I know contractors can sometimes get better pricing, but then I’m also paying for the time they spend shopping and purchasing supplies. What’s more cost efficient - should I do the purchasing or the contractor?
The contractor should make the purchase to ensure the required materials are on site as needed.
It is usually cheaper for your contractor to get the materials. It is also hard for you (the customer) to understand some of the names of items that the contractor is asking for.
Always ask what (if any) is the mark up on materials. Some contractors may charge a mark up and charge for their time to get your materials.
I as a contractor do not charge both. But understand that time is money, so paying for their time to get your materials in normal and usually a contractor can get the material a lot faster than you will be able to because they know what they are looking for.
Never hurts to ask before they give you your quote.
Hope this helps.
Eric
E.W. Electric
A contractor will have the knowledge to ensure the right product for the job is at the job site and it is available to them when they need it. Additionally, to ensure the work is done to their quality standard they may need certain specific products. There are usually several products varying greatly in price that will do similar jobs but are specific to the particular application.
Definitely the contractor. Not only do they know what they will need but they are able to get professional grade materials. For example, if you went to Home Depot or any other home store and bought a Moen faucet it would not be the same quality as a Moen faucet your contractor will get from their suppliers. Only contractors can purchase professional grade materials.
It depends on how you work it out with the contractor you hire.
We always price the materials in our price quote, and will give you a certain allowance for each finish material, i.e. $4.00/sf for tile, and if you desire more expensive tile than that, you’ll pay the difference.
We never mark up the price, nor charge extra to pick it up or have it delivered. Everything (up to a reasonable allowance) is included in the price we quote you, and should be with the contractor you work with, too.
The material purchase agreement should be detailed in the proposal/contract. Most contractors have accounts set up with suppliers and have developed relationships with their sales representatives. The contractor knows the proper product to order, as well as, preference based on performance. When the contractor orders material, he/she is assuming the responsibility for the correct material and its performance or warranty. If a homeowner purchases material, the liability of performance and correct product purchase is born to the homeowner. Improper or substandard material can cost the homeowner more in downtime fees, project timeline overruns, or having to purchase additional material. Contractors have specialized knowledge of their trade. This knowledge holds value; no different from an engineer, accountant, attorney, or other professional. For instance, a person can choose to represent himself in court, but the time spent researching procedure, drafting proper paperwork, and making arguments will typically not be financially practical over hiring legal counsel.
It really depends on the contractor and what they decide to mark up. On projects where we are the general contractors we don’t mark materials up but on projects where we run oversight and management those contractors do. It is all really based off of the company and one way is not better than the other necessarily as our labor price would probably be higher than other contractors. I do agree that material selection and product knowledge do go a long way and that the contractor you hire should have that knowledge versus a homeowner trying to play catch up on the knowledge or maybe getting advice from a salesman that may not be 100% accurate or practical. I would say the best option if your architect or interior designer hasnt picked your materials then stick with the contractor and he will be responsible for the work. If you select materials he would not necessarily be liable for the products installed only that they were installed in a workman like manner.
The contractor and the client should discuss all materials that will be used. Timing of deliver, ability to get discounts, quality, quantity and availability should be discussed and from thereon both parties can decide who will make the actual purchase. Its important that no delays in the delivery, if it can be avoided, should be taken into consideration.
As a contractor, I’m Ok with going in either direction. If the customer is picking out material, then I want to have some input so that I’m not installing products that are cheap or faulty. If I’m buying material, I have to charge a markup to cover the time of choosing, picking up, and delivering those materials to the jobsite.
The contractor should always do the shopping. In order to preserve the integrity and timeline and quality of work the contractor assumes responsibility and liability for the entire project. The homeowner should pay for a service, a complete service. I never allow customers to buy product it’s a hassle to adjust the contracted price and it’s unprofessional
We have no problem if clients buy a special light fixture or some unique item but in general all materials should be sourced and purchased by the Contractor. There are many reasons and all point to the fact that we are better informed and know what materials are right and will work for the project based upon experience vs. not.
Jeffrey Schwartz
JS Construction 2 LLC / Miami, FL
The contractor needs to be the one to order /purchase material just for the simple fact that they need to make sure everything is ordered that they are going to need so they do not hit any bumps down the road and can finish the project on schedule
Divine Home Remodeling usually does the purchasing for the client, however, there have been cases were the client insist on purchasing the materials himself. As long as the client is happy, we are happy.
The contractor should purchase to make sure the desired materials are on site as when needed.
As a contractor,we would buy the material. Being a contractor we can get the material a lot faster than most clients.
what we usually do is we purchase all the materials and give a budget for the finished materials such as cabinets, counters, tiles, flooring, bath accessories, hardware. It makes things a lot less stressful for every one because 95% of the time there are no exact details on finished materials unless there is a designer involved. we always like to recommend our vendors because our vendors honor our discount to the client which is a little perk we ave for our potential client. when you work in this manor it helps the client not to go over there budget.
For rough material the contractor, but for the finish material we recommend the homeowner for several important reasons. 1, Owner will not be limited with sources. 2, homeowner will have more freedom and won’t need to go through the contractor and allowance sheets every time he needs to make a decision, and it will prevent a friction between owner and contractor.
Contractor can apply his discounts regardless of who is actually paying.
Good luck.
As a contractor I always like to buy the materials but also make sure the homeowner knows the exact tiles being installed. I prefer this because I like to work with certain materials and also like to deal with the quantities myself since several times I let the homeowner provide them and I’m running to the store in the middle of a job. Also I’m not usually shopping the materials I put the time on materials via phone calls and email 90% of the time. I also believe it is in the homeowners best interest to have the contractor purchase the materials for warranty purposes. If you do run into issues with you project finishes, which seems to occur more than often anymore there won’t be a discrepancy between material warranties and labor/installation warranty. I hope this helps answer your question.
Often contractors will not warranty products unless they supply them. If an item is defective, let’s say, a faucet, the contractor will be responsible for handling the replacement. The contractors will also be responsible for the labor costs associated with replacing defective items if the item is supplied by the contractor.
That is why you are paying a little more than if you buy the item yourself.