Are we getting soaked on shower quotes?

[2HOTinPHX]

I know some of this might be location specific but wow we are kinda shocked at the quotes we have gotten so far. Seems to me to be a simple replacement. Remove the current one piece 5' tub shower combo, and add some green board type drywall and add a new shower pan and 3 wall panels and perhaps glass door to make a simple walk in shower. My thinking was that it should be well under 10k....wrong. The first quote was around 14K which seemed really high. So when talking to the next company over the phone I specifically said we were shocked at a quote we received at over 10K and that I didn't want to waste anyone's time if the quote was going to be over around 10K. He replied their rate would be way lower because they were a local family owned business and low advertising cost unlike the big corps. Well their guy came out and quoted 15K!!!

So the search continues. Are these end of year prices over the top? Do I need to adjust my thinking that under 10k for simple replacement is reasonable in 2022?

Watched some videos and seems like this could be something to take on yourself? Has anyone here done that?

 

[Sunset]

Now you know why those ads on TV from some 1 day shower conversion say they will give you a $100 gift card for getting a quote.... Somebody is paying for the quotes

I'm shocked as well at the price, may as well get more just to be sure.

 

[Philliefan33]

About five years ago we did a job similar to what you have planned: removed a one-piece tub and replaced it with a tiled shower and glass door. It cost us about $7K; this was at our vacation home where labor is cheap.

Factor in five years of inflation and maybe higher cost of labor at your location - maybe $10K is not realistic?

(choice of raw materials will also be a big factor. Some tile is cheap; others are very expensive)

 

[JoeWras]

We just did this (Fall 2022, Southeast USA) for my non-profit with volunteer labor for $5k in parts. $0 in labor. I think $5k is the floor. $14k seems high. $10k would be about right. Our volunteers put 100 hours into the project. A pro could do it 1/2. So 50 hrs at $100 per hour gives you $5k for labor. $10k total. A lot depends on how much finishing you expect. Add in tile work or floor work and it will go up.

I also want to say that the shower surround quality varies. Ours cost $2.5k. The door was another $500, so just $3k for the parts of the shower. That doesn't include anything else like faucets, drywall, etc. That added up to $5k.

Yes, you can surf the web and find shower enclosures for $700 from Big Box. I will tell you they are complete piece of crap. They may work for people who weigh under 120 lbs. Anyone over that will flex and stress them to the leaking point.

 

[euro]

Agreed, for the work you described, I would have also guessed under 10K. At THOSE prices, I would seriously consider DIY.
If you have a cast iron tub and not much room, that may make demo a bit challenging, but everything else should be very doable.

Final thought: of this is the only bathroom in the house, then DIY may be ambitious - I find that these types of projects take me a week or more to complete (not a week of actual work, but a lot of short bursts over many days in order to procure materials, tools, etc. Maybe that's just me though.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

That's for the replies so far.

The existing unit is just a one piece AquaGlass brand acrylic builder grade unit. Nothing fancy just an easy to keep clean without seams to cause potential leaks like real tile. We want to replace it with the same a low maintenance type 3 piece wall system. Thinking real tile would be more costly and more maintenance and potential for leaks. One guy said it's a two day job. They we're going to replace the plumbing for the shower/tub which I guess is a good thing if your gonna do this?
They just seem insulted you don't want to spend 15k for the project.
We do have another shower we could use if we choose to do it ourselves. Prefer not too... dangerous husband and wife team on large projects...could be a reality show... LOL

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Hmmm good counter point....above..must over come my cheapness..LOL.
The sales rep guys came in with there samples and didn't really offer options. When the 15K guy gave us his quote we asked for lower cost quote with out his add ons and no glass door... Actually prefer a shower curtain. He was kinda of insulted and has yet to send us that quote.

 

[JoeWras]

One piece units are cheaper in price, more robust, but impossible to get into the bathroom in an existing house in most cases.

Just FYI.

 

[Palmtree]

A lot of it depends of the supply and demand of the labor these days. The old guys are retiring and there is not enough of young men (and women) replacing them to fill all the needed skilled positions. The existing subs are in high demand. So much so that they are booked out way in advance. When someone requests a quote, they're so busy that they can throw out an inflated quote, knowing that if you don't bite, somebody else probably soon will.

