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Is the quote itemized? How much of that is to just engineer and fix the joists?
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Apr 21, 2017 21:55
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So what was the original plan for the tub
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Apr 21, 2017 23:40
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BENGHAZI 2 posted:So what was the original plan for the tub Still wondering, myself. I guess it was supposed to be infinity style with the gravel pit at floor level?
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Apr 21, 2017 23:54
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I want to use this as an example to anyone who wants to remodel stuff in their house. This guy tore out $10k of perfectly good bathroom (perfectly good except tile counters ewwww), and is spending $23k to customize/redo the bathroom the way he wants it. Let's just set aside the fact that he did $5k worth of damage to the floor (lol), and say that in a best case scenario, this was going to cost $18k to do. Is this worth $18k to the owner? Yeah, that's why he's spending the money. Is it going to be worth $18k to the next buyer? Almost certainly not, because they could always spend the $18k themselves and get something similar, but customized in the way they want it. But let's pretend that it is. The current owner needs the next buyer to value this at the remodel price plus the value of the original bathroom. If the buyer values it at $18k, the owner has spent $18k to add $8k of value to the next buyer. The moral of the story is that "it's adding value to the house!" is based on pretty questionable math. Things that help your return: 1. The thing you are replacing/remodeling is in poor condition or is so undesirable that it is close to worthless. The green shag carpet in your guest bathroom is worth zero to every buyer, and the warped and faded laminate flooring is worth near zero to everyone. 2. You're competently doing it yourself, and thus not paying "retail". You're not paying cash for someone else's time, you're paying yourself. In the end, you should make your remodeling decisions based on whether that's what you want in the house you live in. Don't try to justify it saying that you're adding value for the next buyer, because you're probably not adding as much as you think you are.
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Apr 22, 2017 00:55
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canyoneer posted:1. The thing you are replacing/remodeling is in poor condition or is so undesirable that it is close to worthless. this is why my 60 year old hot water tank got replaced with on-demand but my halfassed cupboards remain halfassed
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Apr 22, 2017 01:33
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canyoneer posted:The moral of the story is that "it's adding value to the house!" is based on pretty questionable math. Was that bEamMasTerJ's stated motivation? I thought he just wanted a funky bathtub.
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Apr 22, 2017 01:40
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dest posted:Is the quote itemized? How much of that is to just engineer and fix the joists? It was not itemized. He gave me a price, I got him to add a few more things, then I talked him down another 5k. Originally he said the company charges about $4500 to have the engineer come onsite to do plans and blueprints which seemed way high, but its all rolled into the price so its tough to say what the cost is. Basically i'm paying for some joist repair, a shitload of tile work and some plumbing. canyoneer posted:I want to use this as an example to anyone who wants to remodel stuff in their house... I partially agree with this. While its often difficult to get the full value of your remodel work back, bathrooms and kitchens are notoriously important for resale value. Although some people will prefer a different style, if you can make something unique, that pops out among the rest of the competition you're going to have more interest which means more money. Will I get the full cost of this bathroom back (which will be quite a bit more than 23k by the way), eh, probably not. But will my home get more attention and more competition when I go to sell it? Probably. My last home had a modest amount of kitchen and bathroom remodel done and sold in 3 weeks for about 45k more than the exact same floor plan around the corner a few months prior. But its a gamble. This is a much more expensive remodel than most people would probably do in this style of home, but it's what I want, and it's what will make me happy and that's really all that matters for now since I have to live with it.
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Apr 22, 2017 01:44
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You should talk him down another $205 to cover that Amazon gift card scam.
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Apr 22, 2017 01:49
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bEatmstrJ posted:But its a gamble. This is a much more expensive remodel than most people would probably do in this style of home, but it's what I want, and it's what will make me happy and that's really all that matters for now since I have to live with it. you might not get your money back for a single room remodel but if your house is like great room after great room, you probably actually could, in the total price
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Apr 22, 2017 01:52
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dest posted:You should talk him down another $205 to cover that Amazon gift card scam. Meh, cost of doing business. I've had too many good buy/sell experiences on this forum to get upset over one douchebag.
