Contractor daily rate?

We've met a couple of contractors already for our new house. Most of them are quoting us 20-30K to get everything done and that it would take a month. We met the husband of my wifes coworker yesterday who is currently out of work and is a contractor. He thought itd be best to charge by the day and we cover all materials. His daily rate is 200 and he thinks he can do everything in 2 months working 4 days a week. The only thing Im wondering is if after materials its not going to be much cheaper, for example we'd have to rent the dumpster, pay to rent floor machines etc. any thoughts ? Does anyone know how much contractors include for themselves daily? Thanks!

Re: Contractor daily rate?

We recently had both of our bathrooms redone, and I would be hesitant to pay by the day because BOTH bathrooms went a week over the estimated finish date. There are always setbacks--for us it involved repiping, etc. I would go for a total amount so you know exactly what you are getting into.

Re: Contractor daily rate?

I actually think that is a pretty fair price. My only concern with that would be that is how long is his day. If he runs out of something, say screws, now you are paying him to go get the screws, if that makes sense. I also feel sometimes that people can drag there feet because they are getting paid by the day.

My father had his basement finished by someone he plays soccer with and knows pretty well. He was a retired contractor but did jobs here and there. He charged my father $250 a day and my dad a lot of issues with things. In the long run it costed him a lot more than a flat rate.

I also don't like the idea of 4 day work week. That kinda bugs me.

If you decide to go with him, I would have a contract drawn up that has:
-what time he is show up and leave
-what time he gets for lunch and how long
-is he going to charge you milage if he needs material that you might not have purchased
-the date it needs to be done and if it not completely because of him then there has to be consequences. Maybe only charging you $100 day after x date.

Re: Contractor daily rate?

That also means that YOU are basically the General Contractor. You'll have to coordinate getting the materials, getting the equipment, etc. That's the benefit of having a GC. You don't need to worry about how and where to get things.