Maybe he doesn't want the job.

Sounds like MIGA pricing; "Make It Go Away". Get 2 more bids. Seems like the bidder you have is Waaaayyy high. Don't tell them it's an insurance job when getting bids.

Oldryder, he knew it was an insurance job because of the flood damage to the walls. I think it must be a combination of "insurance money" and where I live. I did tell him that his portion is completely out of pocket and I need a fair price.

Unfortunately, he is a client of my old company and we have a lot of mutual friends. He already sent me an email asking when I would like him to start. I know that a lot of my neighbors end up paying really huge repairs/remodel costs but it just seems excessive.

We are going through the same thing right now after a fire and we are in the middle of meeting with insurance people and contractors. We are sitting down with the contractors and going through spec lists line by line having them justify their costs. It is very enlightening. You can distinguish those who know their stuff and have taken the time to really think about the costs and how they will do things from those that are throwing numbers out there and have no idea what is really involved. Some of the higher numbers come down when we actually sit and talk about how they are planning to do things and we give our opinion on how we'd like things done, some of the lower bids go up for the same reason.

It is a PITA and I would rather stick bamboo shoots under my fingernails, but probably worth it in the end - I hope.

As my neighbor tells me when I make mention of a high-priced estimate... get 2 more estimates.

if i am reading this right, you are hiring a gc for paint, electrical and appliance install. i would just hire an electrician, a painter and either a handyman or appliance guy to do the appliance install. for the appliances, i am guessing they are existing? if not then any appliance place, lowes/hd would do the install. have your plumber do the dw install.

This is why it's worth your while to do as much as you can without a GC. I'm coming from the point of view of the person writing the checks. Does the GC add value to the project with specialized expertise? Do you simply not have the time to hire, supervise and fire if necessary? Do you have enough knowledge to understand a good job from a bad? If you can answer yes, do it yourself.

Either way, the friend of a friend is no friend. Send him a text telling him you have decided to do it yourself. Don't give any explanations. Thank him for his time. You don't owe your mutual friends explanations, either.

In the "shoe is on the other foot department", I just had a guy who lives in a highrise on a barrier island, a traffic nightmare, tell me my minimum charge was "too high". Fine. Stand at your sink and look at those gulf views and the nasty failed seam. Won't bother me a bit.

That is a myth. I can call a plumber to unclog a drain. They show up. They will show up if I want them to install something, too. It depends on the project. I hire painters all the time. They show up. The homeowner needs an electrician, ask around. My appliance store will send someone to install appliances, even the really expensive ones.

If I was building a house or adding an addition, I would call a GC. If I'm renovating my kitchen, I'll do it myself. It's not my first rodeo. I know my limits. The project the original poster describes doesn't need a GC. They could do it themselves with some time and application.

Joseph,

I think there's definitely value in using a GC especially if you're dealing with a complex project. I've used GC for additions to house before. However, the lack of professionalism of many contractors and inflated bids do sour me such that I cringe every time I think of construction.

Adolron, since we had to replace the flooring in the entire first floor, I had to escalate projects which I had planned to do in phases. One involved expanding the door to the downstairs bathroom by 3 inches to make it easier for my mother's wheelchair and to remove part of the framing in other doorway and drywall it. I included the painting and appliance install as a way to give more scope to the project for the GC.

Out of 5 GCs on Yelp with 4.5 star reviews, only this guy called me back and it took 3 messages.

So here's the bid for the work in this tiny bathroom.

$1850 to take out the vanity and smooth out the 1/2 soffit above the mirror
$1875 framing for the door. He forgot to quote for the door. We can squeeze 3 more inches out to change from 28" to 32"
$1500 drywall
$6500 Granite fabrication - I am buying a remnant piece since it's so tiny.
$1500 to install the granite as a floating countertop
$1250 to add wiring for pendants and to replace the current fan with a whisperwarm. I provide the fan and lighting.
Total $14,475

I showed him the sink that I'm buying and he looked at it and said " wow, that's an expensive sink". I think from there, he thought I was made of money. He wouldn't have taken into account that I'm getting the sink for only a few hundred dollars vs. the $4K it actually costs.

To cut a box above the fireplace for me to install the TV, he quoted $4800.

In contrast, it costs me $6K to do the same cutout in our MB fireplace, large 6' built in solid wood cabinets, complete rebuilt of walk in closet, 2 new Toto toilets, custom built-in for for toilet room, fabrication of granite, painting, electrical and repair ceiling drywall from a leak. Unfortunately that GC is booked for 6 months out with other projects.