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Apr 22, 2017 01:52
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SoundMonkey posted:you might not get your money back for a single room remodel but if your house is like great room after great room, you probably actually could, in the total price source: just bought a house, viewed a bunch, a great kitchen ain't gonna distract me from a bathroom that looks like a deleted scene from Saw 2
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Apr 22, 2017 01:53
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bEatmstrJ posted:I partially agree with this. While its often difficult to get the full value of your remodel work back, bathrooms and kitchens are notoriously important for resale value. Although some people will prefer a different style, if you can make something unique, that pops out among the rest of the competition you're going to have more interest which means more money. Normally you'd be right, but the age of your neighborhood works against this notion. You said the house is ten years old. If the rest of your neighborhood is the same age and quality that your house is, then you're throwing money into a black hole. Remodels are significant for houses 20+ years old when general wear and tear start taking their toll and neighborhood-wide issues start cropping up, not when a neighborhood is still relatively new. You're going to get your rear end kicked by appraisers if you're looking at selling in less than 5 years because they won't care about your bathroom compared to a similar house in your neighborhood that wasn't remodeled.
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Apr 22, 2017 06:59
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bEatmstrJ posted:It was not itemized. He gave me a price, I got him to add a few more things, then I talked him down another 5k. Being able to knock $5k off should tell you something about the original quote and this contractor. bEatmstrJ posted:Originally he said the company charges about $4500 to have the engineer come onsite to do plans and blueprints which seemed way high, but its all rolled into the price so its tough to say what the cost is. Any reputable contractor will break down the charges on the quote. This doesn't sound like a one-guy-in-an-F-150 operation, which makes it even more surprising that they weren't broken down. You not asking for a breakdown puts an unflattering label on your forehead. Even if things go well with this contractor you might consider taking a different approach in the future because you want to be able to compare quotes item by item.
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Apr 22, 2017 17:05
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aperion posted:Normally you'd be right, but the age of your neighborhood works against this notion. You said the house is ten years old. If the rest of your neighborhood is the same age and quality that your house is, then you're throwing money into a black hole. Remodels are significant for houses 20+ years old when general wear and tear start taking their toll and neighborhood-wide issues start cropping up, not when a neighborhood is still relatively new. You're going to get your rear end kicked by appraisers if you're looking at selling in less than 5 years because they won't care about your bathroom compared to a similar house in your neighborhood that wasn't remodeled. I can see how that would play into it, but if someone has the option of getting the same house in the same neighborhood but nicer, and has the money to spend, then I'll still get a better offer. This is based on my personal experience of selling my last home in the exact same neighborhood when it was less than 10 years old for well above market value. socketwrencher posted:Being able to knock $5k off should tell you something about the original quote and this contractor. Normally I would agree but they definitely took a different approach towards quoting than others did. I did not get an itemized quote, but I did get a contract that itemized everything that would be done. The contractor has a large number of positive Yelp reviews and I was able to view many pictures of finished work that all looked good. They don't use any subcontractors which I liked, everyone is employed directly, including the engineer which probably cuts a lot of costs as long as they have work coming in. He said they do about 100 projects per month with a team of 450 people. I'm still a bit wary of all contractors in general but I had a good feeling about this company after meeting several others and that's really all I can go on anyway. bEatmstrJ fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Apr 22, 2017 |
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Apr 22, 2017 20:16
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bEatmstrJ posted:I can see how that would play into it, but if someone has the option of getting the same house in the same neighborhood but nicer, and has the money to spend, then I'll still get a better offer. This is based on my personal experience of selling my last home in the exact same neighborhood when it was less than 10 years old for well above market value. Drawing conclusions based on a single sale is dicey at best. It's possible that your upgrade was the reason for the above-market price you got, but it's also possible that there were other factors, and possible too that the price you got was despite the upgrade. Even in the same development in the same neighborhood, no two houses are the same, even if it's just that the next-door neighbor of one looks sketchier than another. I suspect that most agents would advise you not to do the current upgrade if the goal is increasing sale price and marketability, which may be something to consider. bEatmstrJ posted:Normally I would agree but they definitely took a different approach towards quoting than others did. I did not get an itemized quote, but I did get a contract that itemized everything that would be done. The contractor has a large number of positive Yelp reviews and I was able to view many pictures of finished work that all looked good. They don't use any subcontractors which I liked, everyone is employed directly, including the engineer which probably cuts a lot of costs as long as they have work coming in. He said they do about 100 projects per month with a team of 450 people. Fair enough. What would you have done if he hadn't dropped the price? bEatmstrJ posted:I'm still a bit wary of all contractors in general but I had a good feeling about this company after meeting several others and that's really all I can go on anyway. It's good to be wary of contractors. It's way too easy to get a license and the field is rife with hacks.
