NTCA UNIVERSITY UPDATE ––––––––––––– By Becky Serbin, Training and Education Coordinator Estimating Small Residential Projects: available online at NTCA University New residential and light commercial estimating course on the horizon for 2019 As we are getting closer to the holi- days and people are taking time off from work to spend time with family and friends, there seems to be a com- mon theme among all tile contractors that I have been talking to: everyone is busy and being asked to bid more work. With so many people asking you to complete work before the holidays, are you putting together a bid that will protect you and make sure you get paid for your hard work? This year we added a new NTCA University course on estimating called “Estimating Small Residential Projects.” While this course is geared toward someone bidding a remodel project, the basics apply to any type of project that you’re bidding. For example, are you with the cus- tomer when they select their tile or did they purchase it and expect you to install it? Either way, have you accounted for the possibility of addi- tional work based on the tile chosen? Have you taken into consideration the time needed to complete the project versus other work that you have going on? Do you have enough manpower to complete the work? These are just some questions that should be addressed when putting together your bid. After all, would you rather be a little higher in your bid and make money, or be the low bid and not make any money on a project? Next year we will introduce a new estimating course that will look at big- ger projects, including new residential and light commercial. This course will go through the entire process to properly prepare a bid, and it will look at several obstacles to consider when putting your bid together. Since this new course dis- cusses using plans to create your bid, there will also be a new course on using plans for estimating. Both courses are designed to teach the contractor how to create a bid that encompasses all costs, including added time spent estimating complicated projects to ensure contrac- tors aren’t left with debt after the project is complete. To purchase your subscription to NTCA University, visit the NTCA store at https:// tile-assn.site-ym.com/store/ListProducts. aspx?catid=490398 or http://bit. ly/2taYmOO to make your selection. If you have any questions or ideas for courses that we should have available, please give me a call at 770-366-2566 or send an email to becky@tile-assn.com. 104 TileLetter | December 2018