I Hate dealing with contractors!

[china mom]

I need a new roof soon. No leaks yet but want to get ahead of it. I had my first roofing estimate come out and I am ready to be done.

He scored a point for not insisting that my husband be present (had that one a few years ago - wouldn't talk to the "little lady" alone).

He scored a second point for noticing the police tags on the vehicle out front and asked if we were a police family rather than just assuming that my husband was a police officer. He mentioned that his son was an officer and that he would give us a police discount.

He climbed up on the roof, measured, spent some time explaining his product, workmanship and warranties.

Then, it fell apart. I asked him to give me the respect of giving me his best price first and not coming back later trying to low bid the competition. He said that is how he operates. Then he quoted me $22,000 for a new roof.

I looked t him like he had two heads and he almost immediately lowered his price to $20K. Minutes later we were down to $18k and that is where we landed. He seemed finished with the conversation after giving me the price verbally. I asked him for a written quote and he acted like that was not something that was done. He finally agreed to the written quote but had to go back up and measure again. In the end he provided a written quote with the scope of work and the price. Still $18K.

And I still have several more roofers to meet with. If they all go this badly, I might just throw a tarp over the roof and call it a day.

 

[mnrose]

How big is the footprint of your house? We had a roof done recently, about 1500 square foot of house under cover, plus two car garage. It cost about $20K, so I don't think the estimate you've been given is far off the mark. All building products have gone up considerably in the last few years, unfortunately. About 20-25%.

I feel your pain. We have a contractor we trust and that's who we use. But, if you are starting from scratch, ugh. It's hard to even get them to respond sometimes because most are insanely busy. Even in our area, there's a lack of qualified workers.

 

[wenrob]

My DH likes to schedule them all in the same timeframe so they all see each other coming and going.

I handled the last two jobs we had done and like you they won brownie points for not asking to talk to my DH. This last one gave me a time vs a timeframe and then showed up early. That practically sealed the deal right there.

Of course intermixed with the good ones are the ones that flat don’t show or put on an obvious BS show. Just that guy dropping his price multiple times after you asking for his best would have me looking elsewhere.

 

[Pamlur]

I can't imagine a contractor not giving you a written proposal with scope of work and price; that would become a contract when signed by both parties. Make sure your contractor has workmen' comp insurance; if somebody falls off the roof and he doesn't have that insurance, it will fall back on your homeowners' policy. You will see "make sure they are licensed and bonded"; the bonded part doesn't apply in residential roofing, just with some major commercial projects, and applies to payment of costs and performance. You do want a license to do business in the area.

 

[DisMike]

Unfortunately, the price he quoted is probably about right. Roofs are expensive.

 

[china mom]

How big is the footprint of your house? We had a roof done recently, about 1500 square foot of house under cover, plus two car garage. It cost about $20K, so I don't think the estimate you've been given is far off the mark. All building products have gone up considerably in the last few years, unfortunately. About 20-25%.

I feel your pain. We have a contractor we trust and that's who we use. But, if you are starting from scratch, ugh. It's hard to even get them to respond sometimes because most are insanely busy. Even in our area, there's a lack of qualified workers.

Well the house is 5200 square feet but two thirds of the house is two story so I don't know how to calculate how many squares. Measuring with Google Earth, I came up with 433 square yards.



I don't know yet if $18K is a fair price (I was anticipating $14K based on past experience) but my big issue is that the price changed by $4k in as many minutes - after I asked for his best price first.

We had the same thing happened with the driveway paving. One contractor kept calling me back after I told him I went with someone else and his price went down by ten thousand dollars! Yes, he started at $22k and went down to $12k. That one was insane.

 

[Christine]

I got a new roof about 4 years ago. 2500 sq. ft home but, like you, it's two stories. I have a 2 car garage that juts off the front and some living space over that which extends the room. I got three quotes, went with the middle. I think I paid about $9,000. I live in the suburb of a large, expensive city so I don't think we get cheap rates.

What I do is stay away from anyone that advertises on the radio/TV. They seem to be the most expensive.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

$18K-$22K depending on the type of roofing materials, the labor situation in your area, the complexity of your roof, existing conditions of your roof (that may lead to more labor in regards to removal and reinstallation of old and new materials), etc etc doesn't seem crazy crazy price. That's not to say you can't get it lower.

Our home is 50year asphalt/composition architectural shingles per HOA requirements. The cost of those was rolled into the price of the home to be built because that's what the builder uses...well there was a slight upcharge to get it to 50 year level because that wasn't what the builder normally uses. I shudder to think what it will cost to replace our roof even though for the most part it's not too too complex of a roof.

Did you happen to ask him why he could get it down to $18K when it was originally $22K? Not saying he wasn't trying to high-ball you just wondering if he gave a reason.

And I do agree with a PP, things can change over time. I believe it was last year or the year before my husband's coworker was building his own home in CO. There had been (and may still be to an extent) a lumber shortage nation-wide combined with astronomical increase in price for said lumber. The price of the guy's home doubled strictly due to that because he was still in the framing process. Combine that with a labor shortage for that area in CO where people were simply put on waiting lists because there was too much work and not enough laborers.

 

[china mom]

I have done two other roofs in the past five years in a different market. If that guy would come to my area, I would use him again in a heatbeat. Sadly, we are too far away. He wasn't the lowest bid but he was reasonable and dd great work.

 

[dish rag]

Had your husband called, he or she may have asked for you to be there. That's not unheard of, wanting both decision makers present.

 

[china mom]

Had your husband called, he or she may have asked for you to be there. That's not unheard of, wanting both decision makers present.

