BIDS WANTED ON ROOF CONTRACT

Gan Uesli Starling
224 Rose Place
Kalamazoo MI, 49001-2617

tel. hm. 616-385-4285
tel. wk. 616-665-6160
fax wk. 616-665-4248

Posted Friday, May 25th 2000

To all local roofing contractors: please bid on my roof. Here are photos and statistics. You may visit the exterior at time. I will meet you at any time after 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and at any time on weekends. I am on vacation and will be away from June 10 through June 16. (You may still visit the house then, but I won't be there.)

Here are the pics:

Click to view...

Here are the stats: taken as average of three prior estimates

House is in the Rose Place historic district. It is our residence and we own it outright.
The underside, as viewed from within the attic, looks to be in good repair. There are two-inch gaps between the slats with cedar shakes visible as the original bottom layer. There are no leaks at present. One small, very temporary leak was sealed with tar and fiber last spring.
Three layers to be removed:
- Inter-locking layer on top.
- Presumed (not verified) unknown layer in the middle.
- Cedar shakes at the bottom.
Chimney to be removed and re-roofed where the hole will be.
- An old, unused add-on chimney is in the corner. Take it down to a foot below the eave.
- Add any needed support under the hole and re-deck over top of that.
Some siding has been lost along one eave. Repair as needed and replace missing siding.
Ridge vents needed: 60 feet.
Decking: 1/2 inch CDX exterior plywood or better (no OSB!): 62 sheets.
- Previous bids called for 3/8 or 7/16 OSB. I have researched the question and definitely decided upon exterior plywood. I know it will cost more. That is okay, so long as the increase reflects actual market value difference in the materials themselves. Don't bid particle board, please!
Roof surface estimated at 23 squares. By someone who actually went up there with a clipboard and measuring tape. Others have guessed somewhat less by running a measuring wheel along the ground.
Shingles must 30-year or better. Pattern to be archetectural design approved by the Historical Society. (Certainteed Landmark 30 or Independence in color of Heather Blend.)
Felt to be no less than 30-lb. Estimated 16 squares.
Metal D: 275 feet.
Metal step flashing: 35 feet.
Metal coil flashing: 50 feet.
Gutter removal: 180 feet.
Ice and water shield (closed valley system): 4-5 squares.
Pitch is steep. See the photos above.
Bid range to date: $6,400 to $12,473.

Here are the conditions:

I will pay half in advance, half on completion. We have the funds set aside. No financing will be required.
Don't make trouble for us with the Historical Society. They're a bit much sometimes...but we still like them. They keep our street from being turned into a student ghetto: with ugly, tacked-on exterior stairways and too-many renters for the available parking.
Do not damage our siding the way they did to our neighbors across the street when carelessly throwing the old roofing down. Take pains to leave no big, ugly marks on our siding.
Keep off from neighbor's property to the west. Their yard is usually full of dog crap...so you wouldn't really want to anyway.
Workers to be on site every day (when not actually raining) from start to completion.
Clean up site every day before leaving.
You may put a big dumpster in my driveway. We'll park someplace else for a week.
Installation to be exactly precisely as/per manufacturer's specifications. So my warrantee will hold up.
Any face-to-face meetings will be held during my time off from work. That means after 5pm if on a weekday. I work out of town. And I have a big commitment every Monday. I just plain can't make it other times. My original bidder-of-choice, Mr. Michael Van Beck, had a problem with this requirement. So he and I just couldn't seem to get together to nail down a final contract. His bid was $6,900 and I was all set to sign. Now I start over...hence this web page!
You must provide a detailed, item-by-item estimate.
Your contract must state all that is on your estimate, or reference same by document number, etc.
You must state in writing beforehand what the rates will be for any unexpected, non-estimated items that might reasonably be encountered.
Should your bid quote less or fewer materials than the averages listed above and it goes over...then you will absorb the difference.

Notes & Comments:

We're not just looking for the lowest bidder. We definitely want a new roof put on this summer. We have money set aside, enough even to more than cover the very highest bid to date. Someone is sure to get a contract.
We want quality work, and are willing to pay for it. But we insist on knowing what it is we'll be paying for.
The two lowest bids to date were not itemized in detail and have been thrown away.
Tichnor's bid was the highest, at $12,473.18. They gave a nice presentation. But their itemized estimate shows fewer and lower-grade materials.
- Only 20 squares.
- 3/8 inch OSB decking versus 7/16.
- 15 pound felt versus 30.
VanBeck's bid at $6,900, itemized in reasonable detail, listed more and higher-grade materials than did Tichnor's. But their salesman Michael insisted that I must take time off from work (and drive in from Galesburg) to meet him.
When I showed Tichnor's salesman VanBeck's bid, he knocked off a whole thousand dollars immediately. What's with that? One has to suppose that his initial bid was less than forthright...
Tim Crookston comes well recommended by word-of-mouth. His estimate, however, lists five vents when I had clearly asked for ridge vents. And his manner is abrupt, even confrontational, so that I fear he may get us into bad rapport with the Historical Society. Our other projects down the line might be thereby jeporidized. Otherwise we are fairly impressed even though his bid is near the high end.
If we are happy with your work, we will document our satisfaction on a web page very like this one, with photos, and maintain it for a year. You may advertise the page's URL, if you like. Word-of-mouth travels much faster and farther by internet. Don't you just love the information age?
If we are unhappy, we will likewise document it in the same manner, and advertise the URL at our own expense, as a pulic service, for so long as our displeasure may endure.