To save me money, that GC had me pay for all the materials directly and charged me labor for his crew. They weren't cheap but were fast. The labor was $35/hr per crew member. They showed up, buzzed like bees at top speed and I had to forced them to take time out to eat lunch that I brought in.

My remnant granite counter for the toilet room cost me $100 to buy and I still have half a counter slab left.


The cabinet, counter, and electrical are all new. This room was project creep as we only started with fixing the walk in closet shelves in planning then it escalated to complete rebuild and new cabinets.

I am a fabricator. "$6500 Granite fabrication - I am buying a remnant piece since it's so tiny." That's an absurd price. A vanity that size from a remnant would be about $1000 measured and installed in my area. Even if you picked a $2500 slab the price would still be less than 1/2 the $6500.

what oldryder said!

i got a quote for a vanity about your size and a remnant piece is $50 per sq ft installed with a fee of $50 for the undermount sink cutout but includes the sink. this is from the place that did my granite kitchen which ran $80 per sq ft for the mid level granite(granite here runs a bit higher than much of the gw communtiy)

that price is outrageous! my whole kitchen wasn't $6500!

beachem - in response to his question about when to start just reply with I'm sorry but we are going to have to go another route as it is just too far out of the budget that you just can't do it no matter how much you'd like him to do the job. Either he'll come down or you'll be no worse than you were and not like you weren't honest with him so doubt it should sour any relationships.

Lyfia, that's a great response. Thank you. It is way out of my budget so I'll tell him that I'm tabling it for now. These 3 items, bathroom vanity remodel, opening door and archway are all optional. It will cost me additional to repair the floors when they are done later but the budget money is hard. The priorities such as repiping the house is not negotiable in my mind.

"Out of 5 GCs on Yelp with 4.5 star reviews, only this guy called me back and it took 3 messages".

In my experience, the 5 GCs with the 4.5 star reviews aren't calling back because they are busy, because they are good. And most contractors I work with, as good as they are, are not very smart about planning ahead. If a contractor that I wanted told me "I am busy for six months, but I will put you in my schedule if you want" I would probably say "Fine". Instead they ignore calls until about month 5 and then figure out they need to find jobs. I think they are afraid if they put you off you will find someone else. If they never respond you will anyway, but then they don't know about it.

I was working with a client that I eventually gave up on because he wanted everything started tomorrow (until he changed his mind) and everything done at the cheapest price.

He circumvented my recommendations and got in an HVAC crew that was 1) cheaper by far than the bids I had gotten, and 2) available to start immediately.

I told him: "Any contractor that is both that cheap and that available is either terrible, or they just got out of prison and don't have anything lined up yet."

"Any contractor that is both that cheap and that available is either terrible, or they just got out of prison and don't have anything lined up yet."

Belongs in the Best Of Gardenweb Quotes. It's scarily accurate and funny at the same time!

I guess I am looking at this through a different vantage point. We've been DYI'ing a home remodel. We gutted the kitchen, tore down the wall, put in new windows - including a backsplash window that will require very specific measurements with flooring/cabinets/counter, put in a structural beam, tore out a lot of drywall and most of the floors, replaced the furnace with a boiler, put in a larger electrical box and updated our electrical system those there's something like 5-10% left, etc, etc.

We are now at the point where we are both extremely busy with work and considering hiring a GC. However, I'm mortally afraid that no one is going to want to come in mid-stream. I think it actually makes our job less desirable because a lot of the high cost stuff is done or nearly done. Who wants to pick up a half-done job? How much extra will we have to pay just to get someone willing to do that?

We COULD act as the GC's, given my partner is in the trades, and hire subs. In a lot of ways, that makes sense. However, it is my personal opinion that we would benefit from having someone organize us and force us to make decisions and keep to deadlines.

Which, I guess, is all a long way of saying that I wonder how much that had to do with the OP's high bids.

Beachem I would tell him what lyfia said. I just double-checked a painting estimate I have from reputable company that does a ton of work around here, I know they are not the cheapest. $7,000 to paint my main and lower levels, all trim and ceilings. My home is 2900 sq. ft. I live in an area that often gets overpriced as contractors assume by living here, people have a lot of money.

I have had to do that in my own home remodel. We moved from out of state to a new area to a house needing major remodel. We got a recommended GC (my husband's boss used him extensively). I didn't get other pricing because he was highly recommended by my realtor and DH boss, and was told he was priced mid-range comparatively. We gave him our budget, and we started moving forward.

After getting things priced for our downstairs, he said we won't have enough money to do anything else we want (and we have a large budget). Well I can't live in a half finished house!

