Home Repair Quotes

[disneychrista]

When you are having a major home repair how many quotes do you normally get before making a decision?

I need to have my house rewired and my electrical panel replaced/upgraded. So far I have gotten two quotes. One for $22k and the other for $32k (discounted to $28k). On the face of it they are both doing the same work. I am currently looking for a third electrician to get a quote from.

 

[Genie+]

Generally people say get three and take the middle quote, with the idea that top one is over-pricing and bottom one is more risky for lower skill and reliability. Ask for references. Any decent company should have some recent customers happy with the work.

 

[disykat]

I agree with the three-quote rule. That said, while we were able to do that for roofers a few years ago, any other time we've wanted hire someone to do work in the last few years we've trouble finding anyone to come out to GIVE a quote. We did a driveway repair and a bathroom remodel and both times the job went to the ONLY person we could find to do the job. We checked references and hired.

 

[unrequited23]

We usually get 3-4. Whoever you go with should not hesitate to provide you with a current worker's comp certificate and valid insurance. Go through the quotes side by side to make sure the scope of work is the same. Also, if you get the feeling that someone is shady/trying to hard sell/makes you feel uncomfortable...keep looking. I worked for a land developer/general contractor and most of the problems came from subs who raised one of the red flags above.

 

[Jangles]

When you are having a major home repair how many quotes do you normally get before making a decision?

I need to have my house rewired and my electrical panel replaced/upgraded. So far I have gotten two quotes. One for $22k and the other for $32k (discounted to $28k). On the face of it they are both doing the same work. I am currently looking for a third electrician to get a quote from.

Good grief! My daughter has just had a 5 bed house rewired for £5000. How much do your ️ charge an hour?

 

[jo-jo]

Dumb question ahead, rewired …..You mean all the wires running though the walls? That’s something that needs to be done???? Is your house 100 years old.

 

[HeatherC]

Yikes. That is certainly a big project and I think because it entails such a large expensive I would probably get at least 4 quotes. Good luck to you!

 

[JaxDad]

We usually get 3-4. Whoever you go with should not hesitate to provide you with a current worker's comp certificate and valid insurance. Go through the quotes side by side to make sure the scope of work is the same. Also, if you get the feeling that someone is shady/trying to hard sell/makes you feel uncomfortable...keep looking. I worked for a land developer/general contractor and most of the problems came from subs who raised one of the red flags above.

I fully concur with looking through the quotes side-by-side. Seemingly minor differences in the interpretation of the scope can sometimes affect the quality of the final product. Usually, the more details the better. My last roofer listed the exact, brand-name materials he was going to use. This allowed me to research the quality of the materials, plus the quote acted as a contract that he would deliver what was promised.

 

[disneychrista]

Dumb question ahead, rewired …..You mean all the wires running though the walls? That’s something that needs to be done???? Is your house 100 years old.

Yes all the wires running through the walls to plugs and switches plus the breaker box. It is a 70 year old house with original knob and tube wiring and no grounding. Outlets spark. I can’t install new fixtures because it trips the circuit. It is a fire hazard waiting to happen. So YES it is something the needs to be done. I wish it wasn’t. I’d much rather have a new HVAC system or kitchen remodel then to spend 30k on something that is “unseen.” But in this case needs over wants.

 

[disneychrista]

I agree with the three-quote rule. That said, while we were able to do that for roofers a few years ago, any other time we've wanted hire someone to do work in the last few years we've trouble finding anyone to come out to GIVE a quote. We did a driveway repair and a bathroom remodel and both times the job went to the ONLY person we could find to do the job. We checked references and hired.

This is kind of where I am at. There is only one electrician in my town that I would consider hiring. Two companies that I planned to call have gone out of business. So I am searching in nearby areas (30-60 mins away) to see if they work in my area.



I really like how thorough the more expensive quote was in looking at everything, asking questions, etc. The less expensive quote does have a reputation for doing good work and has worked on houses in my neighborhood before. Hopefully I will be able to get a third quote before making my decision. Having that will really help make the decision easier. Is quote one low because he is missing items that I’ll end up needing. Is quote two more expensive for including things I don’t need.

 

[Turn the Page]

We are about to have a contractor come over to give us an estimate on repairing/remodeling two of our bathrooms.

Our home had a ton of work done on it by what I can only assume were 20 somethings with absolutely no training or common sense and likely also stoned and all done as cheaply as possibly. We have what you might call.....issues.

