I'm in the wrong trade... bathroom remodel...

[Sigarms]

Have a carpenter / contractor who does work for me.

Rural guy, but I trust him as he came from a recommendation from a friend in the same trade as myself (HVAC).

First off, guys who can actually build and work with wood and build things amaze me. The reality is there are many members here who I've come to respect seeing their work and knowing I couldn't touch that kind quality with a 10' pole. My father was good with wood, my FIL was great with wood, but apparently the genes skipped a generation because the only thing you want me for is to tell me what to do and you can trust that I will do it per your instructions (if you let me do the thinking, I'll realize 3/4 into the job that I F'ed up big time so I don't trust myself LOL). That said, my one son seems to be ok and the genes skipping one generation and it has worked to his favor LOL

We did our boys bathroom at the end of last year (with my carpenter).

The issue with working with a rural guy who doesn't advertise and and has a fleet of trucks is you work on his time schedule.

We're finally getting our master bathroom finished up (both jobs were planned early last year).

Lets just say even after helping this carpenter on the job, along with paying for the vanities, tile and flooring myself (for both bathrooms), I'm still totally shocked at the final price for both bathrooms.

That said, after we started digging into the walls and ceilings, plumbing and electrical had to have some changes made to what we wanted (which I know added to the overall cost).

I just remember about 10 years ago talking with a father and son of a HVAC/plubming company who I knew pretty well. The father has since died, and the son told me he's leaving HVAC for bathroom remodeling because that's where the money is at.

Thing is, when you price out a retrofit HVAC job, you look at your ductwork no matter where it's at to know what kind of labor you're getting into to fix what you need to do. When you do a bathroom remodel, how do you know to price out retrofit plumbing in the walls or flooring that you can't see that you may have issues with that the end user wants to accomplish without tearing the walls and floors apart before you quote it?

 

[3Ts]

I'd quote it as though everything will be as expected and add in the condition that anything discovered during the remodel that's not listed will be extra. Also, be sure to give the homeowner an option on the surprises, that way they have some skin in the game.

 

[Sigarms]

I'd quote it as though everything will be as expected and add in the condition that anything discovered during the remodel that's not listed will be extra. Also, be sure to give the homeowner an option on the surprises, that way they have some skin in the game.

Change orders. Familiar with them for commercial jobs, my carpenter / contractor however is not.

That said, I do trust him.

I will admit because I trust him, I don't demand as a customer written amendments before the work is to be continued.

 

[Oaktree]

Have a carpenter / contractor who does work for me.

Rural guy, but I trust him as he came from a recommendation from a friend in the same trade as myself (HVAC).

Fewer people seem to be going into trades, period. Maybe it's different where you are, but it's tough to find a competent HVAC tech around here.

Thing is, when you price out a retrofit HVAC job, you look at your ductwork no matter where it's at to know what kind of labor you're getting into to fix what you need to do. When you do a bathroom remodel, how do you know to price out retrofit plumbing in the walls or flooring that you can't see that you may have issues with that the end user wants to accomplish without tearing the walls and floors apart before you quote it?

I'm sure experience counts for a lot, but to a great degree I'm sure they add a fudge factor to their estimates for that very reason.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm a remodel contractor that does a few bathrooms every year. Maybe five or six, it's never the same number year to year. It's extremely rare to have a surprise in a job that requires additional money. I plan on replacing, rerouting and installing everything new for the plumbing. It's just too easy to do it that when when the studs are exposed. I use copper or PEX, and a lot of the time, I'm doing both. Drains are all PVC. If there is cast iron, I cut it off and install a boot to connect the PVC to the cast iron and go from there. Once the room is gutted, and everything is exposed, it's easy to change all the plumbing around.

Termites are probably the only thing that really surprise me, and most of the time, it's not enough to add to the cost of my labor. Half a dozen 2x4's will fix what they have done and it's usually all part of what I'm doing anyway. A few times it's been bad enough to add a day or two worth of labor to the job, but that's only happened a couple times in the last 20 years.

What I like about what I do is that it's always different. I do everything from demo to painting. Usually the only thing that somebody else will do on a job is install the glass if it's needed. Most of my showers are ADA walk in showers without a door. I get a lot of older clients that are worried about falling, or they already have access issues. Zero lip to get into the shower, at least 32 inches inside the shower for a walker, and plenty of grab bars. My personal shower has 4 grab bars because my wife needed that many when she had her knee replaced!!!

From what I've been told, to make really good money in the trades, you need to specialize in just one thing. It could be tile, concrete, sheetrock, framing, roofing or something else. If you just do that one thing, you get faster at it, and you can train a crew to work multiple jobs with good results. I work alone, I do one job at a time, and I only get paid for what I actually do. I don't have any stress this way, and it's fun doing what I do. And fortunately, I don't have to advertise to stay busy and have a waiting list of people wanting to hire me.

