crap. [Linked Image]
Posted By: HotLine1 Re: Porrta Potty - 01/08/03 01:09 AM
Out of curiousity, does the Building Dept know about the multi porta potties??? What does the Health Dept have to say?? Whos going to control access to the units??

How about you and another sub "share the potti"?????

Personlly I think I would RUN away from this bid...if the potti costs "too much" how the heck do you expect to be paid?? WEAKLY???

I have to stop laughing.....

John
Posted By: master66 Re: Porrta Potty - 01/08/03 01:13 AM
I would specifically exclude the dumpster / trash removal and the porta pottie in my proposal. If they accept the proposal, so be it. If not, I wouldn't do the job.

Also, OSHA requires restroom facilities be provided if over a certain number of people are on the job. (I can't remember the number but I'm thinking its 10)

If you aren't going to have 10 or more people it wouldn't be your responsibility.

If there is going to be 10 or more people on the job (all trades combined) then it would be the GC's responsibility.

In my proposals I never even mentioned rest room facilities (because there was never a doubt who was responsible) but I did mention trash removal as follows;

Employees of (your company name here) shall cooperate with other trades by removing trash from the work area to a dumpster provided by others or to a specific location on site as specified by the owner or GC.

(Your company name here) shall in no case be responsible for any costs pertaining to trash removal.

Sounds like a CHEEEEP GC. Hope this helps.
Posted By: sparky Re: Porrta Potty - 01/08/03 01:14 AM
i wonder....

anyone else here carry a shovel & a roll??
Posted By: harold endean Re: Porrta Potty - 01/08/03 01:19 AM
If it was my job, I would pay for portal potty by myself. Then I would charge everyone else a dollar a sheet for the toilet paper! [Linked Image] Seriously, once my old boss was bidding on a job and when he read the specs. he had to pay for fire extingushers! He asked the architect why did he have to included them in his bid. The architect said, "Why not. Somebody has to pay for them." SO, My boss had to go out and buy 5 fire exstingushers for that job. Go Figure.
Posted By: nichols Re: Porrta Potty - 01/08/03 09:40 AM
Hrm, I thought i would pass this on, i found this too funny.. I'm on a job site doing a job pulling cat 5 cables.. my company i'm working for has electricians as well, they have a job trailer, one day I was in there and I saw a partion in the trailer, they had one of them chemical RV type things in there.. i was too busy laughin..
Posted By: electure Re: Porrta Potty - 01/08/03 12:46 PM
We had a GC that wouldn't supply toilet facilities, instead suggesting we use the nearby sandwich shop.
I sent him a Change Order for sodas that the guys had to buy to use the "Customers Only" restroom. He refused it...so.
We all piled into a van, went to his personal home nearby, beat on the door at 6AM, and when he answered in his bathrobe, asked if we could use the bathroom.
(Not very businesslike, but he put facilities on all the jobs thereafter).

I'd get the Porta-Potties, (the deluxe models at that) and charge the markup and OH.
Posted By: wocolt Re: Porrta Potty - 01/08/03 03:34 PM
Thats Crazy. If you got to provide the Porta-Potty then they pay for it its part of the job and its their responsibility. Do they expect you and your crew to use a squat trench ?
I would include that 'facility' in the bid, and you also have to have them pumped out once a week too and there is a charge for that.
REE dic a lus !!
WOC
Posted By: Happi_Man Re: Porrta Potty - 01/09/03 12:44 AM
Sparky - LOL! Yep - showvel - inevitably - a roll - whenever I can remember one...ever try to clean up with a job invoice? doiks!!
Posted By: Nick Re: Porrta Potty - 01/09/03 01:30 AM
ROTFLOL!
Yes it is expected as a line item in the bid. They even have a guaranteed price quote from a company that provides this service. Now, I have run onto the remove your own trash once before. There is a GC here that makes it part of there standard contract language. That job happened to be so lacking on lay down space that about half way through we were not even allowed a storage container and you were only allowed to store 48hrs worth of material on site. What was done there was a representative from the GC who assigned percentage values to each dumpster for each trade whose material was in it. They then back charged us monthly for the costs. That way there weren’t 20 different dumpsters on site. (Which would have been impossible) I am sure we got screwed on that deal but it was better than the alternative. And it was part of the contract.
This job has similar space limitations although, not nearly as bad. But it’s a large site. OK, I can live with a dumpster. Park it next to our containers and police it regularly for other trades material. Immediately sending back charge letters to offenders. But outhouses! Come on! The site is 40 acres+ with 6 2, 3 and 4 story buildings. We will have to spread them out all over for the crews. (Probably 70+ electricians at peak) I guess we get combo locks and give only our employees and subs the combo’s. I don’t know how else to keep Joe dry Waller out. What a pain! I am sure a lot of smaller trades won’t get them banking on there guys using everyone else’s.
OH, and on that subject. Water is another problem. We (I) always provide water (and not nasty hose water) to our crews. Not only is it the right thing to do it is in our working agreements. (Union) Most of the other trades do not. So what happens? We become the water supplier for the whole job! Just another item to waist time policing. And I wonder why I never seem to get anything done!
[Linked Image] <End of rant>



[This message has been edited by Nick (edited 01-08-2003).]
Posted By: Bjarney Re: Porrta Potty - 01/09/03 02:28 AM
Now for the latest in on-the-job sanitation, SmurfHut Ultra Access Control will finally pay off! To discretely answer a jobsite call of nature, each of your crew will get an official Yellow & Brown Fleet ID badge so they can be assured of an uncrowded rest station by a convenient badge swipe on the digital honey bucket door latch.

For a slight additional fee we’ll add online Trial User Revisitation Demographics reports, and new ECC Plus—Emergency Credit Card opening if a tradesman happens to forget their Yellow & Brown ID badge.




[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 01-08-2003).]
Posted By: Nick Re: Porrta Potty - 01/09/03 03:40 AM
AS an added bonus will it log how many times a day they use the outhouse and for how long? Could be a hot seller!
Posted By: Bjarney Re: Porrta Potty - 01/09/03 03:47 AM
You bet! That is a prime feature of the T.U.R.D. reports.
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