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Apr 22, 2017 21:02
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socketwrencher posted:Fair enough. What would you have done if he hadn't dropped the price? Gotten more quotes, decided who were my top 2 or 3 and made them compete against each other for price.
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Apr 22, 2017 21:42
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bEatmstrJ posted:Gotten more quotes, decided who were my top 2 or 3 and made them compete against each other for price. did you do it in the ruins of the bathroom? was there techno music as they fought for domination?
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Apr 22, 2017 22:10
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Mortal Kombathroom
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Apr 22, 2017 22:15
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*heavy breathing*
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Apr 22, 2017 22:15
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bEatMBisonJ Gotta say, charging ahead and installing a bath tub according to the original plan would have been a hell of a finishing move
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Apr 22, 2017 22:17
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You have a good attitude moving forward. It would drive me absolutely bonkers, knowing that simply asking an internet forum about my plan ahead of time, could have saved me something like $20k. I couldn't handle that.
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Apr 23, 2017 03:55
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angryrobots posted:You have a good attitude moving forward. A comedy message board.
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Apr 23, 2017 04:24
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Something went wrong with my tub install.
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Apr 23, 2017 05:25
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Nah just tuck your statue of the Virgin Mary in there and you'll be fine.
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Apr 23, 2017 05:46
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Yeah, I heard that lady likes to get wet.
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Apr 23, 2017 06:07
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angryrobots posted:You have a good attitude moving forward. 20k is like 3 year's income for me, and I would kill myself if I found out I wasted it on a flight of fancy.
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Apr 23, 2017 06:13
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Snak posted:20k is like 3 year's income for me, and I would kill myself if I found out I wasted it on a flight of fancy. 3...years? Do you make $3.20 an hour or something, or get way less than 40 hours a week, or work way less than 52 weeks a year, or just do freelance/contract work sparingly, and/or live somewhere where the cost of living is that low? Not messing with you, just trying to figure that out because it seems...off.
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Apr 23, 2017 08:37
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bEatmstrJ posted:Got the plumbing installed for the new tub. Also chopped about two inches off the top of the I beams (I know, I know). This is the best thing. At least this way, when you sell your house you will have an actual expense you can deduct. Do you actually live in here or is this house a buy, chop, and flip?
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Apr 23, 2017 08:50
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Longbaugh01 posted:3...years? Do you make $3.20 an hour or something, or get way less than 40 hours a week, or work way less than 52 weeks a year, or just do freelance/contract work sparingly, and/or live somewhere where the cost of living is that low? I wasn't going to bring it up, but $6,700/yr is some serious third-world poverty level poo poo, if true.
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Apr 23, 2017 12:55
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MrYenko posted:I wasn't going to bring it up, but $6,700/yr is some serious third-world poverty level poo poo, if true.
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Apr 23, 2017 13:05
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Or maybe that's his leftover after expenses
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Apr 23, 2017 15:35
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got any sevens posted:Or maybe that's his leftover after expenses Stipend from the gi bill maybe?
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Apr 23, 2017 16:22
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Or is a part-time worker, or is a student, or is a homemaker who doesn't report income jointly with their spouse, or is a retiree who's not yet eligible for pension/SS payments ... there's a whole list of reasons someone could be making $6,700/yr.
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Apr 23, 2017 16:37
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Something went wrong with my tub install. That's a portal to Hogwarts isn't it
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Apr 23, 2017 16:39
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Something went wrong with my tub install. Tubtanic
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Apr 23, 2017 17:49
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bEatmstrJ posted:There were a lot of unrelated items on the quote, but the joist repair line item read as follows: I know this is from way back but who knew that being diy expert could cost so much
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Apr 23, 2017 18:19
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neonbregna posted:I know this is from way back but who knew that being diy expert could cost so much Anyone who has done major DIY has flirted with expensive disaster. They just didn't all marry it and have kids.
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Apr 23, 2017 18:19
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The Gardenator posted:This is the best thing. At least this way, when you sell your house you will have an actual expense you can deduct. It is my home. Been here for almost 3 years now.
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Apr 23, 2017 19:55
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bEatmstrJ posted:Gotten more quotes, decided who were my top 2 or 3 and made them compete against each other for price. I just hope the $5k price reduction AFTER you added more items to the quote sent a few warning bells off.
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Apr 23, 2017 20:28
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socketwrencher posted:I just hope the $5k price reduction AFTER you added more items to the quote sent a few warning bells off. It told me that if you don't negotiate, you're probably getting ripped off. This is true in many aspects of life.
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Apr 23, 2017 20:49
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