Here are a few before and after pics from recent jobs.

 

[2manyrocks]

I thought the money was in HVAC.

But depending on the fixtures you buy, you can spend some serious money on a bathroom. A friend used to work at a high end plumbing supply. Prices on that stuff were high back then. Today's prices would be insane.

 

[Snobdds]

My mom wants to remodel her basement bathroom. Basically a full remodel down to the studs, new plumbing and electrical and then refinish back to modern finishes. I told her to expect around 10-13k.

The first guy is a contractor that did some work for my aunt and uncle and is kind of a friend of the family.

His quote for this work came in at $38,490. I about hit the floor. He kept saying material and labor is driving the cost. I estimated the material cost to be around 4-5k, plumbing to be around 3k and labor to be around 5k. I'm figuring 13k tops, with some good finishes.

I think he priced it to not get, but if he did...he would make a killing to make it worth his time.

People either see me as a son that will pay out what ever it costs or they think we have more money than brains. They tried fishing, but got skunked.

 

[Snobdds]

I'm a remodel contractor that does a few bathrooms every year. Maybe five or six, it's never the same number year to year. It's extremely rare to have a surprise in a job that requires additional money. I plan on replacing, rerouting and installing everything new for the plumbing. It's just too easy to do it that when when the studs are exposed. I use copper or PEX, and a lot of the time, I'm doing both. Drains are all PVC. If there is cast iron, I cut it off and install a boot to connect the PVC to the cast iron and go from there. Once the room is gutted, and everything is exposed, it's easy to change all the plumbing around.

Termites are probably the only thing that really surprise me, and most of the time, it's not enough to add to the cost of my labor. Half a dozen 2x4's will fix what they have done and it's usually all part of what I'm doing anyway. A few times it's been bad enough to add a day or two worth of labor to the job, but that's only happened a couple times in the last 20 years.

What I like about what I do is that it's always different. I do everything from demo to painting. Usually the only thing that somebody else will do on a job is install the glass if it's needed. Most of my showers are ADA walk in showers without a door. I get a lot of older clients that are worried about falling, or they already have access issues. Zero lip to get into the shower, at least 32 inches inside the shower for a walker, and plenty of grab bars. My personal shower has 4 grab bars because my wife needed that many when she had her knee replaced!!!

From what I've been told, to make really good money in the trades, you need to specialize in just one thing. It could be tile, concrete, sheetrock, framing, roofing or something else. If you just do that one thing, you get faster at it, and you can train a crew to work multiple jobs with good results. I work alone, I do one job at a time, and I only get paid for what I actually do. I don't have any stress this way, and it's fun doing what I do. And fortunately, I don't have to advertise to stay busy and have a waiting list of people wanting to hire me.

Here are a few before and after pics from recent jobs.

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What do you charge for something like this?

 

[jrsavoie]

Have a carpenter / contractor who does work for me.

Rural guy, but I trust him as he came from a recommendation from a friend in the same trade as myself (HVAC).

First off, guys who can actually build and work with wood and build things amaze me. The reality is there are many members here who I've come to respect seeing their work and knowing I couldn't touch that kind quality with a 10' pole. My father was good with wood, my FIL was great with wood, but apparently the genes skipped a generation because the only thing you want me for is to tell me what to do and you can trust that I will do it per your instructions (if you let me do the thinking, I'll realize 3/4 into the job that I F'ed up big time so I don't trust myself LOL). That said, my one son seems to be ok and the genes skipping one generation and it has worked to his favor LOL

We did our boys bathroom at the end of last year (with my carpenter).

The issue with working with a rural guy who doesn't advertise and and has a fleet of trucks is you work on his time schedule.

We're finally getting our master bathroom finished up (both jobs were planned early last year).

Lets just say even after helping this carpenter on the job, along with paying for the vanities, tile and flooring myself (for both bathrooms), I'm still totally shocked at the final price for both bathrooms.

That said, after we started digging into the walls and ceilings, plumbing and electrical had to have some changes made to what we wanted (which I know added to the overall cost).

I just remember about 10 years ago talking with a father and son of a HVAC/plubming company who I knew pretty well. The father has since died, and the son told me he's leaving HVAC for bathroom remodeling because that's where the money is at.

Thing is, when you price out a retrofit HVAC job, you look at your ductwork no matter where it's at to know what kind of labor you're getting into to fix what you need to do. When you do a bathroom remodel, how do you know to price out retrofit plumbing in the walls or flooring that you can't see that you may have issues with that the end user wants to accomplish without tearing the walls and floors apart before you quote it?

Include it in the price every time.

 

[EddieWalker]

What do you charge for something like this?

Average for a full gut bathroom and everything new is around $14-$15,000