Houses as big as 22,000 square feet, duplexes measuring 15,000 square feet, a gigantic waterfall, compounds for a lion and a gorilla—all real-life fantasies of wealthy oil barons along the 1,300-mile shoreline of Oklahoma’s Grand Lake, where Gayle Edmondson of Edmondson Construction, San Ramon, California (just across the bay from San Francisco), started his 31-year career in construction.

After receiving his business degree at Oklahoma State, Edmondson headed to the West Coast in 1983 and was licensed as a general contractor in 1985. Nearly 400 houses later and an entry in Who’s Who in American Business, Edmondson knows a thing or two about building dream houses. He spoke to us from his East Bay residence about his experiences, with some advice about working with contractors. 

---

Interviewer: Do you like stock house plans?
GE: I have no problem with stock plans. They’re often better than custom.

Interviewer: Why is that?

GE: Stock plans have the construction problems worked out already. Maybe a plan’s been built 400 times. The roof works. Things like that.

Interviewer: The roof doesn’t always work in custom plans?

GE: [laughs] That’s just an example. But I did work with some custom plans that had the roof going right through a window. You don’t have those kinds of problems with stock house plans. Then there’s CAD stock house plans.

Interviewer: What are the advantages to CAD besides ease of use?

GE: The big advantage is estimating costs accurately, generating a materials list, because the details are already worked out.

Interviewer: What are some of the major issues you face dealing with clients?

GE: A lot of customers just don’t understand the construction process.

Interviewer: What’s the hardest thing for customers to understand?

GE: They compare apples and oranges. This bid is $50,000 more than that bid, so they go with the lower bid without comparing. You need to go deeper into the details and seek out the better relationship. Compare the same line items. Low bids can easily become the highest by the time the job’s finished. You’ll either get an inferior product or the contractor doesn’t have the experience to understand the missing pieces. Let’s say you come to me and get a bid of X dollars. Nine out of ten times, the client takes that bid and shops it to three others. Many contractors will give a lower bid without knowing whether they can finish the job for that amount!

Interviewer: So an estimate can be too low?

GE: If you want a brand new Lexus, and I tell you not to go to the dealer because I can get you one for $10,000, are you going to believe me? Construction’s no different.

Interviewer: What’s the best way to find a contractor?

GE: Referrals are the only way to go. 

Interviewer: Once you’ve selected a contractor, how much should customers expect to advance a general contractor to begin work?

GE: In California, the client is required to advance the contractor $1,000 or 10% of the estimate—whichever is less—to start the work. Beware of builders who want more. They are probably using that money to pay off their last job, and you may have a problem getting your job completed for the original bid. To be fair to the contractor and yourself, stick to the schedule of payments that coincides with the bid.

Interviewer: What advice about costs do you like to give your clients?

GE: You can’t afford every toy in the catalog. Unfortunately, with credit and credit cards, people overspend and overbuild. You have to ask yourself, How much do I need? and How much can I spend? I would rather see someone build a 2,000-square-foot home with quality materials and finishes than a 3,000 square-foot one where you have to cut corners and use cheap materials.

Interviewer: Many how-to books recommend that general contractors get all the permits so they’re responsible for any liability issues. Is this something you recommend?

GE: If you pull your own permits, and I do the work, I’m still liable for that work. If you pay $5,000 for your plans and $3,000 for the permits, don’t expect to pay $8,000 total for the plan and the permits. You have to pay the contractor for his time.

Interviewer: Who got you started in the construction business?

GE: After high school I worked with Charles Miller of Miller Concrete Construction, where I learned not only concrete but also how to work in this business. Our specialty was large retaining walls. I’ve done some pretty big retaining walls in the Oakland hills, too. But I’ve done every kind of hard concrete job—slabs, driveways, pier-and-grade-beam foundations, even a small bridge. 

Interviewer: What’s the most important thing about running a construction business?

GE: We are totally about customer service, respect for the customer. From the way we bid projects to the final clean up, everything is communication and details.

Interviewer: Can you give me some specifics?

GE: There are two kinds of contractors. There’s the one that gives you the complete price and then there’s the contractor who charges you for extras. If it’s going to cost $200,000 for your project, that’s what it should cost you. A lot of contractors give you a low-ball estimate but then charge you for a lot of extras.

Interviewer: How do you handle the bidding process?

GE: Customers need to get what they think they’re getting. You need details in your bid.

Interviewer: What are you looking for in a client?

GE: It isn’t about the biggest checkbook. It’s about working with people who are honest and have integrity. Are they looking for the lowest price or shopping for quality? If they’re just looking for the lowest price, it probably isn’t going to go well.

Interviewer: What do you tell prospects about your work?

GE: Nobody offers a better value than we do. You’re not going to get bottom-of-the-barrel price; you’re going to get a fair value with excellent customer service—and you know upfront what you’re going to spend without hidden extras.

Interviewer: Give us an example of your better value.

GE: The details on a plan were a little fuzzy on a window. I ended up spending $350 of my own money, but that’s what it cost to make my clients happy. If we had haggled over the window, they might not have wanted to tell their friends about my work. I’ve even written checks back to clients when something has cost less than the bid. Ultimately, it really has to be something I want to build, where people say, “Wow! Who built that for you?” That’s the kind of project I want. 


If you’d like to contact Mr. Edmondson, you can send an email to edmocon@yahoo.com