Remodeling Quote.............:(

[FinanceDude]

I got a referral from a co-worker that is a guy who does entire home remodeling............

Here's the damage:

Windows: $20,000
Patio Door: 3,000
Roof: 16,000
Gutters: 3,000
Siding/Trim 24,000

Total: $66,000!!!

I have two other bids at around $30,000 for the same things being done!!

WHO the heck is selliong me a VA

P.S. I joked with the guy when I asked if I should be sitting down when he gave me the numbers, and his response was "That's a good idea"............

BTW, the house is a shade over 2000 swuare feet, not a McMansion...............

 

[lets-retire]

I want some of what he's smokin.

 

[SecondCor521]

My first house cost $63,000. It was only 744 square feet, but still....

2Cor521

 

[Sarah in SC]

Dang, dude, I built an entire house for just 2x that amount!

You need to get some "handy" on 'ya and do that stuff yourself.
All you need is some beer.

Sarah

 

[JPatrick]

Sure 66K vs 30K sounds crazy, but if the materials are top of the line stuff (loads of differences between windows, siding and roofing material) and the 66K actually has a real crew that will actually git ur done with out excessive pain then you might look carefully at what you are "not" getting with the 30K guys.
Like so many things, a fair price probably lies somewhere in between.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Give me more details...whats the roofing and siding material, how many windows, whats the existing siding and what kind of shape is it in, how many LF of gutter and what material, etc.

I'll tell you his cost and what you oughta be charged for a fair deal.

All of the stuff you mentioned, with about 12-15 windows, hardiplank, 30 year composition roofing, and galvanized gutters, 30k isnt too horrible. If its plastic gutters, 20 year roofing, and vinyl siding, maybe 20k is a little more reasonable.

I keep asking about your existing siding because if you have t-111 ply or other 'flat' siding and its in decent shape, I'd just pull the windows, rewrap the house over the existing siding, hardiplank right over it and use low profile trim at the edges and around the windows. Thats what we're doing in about 2-3 years. Save you a bundle on the tear off and repairs.

 

[crazy connie]

Maybe the contractor wants to FIRE soon?

 

[farmerEd]

I got a quote last fall and it was just shy of $60K *just* for the new roof (asphalt tiles, about 55 squares)...needless to say I didn't call him back.

When people are busy, they throw out the "I don't care if I get this job or not bid", when people need the work, they tend to be more competitive

 

[Brat]

Keep shopping. First pick your materials (windows, siding) so you know you are comparing apples to apples.

One technique my DH has used is to go to the material provider see if they have a preferred applicator list, work your way through it. The other is to put a 3x5 card on the wall of the wall of the COMMERCIAL material provider bulletin board.

If construction is tailing off in your area some contractors may be hungrier later in the summer. It looks like your contractor will be acting like a 'general', subbing out to others. That supervision costs money.

 

[ron244]

My daughter recently got several quotes for new siding, very good quality windows, gutters, soffits and fascias for a 1400 s.f house. The quotes were all within a few thousand of 26k. She lives in Northern IL which is a fairly expensive area. Sometime contractors will throw out a high bid when they are busy or don't have time to properly bid the job and want to make sure they are covered.

 

[FinanceDude]

Give me more details...whats the roofing and siding material, how many windows, whats the existing siding and what kind of shape is it in, how many LF of gutter and what material, etc.

I'll tell you his cost and what you oughta be charged for a fair deal.

All of the stuff you mentioned, with about 12-15 windows, hardiplank, 30 year composition roofing, and galvanized gutters, 30k isnt too horrible. If its plastic gutters, 20 year roofing, and vinyl siding, maybe 20k is a little more reasonable.

I keep asking about your existing siding because if you have t-111 ply or other 'flat' siding and its in decent shape, I'd just pull the windows, rewrap the house over the existing siding, hardiplank right over it and use low profile trim at the edges and around the windows. Thats what we're doing in about 2-3 years. Save you a bundle on the tear off and repairs.

$30,000 and $66,000 are the same materials:

30 year dimensional roof
steel or aluminum siding
All trim
14 Low e glass windows, flip and wash, double hung
Normal patio door (Wood) with screen door (not French doors)
Seamless gutters with leaf guard and 4 inch downspouts
Tear-off of course

 

[JPatrick]

$30,000 and $66,000 are the same materials:

30 year dimensional roof
steel or aluminum siding
All trim
14 Low e glass windows, flip and wash, double hung
Normal patio door (Wood) with screen door (not French doors)
Seamless gutters with leaf guard and 4 inch downspouts
Tear-off of course

If one of those 30K guys does good work---you got yourself a good deal IMO.

 

[FinanceDude]

If one of those 30K guys does good work---you got yourself a good deal IMO.

What makes it better is my insurance company is covering $19K of it, because of a little hail storm we had last year............

 

[Brat]

Make sure your contract includes clean-up.

 

[73ss454]

Hey FD, it's no biggie for a high roller like you. Tomorrow just sell a few annuities to some unsuspecting clients.

 

[crazy connie]

Are all of the bids coming from licensed and bonded contractors? And don't forget to check with the registrar of contractors.

