All Forum Posts by: Matt R.

Sherwin does base pricing on how much you buy.  You can set up a cash account, but if you set up a commercial account, and you purchase a lot of paint from them, they will adjust your pricing down over time.  

If it's been completely shut down for construction for more than 6 months, you're most likely going to need to start fresh with new plans and new permits.  Codes constantly change, and if the building department updated the code since the last inspections on the house, the current plans could be null and void anyway.  Also, if the job was red tagged, or an inspection shut down the work, there will be hoops to jump through to get this back up and running.

Definitely not the type of project to learn on if you're not comfortable with construction.  It could be challenging even for a seasoned pro.

Denver has been and continues to be very competitive. There are deals to be had here and very hot neighborhoods but lots of investors bidding for those deals. If you're flipping, good contractors are hard to come by as well. Labor is in short supply. I'm booking out jobs well in advance right now and costs are up.

If you need any advice at all, please feel free to reach out. I'd be happy to help in any way I can. Like I said, I've been a GC in both scenarios and can walk you through steps on both. Good luck!

Hi Thomas I've been a GC for many years and there are advantages to both of the options you mentioned. As with many issues dealing with a GC, a lot comes down to trust. With your first option......getting plans and then bidding out.....you will get (hopefully) competitive bids which you can compare and get low pricing. Hopefully the plans are good and don't leave anything out. Be careful analyzing your bids. Any omissions from the plans could result in change orders and added surprise costs as the GCs will hard bid what's on the plans only. If you do design build with someone you trust, you'll have more control over the process and have greater cost certainty earlier on in the process and you can then tailor the design to your desired budget. Remember that low bid is not always the best deal. Good luck!!!

I would agree with @Justin Thompson that $8,500 sounds low for the rehab.  It's pretty tough to get anyone to move in our market (Denver) for that kind of budget with what you're talking about.  Can you provide more details on the work that needs to be done?

@Jeff Rabith I am new here and just ran across your post.  I was just wondering if you ever got your project done, and what kind of luck you had finding a good GC.  Just curious.

Good advice to try to find people who are working on your particular type of project.  Just because a guy can build a retail store or shopping mall doesn't mean he's a good fit for a rehab, or custom home, or duplex.

Specialty materials suppliers are a good resource.....your DalTiles, Sherwin Williams, etc. of the world will usually give good recommendations, and they will tell you who they deal with often.  For the record, my day job is with a $15M a year commercial GC, and my guys go to HD and Lowe's ALL the time.  

Wherever you find them, make sure to search with the local building department to make sure they are licensed with the municipality you're wanting them to work in.  Every state, county, city is different.  DON'T HIRE UNLICENSED CONTRACTORS.  They will cost you time and money. 

Good luck.

Drywall (and insulation) is pretty cheap in general.  In my market, we pay $1.10-1.25/square foot for rock and finish.  You have to paint it as well, which should go for $0.35-0.50.  Demo costs are cheap as well.  The blown in insulation is a good way to go, and is expensive, but we use it more for areas we absolutely can't get to on the inside due to the cost.  

Don't get too caught up in trying to save what's there.  Remember if you do blown in, you'll also have to patch and finish.....and most likely repaint.  Unless the existing drywall is just pristine and does not need to be repainted, rip off the old stuff and do batts.