I did have one window company explain that they don't want to give the pitch twice so they insist on both homeowners. So, we scheduled, introduced ourselves and then DH excused himself. I can see where they are coming from and they don't know our family dynamics but DH is never involved whatsoever in these decisions.

When I did the roof on Mom's rental house (I was her POA), the one guy made a stink about having my husband there. Well, DH has NOTHING to do with her rental properties at all and does not get involved with this stuff anyway.

So, the guy ends up agreeing to meet with me and then put on the hard sell to sign that day or lose the "sign today" discount. - Goodbye

 

[tvguy]

Last roof I put on my 2010 square foot single story house was 5 years ago and it was $10,000 total. That included $1,000 for the sheet plywood that the building code now requires, $1,500 for new gutters and the $1,000 building permit! Never had an issue with contractors and my wife. Car salesman, THAT is a different story.

 

[wenrob]

Last roof I put on my 2010 square foot single story house was 5 years ago and it was $10,000 total. That included $1,000 for the sheet plywood that the building code now requires, $1,500 for new gutters and the $1,000 building permit! Never had an issue with contractors and my wife. Car salesman, THAT is a different story.

It amazing the amount of things I *must* have done to my vehicle or 5,000 doom and gloom stories will happen when I go for an oil change vs. the simple oil change my DH gets when he takes it in.

 

[hereyago]

It amazing the amount of things I *must* have done to my vehicle or 5,000 doom and gloom stories will happen when I go for an oil change vs. the simple oil change my DH gets when he takes it in.

Sadly, very true.

 

[kirstenb1]

I need a new roof soon. No leaks yet but want to get ahead of it. I had my first roofing estimate come out and I am ready to be done.

He scored a point for not insisting that my husband be present (had that one a few years ago - wouldn't talk to the "little lady" alone).

He scored a second point for noticing the police tags on the vehicle out front and asked if we were a police family rather than just assuming that my husband was a police officer. He mentioned that his son was an officer and that he would give us a police discount.

He climbed up on the roof, measured, spent some time explaining his product, workmanship and warranties.

Then, it fell apart. I asked him to give me the respect of giving me his best price first and not coming back later trying to low bid the competition. He said that is how he operates. Then he quoted me $22,000 for a new roof.

I looked t him like he had two heads and he almost immediately lowered his price to $20K. Minutes later we were down to $18k and that is where we landed. He seemed finished with the conversation after giving me the price verbally. I asked him for a written quote and he acted like that was not something that was done. He finally agreed to the written quote but had to go back up and measure again. In the end he provided a written quote with the scope of work and the price. Still $18K.

And I still have several more roofers to meet with. If they all go this badly, I might just throw a tarp over the roof and call it a day.

Could be a fair price for a steep pitch with multiple surfaces, dimensional shingles vs. 3 tab, and if you're doing a complete tearoff of the old roof. Our roof will cost a fortune when the time comes, and the house isn't even that large. However, our roof is a 12x12 pitch, multiple surfaces and gables/dormers, and will want the same dimenstional shingles we have. Hiring contractors is stressful. Hope you get a new roof at a good price.

 

[RUDisney]

Remember, if you decide to use this guy, the price is still negotiable. Once you have other quotes, you can go back to any of them to see what they can do to win the bid. Depending on their workload, they may discount further.

I negotiate deals on a daily basis. My DH does, too, to be fair. But when it comes to the house, it's my job. He wants to know what I agreed to pay and when the work will be done. Otherwise, he couldn't be bothered.

I walked away from a car dealership when the woman sales person asked me if my DH would need to drive the car before I made my decision. Why? He isn't going to be driving it every day, I will.

 

[kaytieeldr]

but my big issue is that the price changed by $4k in as many minutes - after I asked for his best price first.

Then, bluntly, with no snark, I would choose a different contractor.

 

[fla4fun]

Then, bluntly, with no snark, I would choose a different contractor.

I agree. I have been trying for over two months to get a dying tree removed from the yard. You would think that having my days off during the week would be a benefit, but so far they have all insisted that they come out on the weekend to do the estimate. Of course they can see the tree without my being there, but I can’t ask any questions. The few that have come out while I am at work and done an estimate won’t answer questions once the estimate is done. It’s a real pain in the . . .neck.

 

[longboard55]

One of the big issues is labor prices have gone up dramatically in the last 10 years for hard manual labor, the days you could pick up guys off the corner for $10 an hour or long gone. I have a friend who does asphalt, I think he is paying more like $25, and the workers comp for those types of jobs is crazy high. Lot of people saying we do not need these unskilled laborers, good luck with that idea

 

[tvguy]

It amazing the amount of things I *must* have done to my vehicle or 5,000 doom and gloom stories will happen when I go for an oil change vs. the simple oil change my DH gets when he takes it in.

Yeah, when we first started dating my wife got caught in that game with Firestone. Took her car in for an oil change. They called and said it needed a new carburetor and they would need to order it so it wouldn't be ready until the next day. She called me to get a ride to work and said she had JUST had them replace the carburetor. I had her dig out the paperwork and it said the warranty was 6 months and 6,000 miles. I went with her to pick it up and asked the guy "what's the warranty on this repair?" He said " 6 months or 6,000 miles parts and labor". I had her hand me the invoice for the last repair, and I said "So all the labor and parts for the carburetor you just replaced are under warranty". He looked at the receipt for the prior repair (this was 1980 before they had everything in the computer)..........and said after a pause "yes". So a $175 bill was cut to $9. (again, this was 1980 when you could get an oil change for $9).