I did get other pricing, and had to tell him as much as I wanted to work with him, he was simply out of our budget. In fact, he was one of the highest priced of all. He also cost me on the few things he did start on. One, we wanted our children's rooms finished so they could have a room right away (carpet, trim painted, ceiling fan installed). Well looking back now he knew we were replacing all the windows, why did he let me get the trim painted? It's all ripped off sitting in a corner right now. Also, to help us 'save money' he put trim on and painted our cheap flat panel hollow core doors. Only as of this month did I see hollow core doors were only 30-$40. I think I actually paid more having him trim out and paint them all. Really gets me upset, I could've used the money spent to upgrade to solid doors.

In the end we are going the route of GCing it ourselves, and using one contractor who works alone, but has a wide skill set, so he is doing many projects for us. I guess like a handyman, however he is very professional and knowledgable. I did vet him with seeing his previous work (bathrooms, floors, cabinetry) and calling references. It's not ideal because I really wish I had the advice of a true general contractor (the guy I have is able to advise in some areas but not all), but I've learned that either way you go you need to educate yourself on the nature of the work going on in your home.

"Who wants to pick up a half-done job? How much extra will we have to pay just to get someone willing to do that?"

I consider jobs like this all the time. I calibrate my kook detector before my butt hits the truck seat though. My first priority is finding out if I should join the other guy in running away.

I like 'em when I land 'em though. A previously spanked customer does little whining or nickel-dimeing on price, in fact they are some of the most appreciative and grateful at completion.

Do you feel the same way about half done jobs when it is the weary DYI'er waving the white flag as when it is a homeowner who has been "spanked" by a prior GC?

Cuz, you know, I would be grateful at completion. Veeeery grateful. More grateful than anyone on the planet, at this point. lol

Speaking of prices, I just had a guy at my house that cleaned a sofa and two chairs for $125.00. He's a half an hour away and he spent an hour and a half here. He had expensive equipment and a newer economical truck. How do you make any money at $50.00 an hour?

"Do you feel the same way about half done jobs when it is the weary DYI'er waving the white flag as when it is a homeowner who has been "spanked" by a prior GC?"

Yes. A spanking is a spanking, self-inflicted or not.

Want to come to Alaska for a bit and whip us into shape?

I'm so intimidated by trying to hire a GC without looking like a sucker...

My vanity is slightly longer than the OP's, with a single under-mount sink. One half-slab of carrara, plus template/fabrication/install cost $1300 and I live in the pricey Bay Area.

The granite and painting quotes you got are absurd. I live on the West coast of Florida - I got marble for my 45" vanity for $775; and for a 60" counter for $960. Both included backsplashes and sink cutouts. And your painting quote is from Mars. Unless it involves replacing all the drywall, I think $2-3,000 might be more in line for a 1,000 sf house. My whole house is 1,600 sf and it cost $1,800 to paint everything except the kitchen and bathrooms and that included ceilings, walls and woodwork.

palimpsest, awesome quote. Best one yet I've seen.

Steph2000, I would highly recommend finding a good GC. I love the GC I had. It's worth the extra money to have someone corral all the misc stuff if you're burned out.

Thank you everyone for your input. The consensus is that my bid was too high.

I met with another GC today (referred to me by the flooring installer) at one of his current job sites. I was really cynical when I talked to him and I asked him if he was going to charge me more just because I live in Newport Beach. He told me yes especially if I'm not in Lake Forest (city next to me).

He explained that permits in Newport Beach is 30% higher than any other city. Probably because the city just spent $229 MILLION of our tax dollars to build city hall. The roof alone was $30 Million and it's not even solar paneled. The building looks pretty pedestrian and I cannot believe that we spent that money. The inspectors are also difficult and will argue with my construction after they have approved the plans so I may have additional costs in engineering consultation.

In contrast, the city of Lake Forest apparently encourages people to "Remodel, Don't Move." They waved all permit fees. One of his jobs there, the customer saved $2500 in permits. The only fee the GC paid was $10 recording fee.

This is the right way to upcharge. Explain why I will see an upcharge. Use facts that I can verify. This just built a whole level of trust with me before I even see an estimate.

He's going to try and get out to my house tomorrow to measure and get me an estimate before I go into the hospital for a week.

Based on what he tells me, I would either contract right away or table the extra projects for later if it's beyond my budget and use him for the rest. I wouldn't make the effort to get any other GC bids.

I'm so glad to here you might have found an honest and up front GC to help you. Hoping things go well for you in the hospital. My husband is a GC, and I was getting quite mad reading how ridiculous the prices were that you were quoted. Crazy! I hope everything works out. Just commented on your granite post. Sounds like you will have an awesome kitchen and your house back better then ever!