Parrish Construction

Archive for the ‘Estimation’ Category

Low Bid = Lowball

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 Posted in Estimation | No Comments »

You’re planning to remodel your home, have a tight budget, and are looking for a low bid from a hungry contractor. You might want to rethink that strategy. A low bid may end up costing you more in the long ...

Q- How Can I Figure Out if My Remodel Will Pay Off at Sales Time?

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011 Posted in Construction Costs, Costs, Estimation, Getting Started, Remodeling Concerns, ROI, YouTube Videos/"Larry on the Level" | No Comments »

A-We tell people it’s always best to do a remodel because it increases the value of the home for YOU. In a changing economy there are no guarantees. Traditionally, certain remodels add more value than others. And then, there’s the ...

Fear of Remodeling

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 Posted in Additions, Advice to Clients, Affiliations, Costs, Estimation, Getting Started, Remodeling Concerns, Remodels/Additions | No Comments »

By Larry Parrish, CR, CGR, CAPS, GACP I’ve had many clients through the years say they wish they had remodeled their homes sooner. Some built additions after the children were grown and gone, and wish the children had been able to ...

Q—Our remodeling contractor has included the cost of a portable toilet at $80 per month in his bid. Is this standard practice? It seems unreasonable.

Saturday, January 9th, 2010 Posted in Construction Contract, Construction Costs, Estimation, FAQ, Humorous Articles, Materials- Construction, Money-Saving Tips | No Comments »

A—Contractors are required to make toilet facilities available to workers. $80 per month is about the going rate, but if you have a toilet you can make available, you will save considerable money. Please don’t ask the workers to use ...

Q—My contractor included “allowances” in our contract for appliance floor coverings, etc.. Can you explain how an allowance works?

Friday, January 8th, 2010 Posted in Construction Contract, Construction Costs, Construction Terms, Estimation, FAQ, Money-Saving Tips, Remodeling Concerns | No Comments »

A—Your builder followed the common practice of using an “allowance” as a budget placeholder for certain finish materials not specified in the contract documents. In other words, you are “allowed” to spend a certain amount without adjusting your cost of ...

Q—How much does it cost per square foot to build an addition on a house?

Thursday, January 7th, 2010 Posted in Additions, Construction Contract, Construction Costs, Estimation, FAQ, Money-Saving Tips, Remodeling Concerns, Remodels/Additions | No Comments »

A—That depends on which square foot you’re talking about. The square foot where the new commercial-grade refrigerator sits will cost about $600, and a square foot of the new driveway will cost about $3. Averaging these two together yields $301.50 ...

Q: Help! I can’t seem to understand all the construction jargon my last contractor used. Can you share some of the most common terms?

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 Posted in Architecture, Blueprints, Construction Process, Construction Terms, Costs, Design-Build, Estimation, FAQ, Getting Started, Humorous Articles, Materials- Construction, Remodeling Concerns, Structural Issues | No Comments »

A—Jar-gon (noun) Obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words (from WWWebster’s Dictionary on the internet).Construction, like many professions, has its share of jargon—obscure terms that are meaningless to the average person. Unlike the medical profession, however, ...