You need to get several detailed quotes, to find out where the expense is.

It does seem high, but I haven't seen what it takes to bring the proper drain and vent pipes to the spot.

It seems high to me, but I'd want a detailed explanation as to why it costs that much.

That does seem high. I would also ask for a detailed quote.

I have a detailed quote, also I should have said there is a basement below this area and nothing above but roof. I'm just beside myself over this, as I think it is high!

general- 4400

demo - 2670

carpentry - 5240

therm protection - 260

doors -1130

finishes 12,409 (6430 is drywall!)

hardware - 410

mechanical - 6100

electrical - 4000

contingencies - 1800

10% overhead - 3660

5% margin - 1830

Any input would be great! thanks

Wow, seems very high! We are looking to do a similar project (just posted about it) and I'm very nervous about getting quotes now! Seems outrageously high. Don't people do full kitchens for less than that?

High-ish, but not out of the realm high for building a whole new half bathroom out of parts and pieces of a couple of rooms. The average remodel is 16K. I'd ballpark a complete new construction as 2x that. Finishes differences could be the rest.

Kitchens are 60K ballpark.

Wow...you are obviously in a high cost area in the midwest. I was surprised that the one trade that wasn't quoted individually was plumbing as this is a bathroom project. Presumably, plumbing is lumped in with mechanical which I took to mean exhaust fan and necessary ductwork

Those amounts are much higher than my area.

A great reputation, more than the minimum Insurance, correct licensing, and employees instead of subs does not come cheap.

Keep shopping.

I'm surprised the contractor didn't tack on a vacation cruise for himself after the work was finished! I live in a high cost remodeling area and even here those numbers would be outrageous. This is a 40 square foot room. $6400 for drywall? That scales up to about $320K for sheetrock if you were doing a 2000 sqft house. Over $7000 for overhead, margin and contingencies? Over $6000 for mechanical...what mechanical? I have a friend who put in a very nice 6' X 7' half bath last year for about $12K total, and over half of that was for some very fancy tile work (floor plus a fully tiled shower, including the ceiling).

This contractor either is so busy that he can throw out bids like this hoping someone will occasionally bite, or he takes you for a sucker. My daughter just finished a remodel of her 120 sqft kitchen in San Francisco, and the contractor cost (not including the cabinets and appliances) was about $25K. That $25K included demo, carpentry, structural changes to walls, electrical, plumbing, cabinet installation, range hood installation, sheetrock, painting, new floor covering, and trim. That was a little more than $200 per square foot, which I know is quite cheap in the Bay Area. But it just proves that if you take your time and get several bids you will have a much better sense of what this should really cost. Her bids ranged from $25K to $65K, and she went with the low bidder, particularly because of his terrific references.

My general rule is to get at least three bids on any job like this...and I wouldn't even count this one.

That seems very high to me. I am putting in a new (small - 7'x6') 3/4 bath and walk in closet on the second floor of my home. My first quote was $16K and once I selected all the tile/fixtures etc it went up to just under $21K. My next door neighbor is also a contractor and he said he charges $15-20K for bathroom. They had to run new plumbing, move an HVAC vent to the downstairs room, move a door, move access to the attic, remove an existing closet and flooring while preserving all the trim to reuse. I am in a 100 year old house in a moderate cost of living area on the east coast. I would definitely get more quotes.

In my recent experience it isn't unusual to get an outrageously high bid on a project. For instance, for HVAC work we got 3 bids, 2 of which were in the 15-20k range, and the third was closer to 50k. For some outside work we had 3 bids, 2 in the 10-15k range, the other was over 40k. I don't really understand the point of throwing out such a ridiculous number. If the project doesn't fit scope or schedule I think it's better for the contractor to just say so and move on - I'm certainly not offended by that - these are busy days for construction work in my area. Both of those bids left a terrible impression upon me, and I would never recommend that people reach out to either contractor in the future.

freeoscar-
I share your viewpoint. I tend to think that some people don't get multiple bids, and also have no idea on what's involved with construction, so they are vulnerable. I also know someone who often chooses a high bid because he thinks that he'll get better quality if he pays more. But, overall, I think that these crazy high bidders really do no help to anyone, including themselves in the long term.

Some contractors prefer to give a very high bid instead of declining to bid a project they don't have much interest in doing. The theory seems to be that if someone pays that much money, the extra profit will make up for the issues involved. I find many contractors have problems with just politely saying "no, I'm not interested in that project" and use all sorts of methods to avoid the direct approach. Stalling, endless questions, high bids, unanswered questions, unfulfilled promises to return calls, send bids, give references...sometimes indicate poor business sense but often reflect the person isn't seriously interested in that project.

An electrician I know gave one of those outrageously high bids when the rich homeowner's personal assistant begged him to reconsider turning down the project. Then they complained about the unreasonable estimate and he figured the subject was closed. A couple weeks later, they called and requested that he begin the work immediately. After thinking about it, he declined the project as the potential profit wasn't enough to offset the the red flags he was seeing and the possible liability in case of accidental damage. He didn't want to find out why the other, cheaper contractors turned down the work.

That is very high.. Do you need to extend plumbing to the new locations? if you do, that can be costly. Since they have demolish, repipe and rebuild. Did you try mykukun.com? what did it say.. it has reasonable accuracy.. All previous comments are valid reasons but i would try to get contractors from towns that are away from you (50 or more miles).. They may be more eager. I never hire from major towns..

It really depends on your selections. I have seen people drop 40k in a all granite shower and tub. If you are going to question the contractor, I would recommend talking to a second one.

If you want to know exactly how money will be spent and what you will get, find an architect, designer or Design-Build Contractor, have the plans drawn up with all of your fixture selections, all of the HVAC requirements, plumbing plans, electrical plans, structural plans, tile types and patterns etc. Enter into a Design Agreement. You then can get an accurate bid on the project, you will know exactly what you will be getting down to finish of faucets and shower heads, cabinets etc.

There are some bigger numbers in there, like mechanical, perhaps he looked at the system and concluded he would need to do a reduct to pass building codes.

Perhaps you will need a new home run or 2 for your electrical, which means punching holes in the walls all the way between your electrical service and the bathroom which means more drywall, which may mean texturing entire walls to hide the changes.

Many contractors wont give a heavily detailed estimate showing these thing because, many people will just look down the list and start calling other contractors to complete the individual tasks; they basically use it as instructions to manage the project them selves. In addition, an estimate of that caliber, can take tens of hours to put together and no body wants to work for free.

I completed 20 bathroom design and estimates, full details, only to land 5. 15jobs*10 hours=150hrs= 15000 lost in labor hours and paying customers should not have to carry on the cost of the ones tire kicking. I am able to save almost $3000 per bathroom remodel by not doing detailed first estimates/plans for free.

Enter into a design agreement and get your project designed then someones price will or will not make sense. You can go a step further and send the plans to a professional estimator. If your budget is a little over and need to wait to do the job in 3 or 6 months, you are already to go.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to me here on houzz,

Best of luck,

Nicholas Mendoza

Greenspot Construction

HTTP://www.greenspot-construction.com