While renovating our house, Tyler and I have had our eyes opened to the inner workings of the construction community. The most frustrating thing we have come to realize is the extent of control the local trade unions have over building material suppliers. This control helps them secure lower prices on building materials and exclusive access to higher quality products that are normally unavailable to your average homeowner.

The first thing that Tyler and I found out was that contractors routinely get discounts, up to 25%, on building materials. After Tyler and I applied to be licensed general contractors in the state of Iowa, we found that we were able to qualify for these discounts from some retailers. Other retailers still remained tight lipped about the extent of their contractor discounts. The most frustrating retailer to deal with was the Pella Window Store. On one occasion, when I was able to convince the sales rep that Tyler and I were general contractors, I was told that I'd receive 25% off of the windows. On another occasion, when I wasn't as succesful at convincing the sales rep that I was not the home owner, I only received a 10% discount - this was less than what I could get by going to my local Lowe's store.

Now armed with this information, Tyler and I have been having an easier time selecting contractors. We have found that the 'good' contractors are up front and honest with homeowners by saying that they get a break on the materials, showing the homeowners how much of a discount they'll receive and passing the savings directly on to the home owners. Other contractors use this discount to pad their profit margin - we have generally found these contractors to not be worth working with. On one occasion, we actually told a contractor that we wouldn't work with them till they gave us a breakdown (labor vs material) bid. The contractor complied and gave us the bid - but they moved the 25% discount to the labor costs column. So, Tyler and I decided to find another contractor.

As annoying as the contractors are, the plumbing unions are by far the most frustrating and discriminatory groups out there. Tyler and I want to use the Vanguard Aqua Pex system in our house. The Vanguard products are by far better than their competitors. Even though the Vanguard system is superior, homeowners can only purchase the competitors products at major home improvements stores. In fact, the Vanguard system may only be purchased from plumbing supply stores. Now, here is the kicker, plumbing supply stores will only sell their products to licensed plumbers. Now, what business would willing turn away customers? Well, in this case, it's a business worried that if they don't turn away homeowners the local plumbing unions will blacklist their store. And, since the plumbing supply store gets more business from plumbers than homeowners, they choose the plumbers. Now, does that sound fair? Sounds almost illegal to me.

Thankfully, Tyler and I were able to find a local plumber that was willing to sell us the Vanguard plumbing supplies. But, it is still frustrating because we know that they mark up the price of the materials after they purchase it from a local retailer. And, the doubly marked up price is still far cheaper than anything we can find on-line. So, this begs the question, exactly how much to licensed plumbers really pay for their materials?

That is why when I hear people use the phrase 'protect the labor', my hands clinch and my teeth grind. This labor is so well protected that it borders on the side of illegal.