 

[zinger1457]

Maybe plan it out and do what work you can do yourself and sub out the work you're not comfortable with, like the plumbing. I see 60" shower panel kits, including base, available at HD in the $1-3K range, some come with glass doors. Look over the install instructions to get an idea what you can/cannot handle. If this is a two day job then your contractor is asking for ~$6K in labor/day.

 

[sengsational]

The way I'd find a contractor is ask on my neighborhood page for success stories.

If you follow ads or what comes up on the search, you'll probably get the high pressure sales pitch with the 3 times reasonable price. Sometimes a neighbor will get hoodwinked, be so proud of the completed job, and forget to mention they overpaid, but mostly you get the good job / fair price.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

One piece units are cheaper in price, more robust, but impossible to get into the bathroom in an existing house in most cases.

Just FYI.

Yeah unfortunately so. But three wall panels are preferred over individual tiles for us.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

The way I'd find a contractor is ask on my neighborhood page for success stories.

If you follow ads or what comes up on the search, you'll probably get the high pressure sales pitch with the 3 times reasonable price. Sometimes a neighbor will get hoodwinked, be so proud of the completed job, and forget to mention they overpaid, but mostly you get the good job / fair price.

That's a good suggestion. Will check out Next Door site.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

A lot of it depends of the supply and demand of the labor these days. The old guys are retiring and there is not enough of young men (and women) replacing them to fill all the needed skilled positions. The existing subs are in high demand. So much so that they are booked out way in advance. When someone requests a quote, they're so busy that they can throw out an inflated quote, knowing that if you don't bite, somebody else probably soon will.

You're probably right..and we are I feel like we are still getting Covid pricing on things.

 

[Cobra9777]

We paid $13.3K for this shower about a year ago. It was for DMIL's granny flat on our property. She needed a larger shower. The previous shower was a 3X3 one-piece, builder-grade fiberglass shower enclosure. The new shower is almost 6ft long, has a custom-made pan, tile floor and surround, a sliding-style glass door, new Delta valve and trim kit, a teak pull-down bench, Moen grab bars, and two niches. They also relocated the drain to the center.

Seems to me, $15K is way too high for what OP described. I'd keep getting estimates.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Wow that's very nice...^^^^

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I love that shower!
I have no idea how much it would cost to get my tub/shower combo replaced with a walk in shower because I can’t even get anyone out to give me a quote.

Maybe we will go into a recession and there will be more availability.
I’m kidding. Sort of. [emoji38]

 

[JoeWras]

I love that shower!
I have no idea how much it would cost to get my tub/shower combo replaced with a walk in shower because I can’t even get anyone out to give me a quote.

Maybe we will go into a recession and there will be more availability.
I’m kidding. Sort of. [emoji38]

No you aren't! It's true!

The non profit I speak of is in the woods, quite a drive from a local city. Most contractors don't care about us. Others have given us "go away" quotes. We've been working on a commercial door replacement for one year. We finally found a guy with a big heart who has engaged with us. He's a really nice guy and he actually apologized for his industry explaining that commercial doors are best done 20 or more at a time, and jobs like that are plentiful due to our continued expansion and new commercial building. He literally said he's looking to a recession to clear out some of his not-so-upstanding competitors and return his industry to sanity.

 

[ransil]

I did mine with help from a buddy, i was the help he was the expert, cost was about $3k material only
new toilet
new granite vanity top
rip out fiberglass shower and install tile and new fixtures
no floor pan, made own from tile
painted current vanity, replaced faucets and hardware
paint
new exhaust fan
LVP flooring
glass sliding shower door
new vanity light
about 4 days of work

 

[Koolau]

No you aren't! It's true!

The non profit I speak of is in the woods, quite a drive from a local city. Most contractors don't care about us. Others have given us "go away" quotes. We've been working on a commercial door replacement for one year. We finally found a guy with a big heart who has engaged with us. He's a really nice guy and he actually apologized for his industry explaining that commercial doors are best done 20 or more at a time, and jobs like that are plentiful due to our continued expansion and new commercial building. He literally said he's looking to a recession to clear out some of his not-so-upstanding competitors and return his industry to sanity.

