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Rich: My sister lives in Alexandria, a suburb of DC. When she wanted to remodel her house, the quotes were outrageous. Contractors can charge obscene amounts for remodeling or new construction and get their price!
Apparently there is a shortage of contractors… Anyone want to move to DC? Bonnie B.
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No joke, this weekends paper--Home section--had an article written by some namby-pamby weekend warrior telling how he completed his last bath remodel. Aside from his babbling about the different finishes and fixtures he used, what really caused me eyes to pop their sockets were the prices he quoted.
He quoted $8,000 for removal of the existing lav and toilet--and went on how it was a huge chore--taking up the existing vinyl, and prepping the walls--drywall--for beadboard wainscot. Then, it was another $4,000 for installing a new toilet, pedestal lav, the wainscot, and new vinyl floor. He finished the article by warning the reader costs may be more depending on the size of the room since his was only 35 SF!!!
What the heck is going on? More importantly, where in the hell have I been? I don't charge anything near that. The guy was somewhere by Wash. D.C. and said this was his part time biz.
*If I even QUOTED a price like that, I'd get escorted to the door by a shotgun totin, irate potential customer.That's over $300.00 a sqare foot! James DuHamel
*I can do it for 15K. Do I hear anybody higher?Dennis
*Rich,I guess someone else found this guy before you did.Relax!!You can't win them all. Just keep bidding. You'll get your share.Jeffie
*Maybe it never happened. You can put anything in print. It doesn't make it true.
*Rich, perhaps it was his technique for removal... Blasting materials, permits, insurances... they're all very expensive. The $4000 for the rebuilding, including fixtures seems reasonable.I'll have to point this article out to my current client, $12K for 35sf... we're doing a 85sf bath... hmmmm... yep, new truck.
*The last bath I did was about 15k - but that is also counting 6k worth of fixtures. Plus, this was a full tear out... Repaired floor joists from leaky shower pan, straightened walls, insulated, wired, ripped out old lead pipes and put in cast iron, custom shower and enclosure, new door opening, plus a lot more. But I have to say, I should have charged more.
*Glad I'm pulling out of this wasteland soon. I've got two bathrooms to do that are full guts, but re-use of some fixtures. One is 5K, one 3K.To give you all an idea of the kind of market I work in, I just talked to a guy who wanted a 1400sf two-story addition over a full basement with kitchen on the first floor. Budget is about 50K. Sad thing is, he'll probably find someone to agree to it. I shook my head all the way home. Then I called the Minneapolis dept of licenses and had them send me my contractors license application. Steve
*I think the most telling line is where he is located. Not to mention that Andrew D has been awful quiet lately.But then, I could be wrong
*I was in NY City last month, and a friend showed me a quote to paint a 2BR 2Bath Apt for.............. $14,000It did not include special finishes or changeout of door hardware.
*$300 a foot & he ends up with a vinyl floor? Joe H
*I heard that!But I don't understand something -- this guy was DIY? The $12k was materials-only? Where does he shop?
*Ryan, better find a good lawyer. Right now, I have this damn chest cold that just won't let go. This makes me just about cough my lungs out everytime I take a breath. Now, when I saw that "Batboy" pic I started to laugh so hard I went into an uncontrollable coughing fit that had me nearly fall out of my chair. Of course, we could settle...$300/wheeze should do it.Seriously, my main concern, even though I didn't include this, was about what the average reader--not knowing any better--would think about this kind of robbery. Would they use this to perpetuate the typing of all contractors as 8th grade dropout thieves? Probably.
*Hey, don't laugh......It CAN happen.We did this bathroom about 5 years ago...Ed. Williams
*I'm sorry,Way to BIG again!!!!!!!I'll never get this computer/scanner thing right.Ed. Williams
*I like the use of tools to accesorize.