For starters, the master shower on the second floor was done with river rock on the walls and a concrete floor. It's gorgeous, looks like a nordic spa, but it was done wrong. They put a drain in the floor meant for tile floors and then poured concrete over it, incorrectly, didn't seal it, and so far as we can tell didn't put any sort of pan under the floor which means all the water, over time seeped through the floor and around the improper drain and started dripping down through the ceiling of the bathroom below it. All sorts of water damage there.

So basically we have to, at a bare minimum rip up the concrete floor of the master shower and fix that, fix all the dry wall in the main floor bathroom, probably replace at least that bathroom floor, new exhaust fans in both bathrooms, and replumb them both.

I'm scared.

 

[kymom99]

I usually call companies others have used. We don’t use electricians too often thankfully, but I called one to do a job on my old house that I was renting out. This company has bern in business forever and well known. I didn’t Deel the need to shop around.

Same when we were getting work done for our new home. I wanted my plumber to do the water lines and septic system. The builder wanted me to call some others because they didn’t want to wait. I called one reputable company that said the don’t do septic anymore. I called another and they never got back to me. We used my plumber and couldn’t have been happier.

We had to put in a construction driveway ourselves and needed some grading done. We called a guy my cousin recommended and who I went to school with. I didn’t shop around. I have no idea if I could have gotten it done cheaper but we were happy with the work.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Always at least 3. When you got that quote for $32k and contractor discounted to $28k, I don't like that. I've always felt that was a come on. Had a painting company at my house. A lady came in with a $12k quote and then said we'll discount to $9k. She was 3x higher than the other quotes so I didn't pick her anyway.

 

[_19disnA]

Three estimates is also what I tend to do since you usually get someone that seems way too low and they either have left things out of the estimate or likely do shoddy work. Generally choose the estimate in the middle. One contractor showed up to do an estimate for some tile work and didn't bring any kind of tape measure with him. What kind of estimator doesn't bring the basic things needed to do the work? So clearly they did NOT get the job. If I am unimpressed by the estimator, the people who actually do the work are probably not any better.

For any type of major home repair work, I tend to ask neighbors or co-workers for people they used successfully and that always worked out well. When building a prior home, neighbor across the street got something like 10 estimates for their lawn sprinkler, so I chose the same company they did and didn't have to bother getting tons of estimates!

 

[disneychrista]

I have a third guy coming next week. After that I will have to make some sort of decision, because I am out of options.

 

[ronandannette]

I have a third guy coming next week. After that I will have to make some sort of decision, because I am out of options.

This is kind of where I am at. There is only one electrician in my town that I would consider hiring. Two companies that I planned to call have gone out of business. So I am searching in nearby areas (30-60 mins away) to see if they work in my area.



I really like how thorough the more expensive quote was in looking at everything, asking questions, etc. The less expensive quote does have a reputation for doing good work and has worked on houses in my neighborhood before. Hopefully I will be able to get a third quote before making my decision. Having that will really help make the decision easier. Is quote one low because he is missing items that I’ll end up needing. Is quote two more expensive for including things I don’t need.

The bolded would be swinging me towards the cheaper guy, but I’d actually show him the other quote (presuming it’s itemized) and ask if his includes the same scope. Recommendation and reputation is worth more than the whole “three quotes, high/low” theory. And given today’s reality of limited trade availability, you simply may not have tons of options. Go with whomever has the references you feel are most trustworthy.

One last idea that might help: Your workplace likely has some relationships with trades-people (for maintenance, emergencies, whatnot). See if you can find out who it is and get ahold of them. Make sure they know you work at XYZ and are seeking them out based on that. Establishing a bit of a connection can be a safety net against getting taken advantage of. Good luck.

 

[Praying Colonel]

At least 2. If they're not very close to one another I get a 3rd.

We had to get our yard resodded and the 2 quotes were about 25% apart. We got a 3rd and that one beat the lower of the first 2 by about 30%. I'm glad we got the 3rd one!

 

[tvguy]

The devil is in the details. We added onto our house and the low bidder (by $6,000) wanted to know why he didn't get the job.
Well, because:
>Your bid didn't include permits, it said "homeowner to pay for and secure permits".
> Your bid didn't include floor covering, it said "homeowner to pay for and secure floor coverings".
> You bid didn't include the cost of built in shelving, "homeowner to pay for and select shevling"

In the end, those uncovered costs added $8,000 to the final cost of the budget. The bid we went with was turn key, and included the cost of any modifications to plans necessary to pass inspections. We almost had to use that clause when an inspector insisted we needed a sidewalk around our addition otherwise the wood siding was too close to soil. The inspector who did the final inspection, did not require the sidewalks, but that could have added hundreds of dollars to the cost of the project.