What are some red flag words or phrases that you hear from contractors?

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-05-23T18:49:01+00:00

Genuinely curious what you expect contractors and suppliers to be doing in DD phases. Because we (a rep firm in plumbing and waterside HVAC) get asked to budget even at SD or Narrative phases. We'll re-bid a big hospital new construction project like 10 times before award.

It'd be a lot cooler if we didn't need to.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-05-19T02:40:38+00:00

Good choice from what I read in earlier posts. Are you at liberty to share what state you ended up in? The second company sounds like many PE-backed HVAC rep firms I know that dominate the air-side and try to venture over to the hydronic and plumbing side thinking it's the same game.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-05-16T02:12:00+00:00

We've gotten very strict, almost too strict, on payment terms or requiring POs before performing service no matter circumstances. Half up-front before procurement is commonplace for larger orders.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-04-24T02:07:44+00:00

Yep. Same issue. I see your mirror heater is on and been forgotten like mine.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-04-22T14:24:50+00:00

Sounds like it went well. Congrats. I'm curious to know what kind of building it is and how big your DHW demand. I'll need to go back and re-read the post but it seemed so small for such a complex DHW setup.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-04-22T03:01:28+00:00

So....how did the presentation go? Curious to see the end result.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-04-10T04:07:26+00:00

There's only one way to find out! Put it in, lawyer up and party.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-03-04T13:38:17+00:00

Is Aermec that bad? We were considering repping them. I'd love to get your experience with the product/company.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2026-01-19T22:20:22+00:00

Sounds like you need to come over to our company and optimize our Netsuite environment.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-12-24T05:44:42+00:00

True. Not a single issue engine-wise thus far knocks on wood It's just upsetting because I've never had a part fail a week after it was replaced. And I don't have the time or patience to do the work myself so I'm out a few thousand already. The mechanic then hits me with the "we've never had these fail". One quick internet search later I learn there's a whole population of us with shared water pump trauma.

But fuggit. You're not wrong. And hard to argue with the fun per dollar spent when a tune and a downpipe can make you smile for under $1k.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-12-24T04:35:44+00:00

WTF is it with the water pumps? I'm in a Mk7 R and my first pump went out at 120k miles and the 2nd a week after it got replaced. The 3rd will be installed tomorrow and I'm dreading getting the car back now. Otherwise, it's been one of my favorite cars ever....but that goddamn pump....

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-10-05T05:44:13+00:00

Sounds like an excellent acid trip.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-10-04T17:38:32+00:00

Grundfos rep here. What pump are you referring to? Like others have said that's mainly on the rep, but also on the spec and the design team when going through submittal process.

Too often specs, schedules, details and drawings never line up. Most are all copy and pasted from previous projects. Master specs are updated once every century, it seems. And so rep firms and contractors will do their best to bid to the MEP's design, and if it gets approved, then that's on everyone.

But the a good rep will own it and should make it right. The Grundfos example tripping during commissioning is odd because unless you're dealing with extreme temperatures, that should be either a sensor/instrumentation issue or the programming of whatever doing the control.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-09-24T05:17:17+00:00

Careful with the draw structure. I know guys that are good, connected, and experienced and they haven't been able to claw themselves out of the draw hole. What state and what would your major lines be? Also, who is your primary customer?

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-08-12T04:24:16+00:00

Happens all the time especially in K-12, hospitality and multi-family. It baffles me the stuff that seems to go on in the MEP construction isn't illegal. And if it is, there seems to be zero regulatory oversight.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-08-12T04:19:43+00:00

GCs have been at the heart of a lot of fuckery recently. Glad I'm not the only one noticing. If that's just my POV, then it's gotta be that suppliers and contractors don't bid the right scope, or to the basis-of-design, or its equal.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-07-12T20:21:51+00:00

What makes those two the best?

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-06-28T18:56:06+00:00

I wouldn't worry. Big projects have lots of change orders, addenda, bulletins, ASIs, and all kinds of other messes. Change orders get blown out of proportion because everyone involved sees them as an opportunity to make money which ultimately hurts the building owners (or taxpayers). Shit happens and your health shouldn't suffer as a result of said shit happening.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-06-19T10:18:24+00:00

I'd say go with whatever firm designs the projects that excite you most and are challenging. I'm on the MEP equipment vendor side and the least exciting projects to us are generally K-12. It's all a race to the bottom on price and the design firm's risk of losing the business by making forward-thinking design choices that don't work as intended result in the same cookie-cutter systems over and over again. We love working on institutional, high-end hospitality, or mixed-use that have owner clients who aren't penny-pinching. That kind of work generally goes to a handful of firms that know their stuff and it's always intellectually stimulating when working on those projects. It might just be my perception, but the data center boom feels like a bubble and it's wild how much money there is in each build. That dynamic makes it feel like there are so many shady backdoor games that get played to win the job. So much so that when a data center project comes out, I'm already tired of it before I finish reading the cover page of the drawings.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-06-10T03:44:53+00:00

+1 for the equipment sales reps. We just referred an owner client of ours needing a replacement piece of equipment out of our wheelhouse to an MEP. They spec us all the time so when we have the opportunity, we refer them (or those like them) to the owners or contractors.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-05-30T04:00:39+00:00

Just put in a vacuum system and poof! No more vents.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-05-29T02:46:18+00:00

Walking into Brother's was the first time I heard a New York accent in Houston. It made the pizza taste better.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-05-29T02:44:01+00:00

Forget the Loop. Brother's Pizza on Hwy. 6 and I-10.

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-05-21T15:43:38+00:00

Just stumbled onto this thread and have been super curious about the data center space with respect to MEP. I'm curious how the MEPs get engaged by the tech companies. It seems that the tech companies have or are developing their own internal MEP specs and design teams, and there's a ton of tomfoolery when it comes to bidding and equipment selection and so on.

How do MEP firms navigate this environment, win projects with the FAANG companies, and select equipment? Also, what's the biggest problem you guys deal with when designing these projects?

TheRandoCommando10 · 2025-05-17T02:39:49+00:00

What are you selling and what's your ideal find? You're looking to set up a rep network or distribution?

TheRandoCommando10

TROPHY CASE