5 Tips for Business Leaders When Requesting Construction Bids

Engaged and interested contractors seek clarification and more information from about your project. They are not afraid of asking questions, they may even provide additional insights to your project to make things easier, safer, or simpler. They look to have a better understanding of the scope of work and your expectations on the project. In addition, they are working to put together a reliable proposal that will cover all over your construction project needs. These contractors are offering a positive construction experience for their clients. They are more reliable and accurate with their bids. It will also foreshadow your experience with them during the construction process.

If you are not confident in a contractor then let them go, do not collect a bid from them. These contractors are not engaged or interested in your project. They are not asking any questions about your project nor are they providing insights or useful information for your project. There proposals are simply vague and undetailed. To them you are just another customer and do not have their entire focus. Another red flag is that their proposal does not match your expectations. For instance, they may implement cheaper building materials into the project.

Ultimately, you would like to use your best judgement in weeding out contractors. Recognize the good contractors from the bad ones. See who is willing to work with you and see who is simply trying to get a job with minimal effort.

Evaluate Multiple Bids and Compare

Review and compare the bids of at least three contractors. Make sure read all submitted bids and that they are meeting your specifications. Just because you told contractors the specifications and how you want a project done, does not always mean they will listen. For instance, they may not include certain specifications of the project. Another reason to review the specifications is for additional misinterpretations on the project. You should ask the contractor to resubmit the bid with the changes. However, if misinterpretation or requested changes are not met on the bid, then its time to drop the contractor.

Once everything is clear and you have the prospected contractors bids you want submitted. Look over the bids and find out which bids work best for you. Things you should consider are the contractor, relevant experience, key qualities characteristics, timeline of the project, etc.

Ultimately, by the end of this process you will have selected a reliable contractor that you are confident with and you know you got an accurate, fair, and competitive bid.

Beware of the Lowest Bid Contractor

You should always be skeptical of bids, especially the lowest bidding contractors. Often, the lowest bidding contractor can be a red flag to the bidding process, or an actual genuine priced fair bid. Especially if there is a huge variance among bid prices. Nevertheless, you should investigate this matter.

The lowest bidding contractor can typically be a red flag. Their bid usually mentions lower quality building materials and equipment being used. Another possibility is that they used low skilled labor to perform the jobs. To resolve this issue, look up their company’s reviews on review sites. See what other customers say about this contractor, to see if he is genuinely a reliable and quality contractor for a low price. Unfortunately, lowest bidders are often slow to complete a project or more inclined to have delays in their project. However, lowest bidders are not always a bad thing.

The lowest bidder could be the only general contractor providing you with a genuine fair price. Other contractors could just be marking their profits up to high. This is especially relevant in smaller projects. Contractors are more likely to markup smaller projects, so it can be worth their effort and time. In addition, they believe that you are not looking or considering additional contractors for the prospected job. It is important to compare the lowest bidder to the other contractor bids and see why they differ. You could also contact the lowest bidding contractor and ask why their price is so low. They should share the details with you in detail if they are genuine.

Ultimately, you want to be skeptical for all bidders, especially the lowest bidder. Lowest bidders could either be unreliable and cheap. The alternative is that they are the only contractor offering you a genuine and fair bid. It is important to investigate this situation and use your best judgement on selecting a contractor.

Weigh Your Options

So, you have bids, and you are not happy with the amount the project is going to cost. This is usually known as a price shock that many new customers experience in the construction industry. However, it is always important to weigh your options to make your construction project more affordable and more likely to happen. Often, many business leaders seek the benefit of phased construction or design build project delivery.

Convenient construction contractors often offer clients solution to make projects more affordable with phased construction. Phased construction eliminates the risk of large investments and separates the construction project into multiple stages. These stages can be a work category, section, or partially completed. Nevertheless, it eliminates or minimize hiccups in the construction process by its flexibility. Flexibility with phased construction helps minimize errors of interpretation and the number of change orders. Many business leaders value the flexibility and affordability of phased construction.

Design build contractors offer a smoother and simplified construction process for business leaders. In this approach contractors or construction company acts as the sole entity of responsibility for the construction project. In addition, you would only have one contract. The contractor as the designer and the builder. With this uniformity the construction company can have more clear and efficient communication on the project specifications. In addition, it can limit the number of misinterpretations on the project.

Ultimately, if you hesitate on going forward with the construction bids you have received due to the high price, it is important to weigh your options. Many businesses see the merit of doing construction in phases which will lower the burden of cashflow and stress of the construction project. The popular alternative approach is design build where the contractor is designs and builds the project under one contractor, offering customers a faster and cheaper project.