Hi Folks, please take a look at the sketched below and tell me is that good enough for a homeowner to show to the city (Irvine, California). Make the story short, after drawing the plan, I found out that my price for labor is kind of low. I told the H.O that lobor only should be around $ 6k- 8k, under ground plumbing is excluded. The H.O would buy everything from H.D themselves, they wouldn’t buy any thing expensive. If my price is to low, what should I tell them?
Do I have to replace all drywall with water resistant board for the whole new bath of just for the tub suround only?
Any input would be great appreciated
Tung Le
Replies
I would submit three sheets--existing, proposed, and electrical. You appear to have two 'proposed' and I'm not sure why. It is not necessary to label the plumbing vent sizes on remodel plans. The fan symbol is understandable without labeling it. Same thing with the GFIs, no need to label. Greenboard is not needed above the shower head or outside the enclosure, and you probably don't need any on that job at all (at least here where I am!).
Price? I have no idea. How much do you want to make? How many hours will it take? You have to know exactly on both questions. Orange County is an area where I would expect that a good quality remodeler would be at $50-60 per hour plus overhead and profit.
If you already gave the owner a fixed price, then you have to stick to it. If you are working time and materials, then you should maybe give them a ballpark price, but maybe not. I do not give any dollar estimates on t&m jobs, I tell them about how many days it will take. I'm doing a little job this week where I said 'this will take about 2 days'.
If you aren't sure what it's going to take or what it's going to cost, then don't say anything, because you'll be wrong and someone will get their feelings hurt.
The only way to know if the plans are good enough is to ask the city. We're experts, but our opinions don't mean squat when it comes to permit departments.
Are you building a new shower? Tile or fiberglass enclosure? If it's a tile shower, scrap the greenboard and use cement board. Regular sheetrock is ok in most of the bathroom, everywhere except around the tub/shower. And is that a light fixture right over the shower door? Did you mean to show it inside the shower?
I would be leery of the HO buying all the material from HD. And the fact that they won't buy anything expensive means they are going to look for the cheapest stuff available ... which could mean quality problems. If they ned to order something, you should expect delays in delivery ... regardless of what HD says. Who is going to do the quantity takeoffs? If the amount ordered is not right, who pays for the additional? And will the jobn be delayed waiting for the additional parts to be delivered?
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
If that's all you charge, and do good work, I'd recommend you to my sister in Long Beach.(just kidding, I wouldn't recommend anyone to her and I won't do work for her either) You need to spell out to them and the people here what you scope of work is. Are you licensed???
As already been said, $60 per hour would be the minimum. That works out to 100 hours(2 to 2 1/2 weeks) 20 years ago, I knew small remodelers that did basic work for a starting price of $100 per sqft in the Orange County area, and that wasn't adding for all the kitchen and bath costs, just bedrooms, living rooms, etc.
I would not personally do any work where the materials came from HD, but if I had to, oir for you, there is good reason to add 15-20% for working around such crap. HD WILL screw up the orders, the quality, the quantity, the scedule, etc, and that will cost you in time and aggravation.
As for pricing it, the plans look to me like you are building two bathrooms...???
The drawings remind me of SP
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Hate to do it, but I beg to differ. There's a newer HD somewhat close to me and they have had almost no business on the occasions I've been there. That means the shelves are fully stocked, the good carts are easy to find, the help has time to be helpful, the parking spaces are right near the exit, and there are no lines at checkout.
Clients of mine picked out tile and some plumbing fixtures there. The tile was heavy porcelain for the floor and was perfectly good for $2 per foot. The plumbing stuff was fine for the money, although not the groovy Euro stuff I would rather sell. Overall, going there was tolerable and I was pleasantly surprised.
Downside is that their special orders are ridiculously expensive. My plumbing wholesaler easily beat them. Oh, and now they're mailing me shidloads of junk mail, because they got my info on the dang resale card.
Other HDs I've been to in CA are like descending in Hades.
I think the concerns about HD messing up schedules pertains to anything that is not on the shelf and has to be ordered. They promise dates that can't be met, and once the product hits the store they can't find it.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.