Where Do These Cost Estimates Come From?

[Mile High Trout]

Did I come up short? Probably so.

For appraising purposes I usually go high, but here I wanted to win the cookies!

Yeah, electrical guy showing up to put in a new fixture you've already bought, figured that was about 200.

If he had to put in any work behind the walls, or start running some various testing, tack on a thousand.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-taK1zAAFx...GZENHse8/s320/285.carey.price.right.08230.jpg

Spin the wheel. Put out a number, or you won't win the cookies.

 

[Riick]

Our whole kitchen was about $20,000, including $4,000 worth of appliances and about $9k of solid wood cabinets and granite, about 18 linear feet. It was completely gutted.
......
Every general contractor we talked to started at $30,000 or more, not including appliances.

And now you understand why it is that you see all the General Contractors driving a $40,000 crew-cab pickup, set up for towing
---- for taking the power boat, or the jet skis, or the snowmobiles
to the vacation home in the nice location.

.

 

[Mile High Trout]

Rick, I thought they got away with that by hiring illegal labor and redirecting health care and insurance costs to good old uncle sam.

It's tough to get fair fee quotes in some service industries.

I remember asking how much the illegal immigrant guy who painted the apartments used on the unit next door, what his fee was. He said $150 for a 3 bedroom unit. I'm not sure if that included paint or not.

I asked a legit painter what he would charge, because I considered just paying out of pocket to avoid management hassles as I left. He told me $750.

What do you want to bet the apartment management was writing in full costs, then subbing out illegal labor and pocketing the difference? It was section 8, so anything goes.

You don't always pay for what you get, which is why judging the contractor by price is a dangerous play.

_____________________

I'm still super upset that I have to have a single handle water control, per Thornton code. I want dual controls so I can adjust the water volume and temperature at the same time. It's this dual control thing that causes so much more water use. You've got to go half volume, just to get to the hot part. // And yes, I know you can adjust them, but it's not enough. I want single unit controls and I don't care if I have to break code and do it myself. The city has no business telling me what kind of shower faucet I have to use.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

And now you understand why it is that you see all the General Contractors driving a $40,000 crew-cab pickup, set up for towing
---- for taking the power boat, or the jet skis, or the snowmobiles
to the vacation home in the nice location.

.

And that is why we did not hire a general to handle the job. :icon_mrgreen:

Even comparing quotes from contractors with good ratings on Angies List gets a pretty big range of prices.

Mile High, you don't need no stinking permits.

 

[Michigan CG]

The first bathroom we spent $4,800.

According to the survey in post 1 a bathroom remodel is $50,000. The bathroom they describe is a lot bigger than the kid bath. I still don't know how I could have spent $25,000. Who the heck do they survey?

So far we have spent $2,545 on the master bath. I need to order the heating mats for the bathroom tonight. The plumbing is mostly done and the new floor for the shower built up with mat. Floors are prepped to be leveled.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

They survey the contractors Riick referenced in post 22. Told them they wanted the best quality possible, done in 2 days, money no object.

 

[Riick]

Pricing frequently has little or nothing to do with cost, and most to do with:
What do you think the guy will pay?

Once, selling a building already under Agreement,
the *^%#$ sewer line broke - in the street.

Called a friend who was a heating contractor,
he gave me the name of a plumber to call,
but I was never able to get hold of the guy.
So searched for someone to do the job.

• Plumber A - $12,000
• Plumber B - $7,500 - "It can't be done any cheaper"
• Plumber C - $3,000

There are only so many ways to replace a few lengths
of 4" cast iron pipe, so Plumber C got the job.

Who did the job?

The guy who never answered his phone - he sub-contracted it from Plumber C.
----------------------------------------------

A looks_wealthy cousin in FL proudly showed me his new bathroom.
Some nicer fixtures, lots of trendy little 1"x1" glass tiles, and an acre of grout to keep clean.

$38,000 ? I bet the contractor worries about his Alternative Minimum Tax bill.

 

[Mountain Man]

The first bathroom we spent $4,800.

According to the survey in post 1 a bathroom remodel is $50,000. The bathroom they describe is a lot bigger than the kid bath. I still don't know how I could have spent $25,000. Who the heck do they survey?

So far we have spent $2,545 on the master bath. I need to order the heating mats for the bathroom tonight. The plumbing is mostly done and the new floor for the shower built up with mat. Floors are prepped to be leveled.

Pretty close to my 6 to 8 grand guesstimate. This past spring I had my framing guys build a porch on the back of my house. Contractor in shiny lifted up Z71 would have charged $12,000, I spent $2,200 with a day and a half of labor and materials. Then had my painters re-paint the house, deck and porches for $1,800.

 

[Michigan CG]

Update. Heated flooring system purchased. Shower making progress, walk-in walls fixed.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Cool, gotta love progress pictures. I took hundreds when the kitchen and bath were being done. Every project of any decent size has progress pics.