Last week was a very busy work week, with three new clients and a couple of ongoing projects. One of my new clients hired me to help her with a bathroom renovation. I’m glad she called, and so is she!
I got an email from this client (for the sake of this post, I’ll call her Jane) - who was referred to me by a friend - saying she was planning to renovate her bathroom and wanted some help selecting and buying plumbing fixtures, a vanity, tile, etc. When we spoke to set up a meeting, Jane told me she already got a construction cost estimate from another friend’s brother who is a plumber. The plumber told her he could act as the general contractor (GC) and bring in sub-contractors for electrical work, tiling, etc.
When Jane and I met, Jane expressed concern about the plumber’s estimate. And rightly so! Jane showed me the quote; the outlined scope of work was so incomplete, I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or be angry. No mention of electrical work or painting or tiling. And no spelling out of what materials were included in the quote. Needless to say, I told Jane she needed to get estimates from other contractors.
My advice to Jane, and to you, is to get three quotes for any significant work you want to have done in your home, whether it’s renovating a bathroom, painting your bedroom, or having a custom closet built and installed. You need these quotes to compare with each other. Are they all listing the same labor, e.g., disposal of demolished items, moving furniture, painting two coats, pulling permits? Who’s paying for what, e.g., what materials are included in the quote, and what materials do you pay for separately?
You want to be able to compare apples to apples… ask for revised quotes so all three estimates are showing the same line items.
While price is definitely a major consideration when doing a bathroom reno, there are so many other things to consider when hiring a contractor - references, compatibility, timing, experience, etc. Now, maybe the plumber Jane got the quote from has experience as a GC (Jane hadn’t gotten any references yet), but maybe he doesn’t. He could be one of those people who thinks that because he’s worked on the plumbing end of bathroom renovations before, that he can GC a reno. If the latter’s the case, then run! You don’t want to be at the bottom of his learning curve.
With the economy the way it is, many people out there will do anything to make money. So, consumer beware and be cautious when hiring a contractor.