So here's my thought process for this thread. I know we have a lot of do-it-yourselfers on this board. Which is completely foreign to me. I am useless with my hands. Cant builder fix or replace anything. so I hire someone to do my inside and outside projects. I thought it would be a good idea to have a place where one can come here and say, "hey, I got an estimate from this guy to do this project, am I getting ripped off or what. My current project is a stone patio. Its going to be about 400 square feet of bluestone/flagstone. 20 inch sitting wall around some parts of it, not all. In addition, I am having him make a small walk way to a fire pit with surrounding to sit by of course. Between the walkway and fire pit area, we're up to about 600 square feet. Hes also doing two planting beds on either side of the patio with some small shrubs and mulching it etc. Also one strategically placed weeping cherry tree. Hes also ripping out my existing deck which is about 200 square feet. HIs price is 12,800. Am I getting ass-raped or what? I htink his price is pretty fair but I might be wrong.
Jd - u have to ask ur self if u are willing to spend that money or do u want to save 3-4k?? I assume u don't want to do any work as u say so the 13k is an ok price when u take into acct materials, labor, etc etc. I was in a similar project about 15k job and was able to cut off 4500 just by doing demo of a deck, getting my own soil/mulch, and planting my own shrubs, and putting down the walking path. So that's where u can save if u want to. Otherwise 13k isn't bad but my rough guesstimating would be closer to 11-11,500 for a real good price. Good luck
Just make sure your contractor knows what the hell he's doing and above all else, pays strict attention to detail. I usually use servicemagic.com for my hires. If you've already put the job out for bid, then you already have your answer. If not, and the project hasn't begun yet, Angie's list and Servicemagic both should provide quality contractors in your area and you can check their references. Good Luck!
only way to know is a broken down estimate that is written,so he can show how he got that price,including materials.
Can't comment on the price but let me tell you my method. I am just like you. Clueless about anything. I can't even change light bulb I recently did my bathroom and before that I did the half bathroom and painted the whole house. The house was a fixer upper in my case so I got the house for cheap. Before I called anyone for these jobs I went to angieslist.com and picked 3 reliable companies and invited them for estimates. I than picked the cheapest option and made sure everything was in the contract properly. I used my lawyer for the contract and made sure there wasn't any open area in the contract. angieslist is like 4 months depending on your bundle and my lawyer is asking around 200 bucks per contract.
I wish I knew how to multi-quote...even with the button I have no idea. Jill....I thought about ripping out the deck but thats only a few hunge........I htink if I do my own plantings I can definitely save some cash but Im thinking it might takeme three times to get it right... Cman, I know this guy does good work as Ive seen his results in other projects
Something about Angies list makes me feel like a fat, helpless housewife. Which I basically am, but I dont like to feel that way And I have no idea how that multi quote finally popped up ahhahaha
Believe me, I felt just like you. And my friends are making fun of me. But I am Turkish and grew up in Istanbul. People in Turkey live in apartments. Only celebrities and super rich people live in houses. So once you grow up in an apartment you end up being a total clueless guy. That being said, I saved a bunch and got quality work. Real quality work. If you can't find somebody you like just give it a try. By the way I am also in the market for a good deck and above ground pool. I am waiting for next summer though. I will follow the same path I followed previous 3 times. Please keep us posted about your decision and put some before and after pictures if you can.
I also got a another estimate that scared me. It was 22k. Scared me in the sense that I was thinking maybe the 12k guy is retarded. But Im thinking the 22k guy was trying to hit a home run
I should do before and afters. But I forgot how to post pics also. Ive only been on this board for 7 fuckin years
another tip when picking anything,is to make sure they have a yellow pages ad. I know the net is the way to find these days,but its free for the most part. Someone who has spent around 2k for the year on an ad,gives a damn about their business.
The most important thing you want? CODE!!! Nothing like you having to pay for shit to get done more than once because they didn't use the right materials or had the wrong height...etc... Also Licensed ... and make sure you NEVER pay in full. The most you give is 1/2 and the rest on completion... $12,800?...hmmm. I guess it depends on your area... Make them fight for your bid, not the other way around... Have a few come down and put in a quote.
As someone else said...put the job out to bid. The more quotes, the better...but no less than 3 contractors. Make sure each one knows that there are multiple contractors quoting the job, and let these guys get into a bidding war for your business.
This is good advise. I would also add which type of quotes you get too. I usually go with 9. 3 from local sources 3 from regional sources 3 national companies. That way you really get an idea of who is charging for what. I'm fairly competent when it comes to DIM (did it myself ha ha) but not very good at how to describe help
