I just returned from quoting a slider install. The customer had a break in and needs the door installed PDQ. The big Orange Giant gave them a price but can’t tell them when someone will even be out to inspect the job let alone install. The problem is the HO insurance has already been paid based on HD price. My question is how the heck does their installer make any money. They are going to remove and dispose of old door. Install new one, provide interior casing and brick mldg or metal wrapped ext trim for the whooping price of $389.00. After HD cut and materials that leaves the installer with well less of $300.00. I won’t even touch this for less then $560.00 labor. Am I that wrong? I need alittle reassuring here what would you charge?
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Replies
no.. you're absolutely right.. and maybe low at that..
HD's installed sales is not the same as what you will do... never use or worry about someone else's price.. it's not yours.. and they will never do the same thing as you..
you methods, your materials, your work habits, your overhead.. nothing is the same.. either they want you to do the job or they don't..
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
The guys I buy my gutters from (Ryan Seamless, Dedham MA) have a motto: "Always your supplier... never your competitor." I've always liked that idea and always felt irritated when I see the signs in HD declaring: "We'll install it for you!" They profit from my shopping there AND compete against me.
I only hope you find a way to convince your potential customer that HD must be missing something and there is no way they can match the craftsmanship you provide for that price.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Here in NJ the price for HD install is $546 PLUS any extra materials and work needed and site visit to double check. I am sure you will find 4 hours will cover basic install. as long as the old and new door are almost the same. With HD trim is extra, outside capping is extra and they dump the old door at the curb. In this case I would charge the HD price and have the door delivered. Unless it the Andersen flat pack unit (fits in the pickup bed and great when doing the back door with through the house access) I have on my own install two Pella patio doors in 6 hours including a trip for build up wood and trim. You might find you can cut the nailing flange off the old door or cut the door frame and pull it in with the old flange. Then slide the new door into the opening. some low foaming and shims, few nails or hidden screws and trim and go.
that price is low. i just did one a month ago. 6 hours labor. new trim inside and out.i charged them 450. let them get rid of door. tell them if they can handle the head aches good luck w/ home cheapo.
the other guy is right. sell your job at your price.i just lost a kitchen and a bath remodel.the other guys price matched mine including all materials and fixtures.he must be using garbage. cabinets, hardware, faucets, vanitys,toilet jacuzzi, mirror, sink etc all incuded.i told the customer good luck with your project.
Bear in mind what they get for that. Is whoever does the work for HD going to do it right, or just slap it in? The range here varies quite a bit I've found between who does the door and what you get out of it. Framing crews in a new house slap sliders in for $50. Remodelers doing what you're proposing vary in the $400 range. You want someone to do it right, pull the siding and reflash, match all the trim up, insulate, and take care of any little loose ends i.e. paint lines . . . price goes up. I say you're right, and don't sweat it.
"The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
will beat any hd avertised price by 10 %. dont forget to read my small print.................... their days are numbered when it comes to installing. ive gone on estimates and asked who installed this thing, they say hd and i say they left it like this
Thanks all for responding. We all sell a product where the customer must invision the finished product. It's like ordering a $2.00 bowl of chicken soup from a restaurant. Some may make it from the finest free range hens and organic vegies to be had and another may be brewing up a batch of chicken feathers but till it's done how much you pay may be a bargin or a ripoff but who knows upfront? Another reason not to shop at my competitors.