 

[Dawg52]

$30,000 and $66,000 are the same materials:

30 year dimensional roof
steel or aluminum siding
All trim
14 Low e glass windows, flip and wash, double hung
Normal patio door (Wood) with screen door (not French doors)
Seamless gutters with leaf guard and 4 inch downspouts
Tear-off of course

Wow, prices have really gone up the last few years. I built a house 7 years ago and a 30 year dim roof cost me just under 5k for a 2,500 sq ft home. I'm glad I down sized a couple of years ago.

 

[BUM]

dude,

You're getting hosed somewhere. I just finished getting our retirement home re-roofed. Cost was $14,000. Price included:

Tear off of old shingles
Replace all air vents and recover stack pipes
40 year shingles
Labor (crew of 5)
Dumpster
Clean up including magnet sweep for stray nails (lots and lots of them).

And this is a huge 4 family house...big roof. I'll get the actuals for you if needed.


A reminder from the police... Most contractors are professional, but their workers (no questions asked, cash laborers) often are:
On parole
Alcoholics or drug abusers
Thieves
Illegals

Bottom line - Lock up your stuff, guard your keys and remotes. Be home and vigilant when workers are there.

 

[FinanceDude]

Hey FD, it's no biggie for a high roller like you. Tomorrow just sell a few annuities to some unsuspecting clients.

What's an annuity

 

[FinanceDude]

Are all of the bids coming from licensed and bonded contractors? And don't forget to check with the registrar of contractors.

Yes and yes. Checked BBB and had a buddy in the trades do some stealth due diligence........

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

$30,000 and $66,000 are the same materials:

30 year dimensional roof
steel or aluminum siding
All trim
14 Low e glass windows, flip and wash, double hung
Normal patio door (Wood) with screen door (not French doors)
Seamless gutters with leaf guard and 4 inch downspouts
Tear-off of course

Your windows, materials and base labor (no profit) should run around 6-8k, depending on the quality of the windows and complexity of the install. Best windows and a lot of rot repair, maybe 8-10k worst case. Since he's also residing you, that simplifies the job. 9-12 k with profit would be fairly rational.

For siding with vinyl, you're probably looking at around 4-5k base, maybe 5-6k with hardi. Without seeing your house its tough to say, thats rough numbers for a 2000 square foot home with nothing weird about it. So 7k with profit for vinyl and a thousand or two more for hardi. That includes the trim work.

Roofwise, for a 30 year with tear off and new metal on a basic 2000 square foot house, you're looking at about 6500-7k for labor and materials. Maybe 9-10k with profit. That includes gutters.

So you should be looking at 16-17k minimum for cost, 25 for decent retail pricing, plus your patio door, which should be a couple of grand tops.

So your 30k quote is a little high but in the ballpark, the 60k quote should have a photocopy of the contractors hand with his middle finger extended watermarked on every page.

 

[FinanceDude]

Your windows, materials and base labor (no profit) should run around 6-8k, depending on the quality of the windows and complexity of the install. Best windows and a lot of rot repair, maybe 8-10k worst case. Since he's also residing you, that simplifies the job. 9-12 k with profit would be fairly rational.

For siding with vinyl, you're probably looking at around 4-5k base, maybe 5-6k with hardi. Without seeing your house its tough to say, thats rough numbers for a 2000 square foot home with nothing weird about it. So 7k with profit for vinyl and a thousand or two more for hardi. That includes the trim work.

Roofwise, for a 30 year with tear off and new metal on a basic 2000 square foot house, you're looking at about 6500-7k for labor and materials. Maybe 9-10k with profit. That includes gutters.

So you should be looking at 16-17k minimum for cost, 25 for decent retail pricing, plus your patio door, which should be a couple of grand tops.

So your 30k quote is a little high but in the ballpark, the 60k quote should have a photocopy of the contractors hand with his middle finger extended watermarked on every page.

I found the contractor we're going to use. His quote was $6000 for the roof, $2000 for gutters with 4" inch downspouts and leaf guard, $10,000 for siding with tear-off, TYVEK, 1 inch styrofoam insulation with taped edges, all trim on house, soffits and fascia wrapped, and even wood trim around the windows.

He said he can do ANY window within reason for about $400 each. He said since we're going with the replacement windows, to wait until the siding's done to see if it helps with the drafts we feel around them before spending the money. Also, he is doing a nice patio door for $1900. The windows will be $5700 if we do them all.

He has been in business for 20 years, has a clean BBB, and is a NARI member. Also, I got a testimonial from someone who had similar work done and they said he's a perfectionist............

So, six quotes later, I'm done.............

My neighbors on either side of me signed up with the "stormchaser folks" who blew into town after the hail storm. They both got roofs and siding done, and the velocity at whcih a 4-man crew did the work was astounding........ In comparison, my neighbor one street over got the complete job done, and the crew was there 5 days custom cutting around vents and things............. Something tells me they got a better quality job done. I got a bid from him also, but it was close to $30,000.

DW is still fretting over color combinations, but that's her territory, a place where I don't tread...........