LETTER

Reply to letter on contractors 

I could not help but respond to the March 20 letter from Ian Barrette re the costs of contractors for a retaining wall he wanted to replace. His comment was that the daily costs of two workers was too much. Contractor costs are much more than the two employees. The free estimate is the first cost,  which in time, overhead  and vehicles  can be $500. With Mr Barrete getting 12 estimates that amounts to $6,000 for the various contractors. With the customer doing his homework, 3 or 4 estimates are more than sufficient. The other 8 or 9 estimates are lost time and revenue for the 15 or 20 people involved in producing the estimates. 

The second is the labour costs. Two workers don’t show up with only a shovel in their hands. There will be one or two pick-up trucks, one mini-excavator, a dump trailer, an equipment trailer, tamper plates, laser levels,  and much more. Rough cost is around $150,000 in equipment plus labor costs at CCQ rates. 

I am not a contractor but regularly deal with them. Invariably, the customer who gets 10 or 12 estimates will be the hardest to deal with as they will never be satisfied with the work and will constantly be looking for reasons not to pay full price or want black market deals to not pay the tax. I suggest residents consider this when they call for those free estimates. Our local contractors are an important part of the fabric of our local economy.

John Simpson, Aylmer