TIL I was bidding jobs wrong for 3 years after a client pointed it out

So I do flooring installs on my own, right? For years I'd just look at the square footage and throw a number at it based on what I wanted to make per foot. Then last month a client asks me why my bid was $500 more than another guy for the same tile job. I checked his and he was itemizing everything - demo, disposal, subfloor prep, trim labor. I was just lumping it all into one price and eating the extra hours. Felt like a total idiot. Has anyone else had that moment where someone shows you a simple thing you should have been doing the whole time?

2 comments

2 Comments

evaallen1mo ago

A commercial GC told me the real trick is to double your material cost then add labor on top of that.

lucashart1mo ago

Blew my buddy's mind when he found out his contractor was doing this exact thing. He asked for a breakdown on a small bathroom remodel and the guy straight up admitted it. Said something like "everyone does it, it's how you stay in business when things go wrong." My friend was pretty ticked off about it but the work was already half done so he just had to eat it. Honestly it made me think twice about ever taking a price at face value without asking a ton of questions first. Still not sure if that's standard practice everywhere or just something shady contractors say to justify padding the bill.