Screen porch enclosures -advice needed
I am hoping you guys can help me, as you have given me such great input in the past about my home projects. This question is about hiring someone for a project that is out of our D.I.Y scope.
I have an 8×11 screened in porch that is very old and full of holes. There are also two doors on either side that need replacing. Our roof in in great shape and does not need replacing.
I have had two people from patio enclosure companies that offer systems that they have that are a combination of screen and glass extending the season! Both systems looked pretty slick, however here comes the weird part – one was 8k the other 11k. I also talked to local contractors, one who I have not heard back from after a few weeks, and another guy who gave me a not very detailed bid for 650.00. I am really confused by the huge price differences, and at a loss as to how to proceed.
My husband who has some building knowlege was very impressed by the 11k guy’s product, but like me, we were kind of put off by the price. The 8k guy suggested we save money by not pulling a permit, and asked for a lot of the money up front – these were big red flags for us.
Any advice or ‘bewares’ you can offer would be a huge help.
~Rosa
Replies
Rosa
The 8k guy suggested we save money by not pulling a permit, and asked for a lot of the money up front - these were big red flags for us.
As well they should have.
Others will offer up some better advice but in the mean time this will act as a bump.
I dont know what you're getting with the $650 bid (my guess is not much) but I'd say your comparing apples to oranges when you have two bids that are 8K and 11K, no way that they can be talking about the same thing.
Doug
Hi all,
Thanks for all the great advice. As always, you guys were a wealth of information and really helped with the decision making process. Particularly with the permit question. We did not realize the unspoken risks and ramifications of not having one.
As far as the low-bid guy, he is definitely out. The no permit guy - OUT!
So the highest bid guy is the winner. It is an old established company, and offers a really solid warranty.
The apples and apples thing? It was so very hard to nail down. It was really difficult to compare apples to apples when each person offered a different variey as a solution to my screen porch issue. :)
The low rent guy's apples: I will order some casement windows with screens to fill in existing openings. ( No input as to what he would do with the doors).
The 8k / no permit guy's apples: He wanted to leave the existing hodge podge of posts, and did not offer a solution for additional electrics..he did show us the products he would be using, and my husband thought they were a bit cheesy.
The 11K guy's apples: He went over the pros & cons of removing the old hodge podge ( not good looking, and would not offer reliable support ), and based the estimate on all new posts and some electrics for lamps, laptops, etc. He showed us the products, and I liked the LOOK of them better. My husband said he felt the lock systems on the door were more solid. Since he is doing more work, it makes sense the price is higher, and since we prefer working with a permit and were pleased by the warranty, we decided to go with him.
Thanks again for the input. With your help we feel we made a more informed decision.
~ Rosa
It's always nice to hear the follow-up. Thanks. Good luck with your project.
The bid for 650.00 can't possibly be for the same thing. Maybe that was just replacing the screens and installing (but not buying) new doors. Without much more detail, I wouldn't even consider this bid.
Pulling permits is not very expensive and it shouldn't raise your taxes very much if you're talking about a 3 season porch. However, working without a permit might make it cheaper for THEM because they don't have to worry about meeting code requirements. I doubt if this is what you want. I would disregard this bid also.
So you have 1 reasonable bid which seems high and nothing to compare it to. Sounds like it's time for a few more phone calls.
first, you may not need a permit if the footprint of the building will not change and there are no structural upgrades. if all you are doing is replacing a couple of doors and installing thermal screen/glass barriers then it sounds as if there is nothing for the building dept to be concerned about.
I have to wonder why the 8K guy suggested you could do this work under the radar.
I would stay away from the guy who suggested you could save by not pulling a permit. thats a code phrase for "just try and hold me accountable".
in my state there is a fund to help people who are the victims of unscrupulous contractors. its built into my annual registration fee. you are only eligible if the work was done above board by a licensed contractor
Hi Rosa,
We purchased a 3 season room manufactured by PGT Industries out of Florida. It's a decent product, not great but decent.
PGT sell's only to "Authorized installers" so you have to find a contractor who installs their product.
We paid a little more than your highest bid, our installer required 50% deposit.
Our contractor turned out to be less than honest. At the last minute our "authorized installer" handed us off to a sub he never used before.
It went down hill fast. To be fair I made several mistakes handling the situation. A 3 day job Turned into a 3 month ordeal!
Promises were broken, and quality and installation issues were not resolved at the contractor level.
Did I mention I should have handled things differently?
Live and learn on my part!
The bottom line was that PGT would not take any responsibility for their "Authorized Installer" or his sub.
PGT did send a field rep out to the house, but his main concern was that the room wouldn't fall down and create a law suite. Then he ran away!
I hope my story helps a little, let the buyer beware!
Bill