Hacker News Reader

Are your subcontractors fully insured? Do they fully pay workers compensation? Are their employees legally authorized to work in the US? There is a quite substantial price premium in the market now for contractors that follow the law, and government projects are forced to follow the law.

View on HN

I work full-time as a subcontractor on commercial projects in the SF bay area and am fairly familiar with the costs associated with insurance, workers comp etc. We utilize union labor to install our projects. And you are right, it does cost a lot to follow the laws. But those costs are not nearly high enough to explain how 400-600 sq/ft units are being built for between $1,100-$1,400 a square foot. My guess is much of the cost bloat is "administrative" and has nothing to do with real construction costs.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com