Hiring contractors at a reasonable price.

[Matthew Sutton]

Any tips from the board on how to get the best possible pricing on repairs. I feel like when you go to a contractor, they have a crew working with them and everyone has to get paid. Materials, the workers, and then the supervising contractor. Is there a way to work directly with the workers and not have to pay so much with the main contractor up charging so much? The reason I ask is I have a buddy that has an hourly team. He'll charge $1,500 for a job that only costs him $350 to pay the guys.