ok fellas, heres the rules...

we're all off to bid on a simple 1600 sq ft cape, 2 floors 3 bedrooms up, 1 bath, kitchen, liv room down, unfinished basement

baseboard hot h20 heat, furnace w/ 3 zones & superstore

100 A OH service

fixtures by 'others'....

1) what prebid Q's do you ask? (we've got to do apples/apples after all right?)

2)what contractual considerations are to be prerequisite?

3)what can you offer as to one~upmanship (c'mon, we all do it!, lay it on thick !)

consider yourself presenting to a clueless airhead, and we're all so hungry shoe laces look like spaghetti

~S~

Not having the plans to look at, here's a couple of the top of the melon...

What type of wiring method? Romex? EMT? RMC? K&T?

(That was a JOKE BTW )

Height AFF for switches / outlets?

Ceiling fans in any of the rooms?

Time frame from start to completion?

Contractual?

Nail down change orders - who can and cannot authorize, and adjustments to the original bid for additional work.

If you can arrange payment for supplies before work starts (as a deposit), AND keep a lein against them until payment is completed, that's a good start (dunno how your credit is with your supplier, but I work mostly on a cash basis, and include this clause in my contracts)

Search the General Discussion posts for contracts - there are some tricks, and subtle differences in wording can make the language work for you, or against you.

One-Upmanship? Offer supplemental or isolated grounding and 4-receptacle boxes where computers will be installed in the house. Offer to run cable / phone / data lines to all the rooms... multiple points in larger rooms (living room comes to mind).

Offer to run circuits in the Basement that are "finish ready", in terms of capacity and spacing - maybe even "set" for easy installation of can lights in the future.

There are lots of little tricks - tell 'em you're providing the best service for a fair proce!

Dishwasher?

Disposal? Switch, batch feed, air switch?

Instant hot water at sink?

Microwave on counter or in dedicated location?

Compactor?

Appliance garage?

Undercabinet lighting type, if any?

Range or separate cooktop and oven? Electric or gas?

Clothes dry, electric or gas?

Domestic water heater electric or gas?

Jacuzzi tub?

Steam generator?

Hot tub, electric or gas?

Kiln?

Welder? etc.

Good list. Be sure to ask if there will be anything "unusual" for hobbies or home business. My personal garage has electric heat,7.5 HP compressor, and an industrial duty welder. Things like that could blow you out of the water.

Small appliance 'garages' in kitchen w/ or w/o power?

Exhaust fan/ventilation over range?

Island in kitchen w/ or w/o power?

Extra lighting in kitchen/dining area? Mood lighting in house?

Personally, I'd be looking for one of those drawers with power for my curling irons in the bathroom, ElectricAL ...

I'm definitely in the market for a few outlets in my garage for my crafting bench at the moment, too.

(and new fingers today as well since I've not been able to post without going back and editing...)

[This message has been edited by BuggabooBren (edited 11-24-2003).]

Bugaboo: I don't think it is permissible to install a kitchen island w/o a receptacle outlet.

Ryan:
Not to start a thread jack, but.....
How about an "island-on-wheels"???
Not fixed in place, but 100% mobile??

Had one last week.
John

great replys, but too much info just confuses the airhead(s), so would you resort (given the 'survivor' style bid process) to buzzwords?

home networking...

design build...

home theater...

...???

Sparky,wouldn't it depend a lot on the individual airhe... I mean customer?

Some can assimilate more info than others,and my experience has been that when you start with the home theater etc. it just clouds the issue.

I like to do a room by room rundown so we both know what I'm pricing and what they're paying for. Get the basics,then go for the home theatre,multiple phones/tv's. Wouldn't recess lighting look good in this kitchen?You think you might want a disposal at some point? How about those uc lights?

Personally,I've always had better luck this way, and having everything up front instead of pricing a bare bones barely code job and then laying on the "Extras"

Russell

actually, i have a checklist similar to what is posted here, but you can lead the horse to water....