# General contractor fees



## kbelz67 (Oct 8, 2012)

I am running my first project as the general contractor , pricing and bidding the entire job and i am unsure if im double charging. Do you add X% onto the sub-contractor price along with your GC fees or just increase your GC fee with the sub bid as-is?


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

It would be unethical to double a fee. Your fee is added to the cost of labor and materials, and not tiered for getting a percentage of a percentage.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

I either add a percentage to the project or to each sub, depending on the circumstances. Most of the time I just add it to the overall project. Adding to the subs and then to the project is called double dipping.


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## MCCarpentry (Feb 13, 2013)

I add a markup for subs to cover my time scheduling and managing them. I also markup materials to cover the time i spent doing the runoff and ordering. For my crew, my overhead and profit are built into my hourly wages.


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## TxElectrician (May 21, 2008)

Joasis said:


> It would be unethical to double a fee. Your fee is added to the cost of labor and materials, and not tiered for getting a percentage of a percentage.





TNTSERVICES said:


> I either add a percentage to the project or to each sub, depending on the circumstances. Most of the time I just add it to the overall project. Adding to the subs and then to the project is called double dipping.


Just curious. The OP stated this was for a bid, so how is anything he does to get his number unethical. I could understand if it was a T&M contract but not a bid.

If you mark up x and I'm 3x, but able to sell it how is that wrong?


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## TxElectrician (May 21, 2008)

But I agree he will have a hard sell marking up his subs twice.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Regardless of when our how, it's a character issue. Why would you need to mark up the Subs and then add a GC fee.


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

TNTSERVICES said:


> Regardless of when our how, it's a character issue. Why would you need to mark up the Subs and then add a GC fee.


???

First, to me, it is weird to mark chit up all crazy, as in mark up a sub then mark up the whole project. I just figure my crews labor, materials, resources, permits, equipment and subs, my time, then I add my mark up.

But, let me ask you, since you say one way is a character issue and the other isnt, if my mark up is 40% and yours is 20% , am I then unethical?


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## donerightwyo (Oct 10, 2011)

I might mark it up six times if I thought I could sell it:whistling


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## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

I charge a management fee for my time on jobs heavily subbed. I have a different mark up for supplies, in house labor and subs. I use a seperate column that has estimating & management time, taxes or contigency. These I dont mark up. My mark up is to cover profit and warranty. If I had little to other than keep it rolling or found myself killing time between trades then my time would suck out the MU or Builder fee and no profit would be made.

I suppose there are many ways to do it, not sure if mine is correct either.


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## TxElectrician (May 21, 2008)

TNTSERVICES said:


> Regardless of when our how, it's a character issue. Why would you need to mark up the Subs and then add a GC fee.


So if I have all my overhead and profit calculated in my labor rates, according to your thinking I would be unethical to mark up my material?

In a bid, I don't see how submitting a price is unethical. Your price is your price.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

How a Contractor arrives at his bid price is irrelevant....

What does matter is if the client will pay it...:thumbsup:


Except in T&M work....you show all your cards...:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Jaws said:


> ???
> 
> First, to me, it is weird to mark chit up all crazy, as in mark up a sub then mark up the whole project. I just figure my crews labor, materials, resources, permits, equipment and subs, my time, then I add my mark up.
> 
> But, let me ask you, since you say one way is a character issue and the other isnt, if my mark up is 40% and yours is 20% , am I then unethical?


Ethics has nothing to do with it. I said character.

So the subject is whether or not to add a percentage to the sub charge and charge a GC fee. There is no legit reason to mark up both. Just charge a GC fee. How we do things is sometime more important than the result. To me, it's dishonest to mark up both. You are trying to hide what you are charging.

Okay, so let's now discuss your topic. Yes I said that one is a character issue and one is not. However you are introducing another factor. A factor in which I would need to consider in order to make a judgment. Over charging is about perspective. I may have a shop, trailer and office as my overhead. I may not want to do the job or just make it worth my while if they accept the bid. I may have to travel much further than the contractor who charged 20%.

So my question to you is, I call it a character issue, you call it crazy, what's the difference? What do you mean by crazy?


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

TNTSERVICES said:


> Ethics has nothing to do with it. I said character.
> 
> So the subject is whether or not to add a percentage to the sub charge and charge a GC fee. There is no legit reason to mark up both. Just charge a GC fee. How we do things is sometime more important than the result. To me, it's dishonest to mark up both. You are trying to hide what you are charging.
> 
> ...


So your saying if a guy operating out of his pick up was the same price as a guy with a showroom thats not right?

I have an office, shop and company vehicles. I just bid a bathroom at 20k. If I started over and decided to dump all the over head and just do one job at a time out of my pickup, my price is still 20k. I just would be choosing to not have the overhead. To me the bathroom is worth 20k.


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

griz said:


> How a Contractor arrives at his bid price is irrelevant....
> 
> What does matter is if the client will pay it...:thumbsup:
> 
> ...


:thumbsup:


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

Interesting. So how much will a kitchen remodel cost?


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

ohiohomedoctor said:


> Interesting. So how much will a kitchen remodel cost?


At least 5g more than you budgeted for...:whistling:laughing:


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

griz said:


> At least 5g more than you budgeted for...:whistling:laughing:


That's sounds legit. Seems familiar as if I have a project like this going right now..


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

ohiohomedoctor said:


> Interesting. So how much will a kitchen remodel cost?


Its inconsequential, just an example :laughing:


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## TAHomeRepairs (Jun 18, 2012)

Jaws said:


> ???
> 
> First, to me, it is weird to mark chit up all crazy, as in mark up a sub then mark up the whole project. I just figure my crews labor, materials, resources, permits, equipment and subs, my time, then I add my mark up.
> 
> But, let me ask you, since you say one way is a character issue and the other isnt, if my mark up is 40% and yours is 20% , am I then unethical?


I say if you back up your 40% worth and you sell it. I guess you've earned it.


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