_______________________________If you were arrested for being a quality builder would there be enough evidence to convict you?
as long as hd keeps doing crap work it is just good advertising for us .if hd will do something for 300 i am charging twice that much last week a lady calls me she needs two ceiling fans installed i charge 150 each she tells me hd will do it for 85 i say i hope you didnt buy them at hd i am sure they are junk if you did she says no i got them at the lighting shop and they gave me your card as an installer isay sure but i charge 150 each/ you wont come down/ no/ so i dont get the job and dont care few days later a call from another customer of the lighting shop need me to install a couple of fans and a few light fixtures that he got at home depot i say im sorry icant meet hd price of 85 he says oh no hd charges 156 plus extras. really so that the lady last week was trying to con me. i went out and installed his lights and fans and if hd is going to be charging 156 for fans i am raising my price to 200plus extra if the ceilg needs to be reinforced
Hey I've got some periods for sale - I'll let you have them for half price:.................. and I'll even throw in a comma or two:,,
alan..................... aren't those my periods you're selling ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
YOU GUYS ARRE JUST TRYING TO CAPITALIZE ON SOMEONE ELSES ERRORS!.
Excellence is its own reward!
YOU GUYS ARRE JUST TRYING TO CAPITALIZE ON SOMEONE ELSES ERRORS!
Wait a minute, isn't that a lot of what a remodeler does, sure there is the part where people want new things like additions or just a style change but half of it is fixing some thing that was never done right in the first placeNever be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professionals build the Titanic.
Who innoculated you with a serious shot all of a sudden?
8o).
Excellence is its own reward!
I could do it for $400 plus materials and disposal fees.
The most common error instaling these Andersen units is not taking the time to caulk the joint at the jamb to sill when assenbling. Bet half of HD installers don't read the instruictions to know that fact and that many of their instrallations will cause sill rot that the HO never knows about until it's too late. Good thing to let the owner know.
Excellence is its own reward!
Sounds like someone is feeding you a line. I like the response on the ceiling fans. Not everyone is a straight shooter. My experience is HD will not give, repeat not give a FIRM estimate without having checked out the job site first. Go in and ask for a quote on the same door, same setup, and then take a look at the list of job site costs and extras that go on top of their so called low, low, price. By the time all this gets added into the job, on top of demo work, ect... their price aint gonna be to cheap after all.
Show the homeowner your list of materials, what it will take to install the slider, how you will finish it out, how it will be professional, well installed, ect... Ask homeowner what HD has promised. They can't give you a full complete truthfull answere to this question because at this point in time even HD does't know full extent of job and therefor has not given full and binding quote.
Anybody can try to beat you down on price. Sell yourself and your quality and availability (you're there giving the estimate and HD's just going to get back to them sometime on the flip side.)
Some of the worst mistakes I've made in the trades was in the past not knowing when to walk away from a job.
GOOD doorwork pays GOOD. If you're a good door man make dang shure you get payed good. Otherwise you're just leaving alot of money on the table-- the rest of us out here doing doors aint doing to shabby and sometimes even get the gravy.
Good Luck, and remember to SHOW DOWN ON SOME GRAVY!!
Cork, Door Man in Big D
We specialize in insurance repair work. If you want to help these people out, tell them that someone, (either you or the homeowner) needs to call the insurance adjuster that paid the claim and explain the dilemma. Tell the adjuster that you will be willing to write a detailed estimate showing the material and labor costs of every task that will be performed in the door replacement. Be fair in your pricing, for both you and the insurance company. If the adjuster balks and says the HD price is all they are going to pay, tell the person that HD won't commit to the job, and you can do it ASAP, because there are safety and security issues for their insured. If the adjuster still balks, then speak to the insured's agent first, for support, and then if necessary, the adjuster's supervisor. On something small like this, they want to close the file. It may be necessary for you to recommend another contractor ( you may have a friend in the biz who can help here) to write a third estimate to submit to prove the HD number was a lowball. Everyone here is missing an important point that the issue is not between you and the homeowner, it is between the insured, their hired representative (You, the GC) and the insurer.
This is a good learning experience. For me, it's 20/20 hindsight. HD came to us about 2 months ago to sell their ProDesk services to us as the area's largest GC. As I ranted and raved about their historically horrendous service, I never thought to throw them out on their butts because they are our competition ! Damn !!
carpenter in transition
Edited 6/3/2003 12:36:12 AM ET by TIM_KLINE