Post by karinothing on Jan 28, 2014 12:17:36 GMT -5
If you aren't familiar with homewyse it is a site that gives you average costs for home improvement projects for your area. www.homewyse.com/services/index.html
I obviously have not done any home improvement projects yet (since we haven't closed yet) but it be nice if it gave me a semi-accurate budget picture. I know that it says it doesn't include contractor fees, permits, or taxes. I think it is just labor + basic labor costs.
Post by mrs.jacinthe on Jan 28, 2014 12:29:53 GMT -5
Ok, so I just went and pooped around over there for the three things we've had done professionally since we bought the house. All three were within range of what we paid. And we might be cheap or exceptionally good shoppers, but all three wound up at the low end of the range.
Post by simpsongal on Jan 28, 2014 13:20:01 GMT -5
I played around with it - it seems pretty accurate for discrete, easy-to describe projects (e.g., replacing our garage door). But numbers for those types of projects are not that hard to come by. 2 estimates will give you a good ballpark, some contractors may even give you a rough quote over the phone.
I think Angie's List is particularly helpful in getting an idea of what a project will cost. You can read reviews and the projects described - most reviewers will disclose how much they spent. Of course, always consider variables (e.g., granite countertop cost vary based on the granite selected). If you're looking to hire a general contractor for a big project, get ready for estimates to vary wildly. We got 3-4 quotes on our laundry relocation and 3 quotes on installing a new window (new cut out, not just replacement). Quotes varied by $10K. But quotes for things like a new fence - they were within $300 of each other.
Yeah, we just can't get quotes till we close and that is like 24 days away. So...just trying to get an idea before then.
Is the house occupied? Ours was unoccupied so once we were in escrow they changed the lockbox to a cipher and gave our agent the code. Made it very convenient.
Yeah, we just can't get quotes till we close and that is like 24 days away. So...just trying to get an idea before then.
Is the house occupied? Ours was unoccupied so once we were in escrow they changed the lockbox to a cipher and gave our agent the code. Made it very convenient.
Post by thatgirl2478 on Jan 28, 2014 16:37:41 GMT -5
eh - I put in a couple projects:
- building a deck - ours is 384 sq ft and cost us $13k to build. We got 3 quotes, most were around 10k, but we went with the more expensive guy because we liked him and his crew (we had worked with him on another project and found him and the men he worked with to be honest, polite, on time, on budget, etc). The website says it would be 2,000.
- replacing a fuse box/electrical panel - we paid $500 the site says $550.
- painting a 1500 sqft house - we paid $2500 the site says $5,000.
- refinishing hardwood flooring - we paid $2000 the site says $5,000.
I put in painting and floor refinishing and their estimates were definitely more than what we paid. I also put in electrical, but we had so much done that I would have to select like 8 different things and ain't nobody got time for that.
But for hardwood floor refinishing, for example, we paid $3400 and the site says $4100-$4800. For painting it estimates $6000-$10,000 and we paid something like $3000.
I put in painting and floor refinishing and their estimates were definitely more than what we paid. I also put in electrical, but we had so much done that I would have to select like 8 different things and ain't nobody got time for that.
But for hardwood floor refinishing, for example, we paid $3400 and the site says $4100-$4800. For painting it estimates $6000-$10,000 and we paid something like $3000.
The upcharge is for the guys who DON'T set your house on fire Too soon?
I almost added, "But... the cheap guy DID set my house on fire." And technically we didn't pay the $3400 because we... obviously never finished paying him, lol. In fact, we keep talking about how nice it would be to get our deposit back, but we haven't acted on it yet.