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It seems to be a go, will let you know next week.
St. Louis was hard hit with a storm last week, knocked power out for several days, playing catch-up all week. Thanks for inquiring James.
Here is the site for The Rental Blue Book. Looks like they have gone up in price again.
Most libraries should also carry them.
Thanks James for clarifying the "big book". We will be doing plenty of state jobs in the future, I will have to invest in the blue book.
Good point about the equipment, I will definitely take that in consideration.
[FONT=Verdana]Boy this is getting interesting[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]I agree with RDZ, you are just going to become the GC's labor pool.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]I think the "big Book" they are talking about is actually the Blue Book of Rental Rates; the rates listed in there are standard for some federal and state projects. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]This is why it is always best to have all your equipment in a separate company, this way the demolition portion can
I brought that up to the GC, and he gave me some line about a "big book" and said that was the cost. BULLS**T!
We broke it down, equipment w/o/op & op rate seperate. We actually broke everything down just in case. 
demodarlin', that Bobcat rental rate sounds really low. they should give you at least 25-30 just for the machine. Do you have a loaded labor rate? I use a "skilled labor rate" that covers the man and tools etc. PM me if you want to talk rates.
neyc, good questions. Here's the story (short form).
I come from "concrete" background and was offered an administator position for this demo co. The co. owner decided T&M, with this being a "city" job, the contractor had to have a DBE on the project, well, we were the only ones.
They have agreed to pay out wages and fuel weekly, the rest would be monthly?. However, the majority of the "rest" will be equipment and I am going to shoot for weekly with that. And they have agreed, NO retainers.
Please keep in mind, concrete work is generally hard money, and I am learning the demo business or should I say, doing my homework. 
all the help I can get is appreciative. I am thrilled that I found this forum.
neyc, since you do a lot of T&M can I, PM or email you or anyone else that can offer advise, there is more to this story, and rather not share it to the cyber world. Just let me know. Thanks guys!
Demodarlin':
Why is the job T&M and not hard money?
We do a lot of T&M and I have not been beat up that bad. I did not see that you stated why the project was T&M.
The most important thing I have found is to have a system for processing billing.
Is the project billed as AIA(monthly) or weekly?
If monthly make sure you work out when you will final totals for the month end so that you don't lose a week of invoicing at the end of every month.
If the 330 is rental make sure they don't try to get out of paying when it is not running. (sometimes called idle time / and you are entitled to charge for this)
Make sure tickets are signed everyday!!!!! No exceptions
Give your foreman a schedule of equipment to list on tickets so that the office can process the bill more easily.
Our first T&M rates would have captured costs and then some, we own our equipment with the exception of a 330 trackhoe. and we stated they either rent that at their expense and then they offered rental + 10%. My big gripe was our bobcat at $10 hr, and our mob & demob of large equipment at lowboy cost $75.
Then came the fuel cost dispute. We should fair pretty well, I wanted 10% above ALL costs. I guess we all live and learn....quick.
Unless you can fully capture all your expenses/costs in your T&M rates, you'll be hard pressed to make the margins you are looking for on a strictly T&M based contract. If you don't, you'll end be the General Contractor's labor pool.
If there is a way to bid the project on a lump sum basis with your T&M rates for extra work or unforeseen conditions, that would be your best bet.
Remember, if you're performing work on a break even basis, you might be better off staying home. All it takes is a single injury, equipment damage or property damage claim, and whamo!, you're job just lost any profit you might have gained.
I'm not trying to be pessismistic, just offering my experience. As stated earlier, "stick to your guns."
Hello Fella's. Wellllll..... they added what we requested, somewhat, but, they are only allowing cost plus to "labor" only. And, lowered our equipment costs to the "book of rental?"...grrrrrrr .... is that the norm? Short of sounding stupid, as you can tell, this is our 1st T&M job. Any input would be helpful.
James said:
Thanks for the kind words.Let's us know how it turns out.
Happy to report, they are seeing things our way. Just to show, when Momma aint' happy, nobody happy. 
Thanks to all, for your interest and support.
DemoDarlin
That's a definate Demobud, one thing I will prove to this out of state GC is what "Show Me" means.
Demodarlin' keep after 'em. Most GC's think demo contractors aren't very savvy when it comes to contracts, just prove 'em wrong!
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