Sad but true. We have an old tub/shower that needs replaced, but no one even wants to look at the job. Eventually, the economy will turn and we'll have several contractors to chose among. Not "hoping" for a down turn, but it will at least have a silver lining, I guess.

 

[zinger1457]

If you're expecting a turn around in the economy to make things better/cheaper you might be in for a long wait. Out where I live contractors have always been difficult to get for smaller jobs and I've been here for 25 years. There's also a big shortage of skilled trade workers that's not going to get better anytime soon. Maybe look for a good handyman to help out, it's a doable job for someone with basic construction skills.

 

[Ronstar]

Quotes do sound high, but showers are a lot of work. I've done a few. If you've got some spare time, skills, and don't mind the bathroom tore up for a while, give it a try. If not, just hire a good contractor with a decent price and time frame.

 

[JoeWras]

It's a lot of work. There's a lot of details. There are problems one encounters in remodeling, especially if the building is older. Swapping out a 40 year old bathroom versus a 20 year matters.

We're pretty proud of the swap out we did:

 

[Qs Laptop]

I know some of this might be location specific but wow we are kinda shocked at the quotes we have gotten so far. Seems to me to be a simple replacement. Remove the current one piece 5' tub shower combo, and add some green board type drywall and add a new shower pan and 3 wall panels and perhaps glass door to make a simple walk in shower. My thinking was that it should be well under 10k....wrong. The first quote was around 14K which seemed really high.

[..]

Well their guy came out and quoted 15K!!!

We've redone two bathrooms in the past two years.

The first one was the master bath, er, owner's bathroom. This is a small room 10' X 5'. The shower is only 32" to a side. New greenboard in shower, a shower nook for shampoo bottles, soap, etc. 12" square tiles on wall, prefab fiberglass shower floor, new faucet and showerhead, shower curtain, not door. We weren't going to replace the tiled bathroom floor. We were getting new vanity/sink/faucet, mirror/medicine cabinet, lighting fixtures, new toilet, exhaust fan, etc.

We got estimates of $18,000 and $21,000. We were flabbergasted. Luckily, through friends we learned of a handyman that could do it. His hourly rate was $69, which as I understand it is on the low side of the scale. We bought most of the components ourselves and did the painting. He did the demo and everything else. He was here several hours a day for about five days. The largest block of labor was installing the shower tiling. Total amount spent was just under $4,000 for everything.

So the search continues. Are these end of year prices over the top?

If you are talking just replacing the shower/tub area, yes. However, these sorts of businesses are booming and can charge premium prices.

Do I need to adjust my thinking that under 10k for simple replacement is reasonable in 2022?

Unless you can find an honest, inexpensive handyman like we found, you probably need to readjust your thinking. Maybe try to get quotes from companies that do renovations but don't advertise exclusively for bathroom renovations.

Watched some videos and seems like this could be something to take on yourself? Has anyone here done that?

I thought about taking it on but I didn't have the confidence to do the shower floor install and install the tiling. Also wasn't thrilled about cutting holes in the back of the new vanity and rerouting water pipes. I figured it wasn't the time to "learn on the job."

 

[workmyfingerstothebone]

Central California



We replaced 3 tub showers over the last few years. I did everything except the tiling for 2 of them.
Two of the baths have 72" tall by 3/4" thick glass doors. Had a buddy help put those up.
The faucets and shower hardware were over 2K, Kohler brand I believe. Only spent that because of one Donald Trumps stimulus check.

We spent about 12k on the first, this includes new vanity, toilet and floor tiling, painting, drywall repair. 3 walls tiled up to 78".

On the second we spent about 10K, the vanity was less expensive as was the faucet and shower hardware. 3 walls tiled up 78".

The third we spent 8K as we went with a soaking tub and a shower curtain and did not replace the vanity or the hardware. This one we had the tile guy do demolition and debris removal so he could tile the tub walls and floors. 3 walls tiled 54".


Basically we found a tile guy that worked on the first one so we had him work on the other two. This year, 2023, he is scheduled to tile or floors.

We went to one of those higher end tile stores and grabbed about 6 business cards.
Called them all in for estimates and then decided.

So check out some tile layers and see what their quotes are.