All Forum Posts by: Adrian G.

@Rob Harris Well it was never about trying to be cheap, trust me I would never do that but a lot of the bids I got were all over the place. I have always done my own GC'ing but never for a full blown foundation, I would definitely be comfortable with it but as you stated I dont want to pay for it later. Then again I dont want to over pay for it which is the vibe Im getting when I see a few of these estimates.

btw I just got off the phone with an excavator who said he will give me a bid without cement, also stated that he doesnt do concrete work...only excavation etc. Ill keep everyone posted.

Anybody else in Chicago or the midwest, feel free to chime on on pricing.

@Rob Harris Thats cool, what would you price it out in CA? I use to live in Irvine and have an idea of labor costs there.

I have bid the foundation out but the prices are all over the place, at this point I have no idea what to price this out at.  I have been rehabbing for 10+ years, but NC is a different monster.  I then thought about GC'ing it myself, hiring out the excavation and then forms/concrete as most were NOT willing to do it separately here in Chicago. Finally some excavators from out of town said they would do it if needed but waiting for there bids on it.

Size: 16ft x 40ft

Welcome to BP, you will be spending hours on this site haha.

Yeah I still do stuff in the city, gotta a couple of projects going on currently. But shoot me a message, lets talk.

@Manolo D. I agree with what you said, if you provide the plans, put it in the contract that he is to follow it, and or repair/replace if not done correctly.....if not file suit.

Also after reading some of the comments from others, I feel it necessary to say that sometimes depending on the contractor and how extensive the work maybe I try NOT to make it to comprehensive with contracts or etc, because this could scare some of the smaller guys who are reasonably priced away. They might not be the biggest company or the smartest guys on the planet, but they can follow directions on the job site.

@William Lumpkin I know exactly what you're going through, as a rehabber with 10+ years experience (now) dealing with contractors that dont follow specs let alone instructions can be a nightmare, I started rehabbing at 19-20 years old with NO construction experience and no GC referrals and in the city you will go through all the garbage workers before finding a good one. In your situation I can feel your pain, if you don't do whats required the city will make you tear it down and start over which is a huge financial burden, is it possible for him to repair his mistake? How much higher did he raise it? 

I just saw your other post, yeah 1.5ft is a significant difference. So you found another contractor? Do you know if he's qualified to rectify the problem? You would be amazed at what some quality GC's can come up with to solve the problem as oppose to starting over.

I live in Chicago as well, and dont really invest locally too much anymore. So many better deals else where, I pretty much go any where these days. As @Mike Madeja said, the debt is ridiculous and sometimes there is more hassle then its really worth.

Cold calling is a must in my opinion.

Please tell me your saving some of that lumber haha.