Roofing replacement and large maintenance projects can be expensive but they are necessary to protect your investment. There are common mistakes that you can make and knowing what these are can help you to take care of your roofing and bidding projects more efficiently.
Bidding
- Soliciting Bids without Specifications: This causes bids to be created that cannot be compared which affects decision making. A specification can be as small as one page, but it must be complete and detailed for large projects. Larger projects are typically prepared by an architect or roofing consultant. The job specifications should not be prepared until after the final product selection is made.
- Accepting Lowest Bid Too Early: Associations try to save time by just selecting the lowest bid. Not all contractors are the same quality and lower bids are likely missing important costs that will cause increases to the final cost. You need to meet with several contractors to accurately evaluate the strengths of the companies and their experience.
- Large Deposits: It is a common mistake to give contractors large upfront deposits for materials. All successful contractors have credit accounts with their suppliers, so this is not necessary. If a bidder cannot fund their payroll until the first payment is made, the association should reconsider moving forward with that contractor.
- Measurable Work: You should only pay for measurable work on these projects. Measuring progress as a percentage is difficult, so it is better to pay only for pre-agreed benchmarks of construction once they are completed.
- Failure to Plan in Advance: Early and efficient planning can help to limit or eliminate emergency assessments, disruption to daily lives and unnecessary costs. Planning ahead for a major roofing project is best done at least five years in advance to avoid these problems.
- Believing that City Inspectors Ensure Proper Work: City inspectors make sufficient job-in-progress visits to verify the work is done per code or manufacturer’s specs.
- Making Final Payment without Closeout Documents: Closeout documents include permit, warranty, and lien releases. You need to get these right away and if necessary withhold final payment until they are in your hands.
Conclusion
Knowing the common mistakes that are made when it comes to roof bidding can help you avoid them. This ensures a more efficient process when it comes to getting your roof projects taken care of and protects you from unnecessary financial loss.
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