*I think he shops at the same place the Pentagon shops ;-}
*Hey Ed (and everybody else)Try this version of your bathroom pictureVERY nice bath remodel, by the way
*I recently helped to install cabinets in a bath/dressing room. The dressing area was aprox. 5 x 10 , and the Bath was sectioned off with a cubby hole for the toilet, steam shower, and tub. Made a pentagon standing area in the middle that was only 3 x 3. The price on the cab.s alone was aprox. 30k. This didn't even cover install! Also didn't cover marble steamshower, floor ,wainscoat and tub surround, or fixtures! The cab.s were beautiful, Cherry w/ raised panels everywhere! They would have been thrilled at 300/per. I guessed it at more like $500/600. Jeff
*It is articles like that that can drive a person crazy. Some home owners are probabally thinking that they can not afford a bath remodel so do not call around. Or think they can do it , get half way in and find they cant and want to be bailed out cheep on Sunday when they have water flowing everywhere. We were installing windows the other day and a home owner was watching, He honestly said we were doing it wrong because that is not how Bob (Villa) does it.
*Josh could'nt be more correct, what will happen over time is, too many of these stories will go around and the reputation of the remod contractor will be of the same level as that of a used car salesman. How can this guy sleep? The clients I'm working for now could not possibly be any better and told me of two guys comming to their house to measure for new windows, now keeping in mind they are not around the building industry any more than alot of all of our clients who trust us with their largest investment, and got stabbed 6000 dollars for two 6/0x4/0's, one Stanley front door, and one 8/0x5/0 picture, the drywall type sills and surround look like a third grade pottery class did the mud work and assured the homeowner that with "certain variables" that was as good as it gets. I wanted to throw up. These "weekend warriors" as they've been called are nothing more than hacks that need to be beat with the very six pound sledge they use as a finish hammer. Just for kicks, they could be tied behind the truck for a session of lunch hour drag racing?
*Thanks James,Ed.
*Realy! What was "wrong"? (A more tactful client would've just asked you to explain the difference ... unless they were pretending to be smarter than you?)
*Rich: My sister lives in Alexandria, a suburb of DC. When she wanted to remodel her house, the quotes were outrageous. Contractors can charge obscene amounts for remodeling or new construction and get their price!Apparently there is a shortage of contractors... Anyone want to move to DC? Bonnie B.
*Bonnie, my first thoughts were, "Yeah, I'll go to DC". Then I thought, "...for a price". So, I guess we've gone full circle here; the only reason someone would live in DC is the money. Still, I don't know if I'd be gouging for that kind of dough.
*This case seemed to be extreme, but after all this time of exchanging ideas, methods, and variations of our fields, some of you don't seem to realize that there is a wide variation in pricing across the country (most of you do realize this)Houses here (new or used) are LESS than half of what many parts of the country charge. Wages are much different too, mainly because of cost of living issues.Most of you would get a harsh wake up call in my area with the prices you charge for your work. In your area, you are competitive, here you'd be way over priced. If I went to some of YOUR areas, and bid like I do here, you'd say I was underbidding. Different areas cost different amounts. Remodeling jobs in DC are some of the most expensive in the nation right now, but so is the cost of living.Just something to think about...James DuHamel
*I, uh, live in and work out of Arlington (adjacent town up from Alexandria) -- want to introduce me to your sister? :)The quotes I got when we moved down here were what initially drove me to learn more about doing the work myself. Turned out I enjoyed doing it, so I started doing it for others. Looking at the business from the other side of the fence, the prices don't really strike me as so outrageous -- except with certain firms. The thing that gets me bent out of shape is shoddy workmanship. The market is -very- hot right now and good labor is hard to find. Believe it or not, our area of Northern Virginia is now a hub of high-tech and telecom -- not just gov't suburbs any more.Eek! I thought I'd post the average real estate assessment to get a reality check from y'all just how expensive it is here -- about $190k for a 50 y.o. 3-bedroom cape in this near-burb of a midsize city, I'd figure this is middle-to-high v. national prices? -- andd see the county now has all real estate assessments, title info, and sales history online. You can even flip down the street by hitting "next parcel."Gotta go spy on my neighbors...
*I don't agree. What with all that marble and gold, you'd think they would have come up with something better than a stepladder to hold the towels. And the movers' pad for a carpet is just toooo gauche.
*I'd do it for sex.
*James, you got a point. But I live in CA in a very desirable neck of the woods. For the sake of comparison, our neighbor down the street just sold his 50 y.o. 3 bd, 2 bth single story ranch for full asking price of $239K. It was on the market for 33 days. A quick walk through revealed nothing added but interior paint. You know, what with telecomm technologies more and more people can live where they choose. Are folks lining up to plow into your area? If not now, soon. Maybe you should be upping your prices too.