Exterior & Interior Painters Denver – What Is a Hard Bid vs. Time & Materials

The Hard Bid

Is a Projection of Time based on intelligently Ascertained Time Standards & Sq Ft. Pricing that Takes into account Varied Levels of Protection from Area to Area, Height of Walls and Ceilings, Varied Levels of Cut In from Area to Area, Needed Taping & Caulking, avg. amount of Standard Repair to Walls, the avg. amt. of time to apply the Coating w/ consistent sheen/color, the avg. amount of Time to Clean up and the Avg. Speed of A Paint Crew, Given that some are faster than others and Vise Versa. It is a science but not an exact science. There is no way to project the exact Hour or Minute that a Project will complete. The goal is to achieve the task in no more than the allotted time. If that goes over and it will do so from time to time, we do not ask for more money thus the Term  “Hard Bid” & vice versa. The Simple goal of an estimator is always to be more Right than Wrong and charge a Fair Market Bearing Rate which I believe all Good Contractors will do. Speculating, Guest mating or Contractors paying people whatever they wish are all ways for Owners to take more than what is rightfully theirs and to either takes advantage of a WorkForce & most often result in unhappy people. Working with those types is always a gamble. Stellar is none of these things.

Time & Materials

This is an exact Measurement of Time vs. what is Paid. This is often done with Work that is difficult to ascertain an accurate # of Hours like Wallpaper Removal or Some Drywall Repair Work for example. T & M is also commonly done for change orders written onsite or requested later for addl. work outside the Original Scope of the Proposal.  This is most often seen as a very fair option in that regard as the Client will only realize in Cost what it will actually take in Time & materials needed to perform the additionally requested task. This also expedites the task as an estimator would not be required to come to the Job site in short order which may or may not be possible to keep the job moving.  Time and Material Rates are typically a little higher than Hard Bid rates as they are not a Projection or ESTIMATE of Time but more of an exact billing of such plus the Materials. There is typically no cap on T& M and in many Cases for Larger scopes of Work you could end up paying more, thus why it less frequently used in that regard. T & M for larger scoped Paint Projects is not something that would be advisable as Hours can be difficult to track with Lunches, Breaks, and different speeds of onsite production from one painter to another. Why are they not going faster? Did I pay for that break?  Are they going slow to charge me more and are they going to nickel and dime me? It just gets messy & stressful and who needs that, right!. In cases of larger Time and Materials projects such as Wallpaper Removal, we require a Daily Signoff by the Client and daily conversation with Crew Leader to ensure a comfort level with the hours Posted and what was accomplished for those same hours.