Minneapolis resident Nance Lee Mosquera and her husband, Vini, got three bids from contractors for their 8-by-5-foot master bathroom, shown here after their remodel. The first bid came in at $27,000, which elicited an “Are you kidding me?” and “That’s ridiculous” from Nance. The second bid, at $24,000, was equally shocking, mostly because she and her husband offered to do the demolition and painting themselves. The third bid came in at $9,000, and the Mosqueras thought that was more like it.
But after they demolished the bathroom, things looked different. The plumbing inside the house was from 1925, and nothing could be done unless it was brought up to code. The pipe went all the way to the basement, so the Mosqueras had to remove a dining room wall and go through three levels of their house to replace it. That added an additional $4,800 just in plumbing costs.
There was also electrical wiring that needed to be replaced, which added another $2,000. By this point, they were already at $15,000, not including materials. When the dust had settled, or rather, when the dust had been cleaned up and the bathroom was complete, the total cost came to about $19,000.
They saved a little but had to put in a lot more work. Mosquera had to find the materials herself, go to showrooms and purchase everything, and coordinate with installers and other subcontractors to get things done. What she had anticipated would take a couple of months turned into five months.
Going with a contractor who offered a higher bid would’ve cost a little more, but would’ve saved them a lot of headache.
from Houzz http://ift.tt/1RYd7yx
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