Hi.
I am doing my small bathroom completely and decided to have master to actually setup tub (alcove 60 inch) and re-solder the shower lines. The quote they gave seems way high, but as not being expert I cannot say.
$3,300 total (this includes second person helping setting up tub)
The shower I have is all new valves (have to be soldered in place) and an added diverter (for a rainshower and hand shower heads) so there is quite a work, but still I am not sure if this is over pricing.
The tub requires old waste PVC removed with a trap and new one weldered in. Typical mud under the tub is proposed.
The company is well established in the area (47 years) and has all 5 stars reviews, etc, etc. So I can expect about 30% overhead in pricing due to expectations of good quality and company size. Still - is 3,300 a right number, or should I hire local handyman for a grand?
I have most except about $200 of supplies including some PVC, copper pipes and mortar. Still does not add up this high
I even provide my own studs for stringers.
All valves are on me.
Quote:The company is well established in the area (47 years) and has all 5 stars reviews, etc, etc. So I can expect about 30% overhead in pricing due to expectations of good quality and company size.
you can expect at least a 30% Markup, or gross profit but it's extremely hard to gauge their Overhead. And even so, it's not negotiable. Their office, trucks, phones, computers, insurance, licenses, taxes, advertising, legal and accounting fees will be significant. And licensed plumbers command a significant hourly rate. Which is also passed on.
Whether you deem that service and its costs worth it is entirely up to you.
Of course , if your "guy" can install that tub and plumb without leaks in a neat and professional manner for 1/3 the cost , you'd be crazy not to use him. Question is , is his work on par with well est. co. ???
(04-05-2022, 05:56 PM)Cabinet Monkey Wrote: you can expect at least a 30% Markup, or gross profit but it's extremely hard to gauge their Overhead. And even so, it's not negotiable. Their office, trucks, phones, computers, insurance, licenses, taxes, advertising, legal and accounting fees will be significant. And licensed plumbers command a significant hourly rate. Which is also passed on.
Whether you deem that service and its costs worth it is entirely up to you.
Of course , if your "guy" can install that tub and plumb without leaks in a neat and professional manner for 1/3 the cost , you'd be crazy not to use him. Question is , is his work on par with well est. co. ???
And how would you know or verify that ?
I hoped I asked simple question - does price seem high? It does for me, but I need to know if I am on the wrong side maybe.
Any commercial plumber has to have license and I doubt that results from google search will produce quotes from unlicensed offers.
I understand that all that insurance crap costs money, so if I am paying 1000 for service and 2,300 for their insurance, trucks, etc - then I better get soldering course for $500 and do all work myself. Will use that on the next bathroom that is in order.
Established? You right, there is no such thing as truly established (like is Amazon an established company? They do deliver crap some times too, so well...) The company is 5+ in all local reviews, google review and BBB, 47 years in business, but I do not have personal reference. If I do not trust reviews and do not have reference - who do I ask then?
Do you live near a major metropolitan area? I'm just outside DC, and that makes prices for a lot of things crazy. Combine that with prices for everything going up in the past couple years, including home renovation work, from what I understand.
I'm not a pro, and I haven't priced something similar out myself, so I hesitate to give an opinion. I redid three of my own full bathrooms completely (down to studs), so I have an idea of the work (including installing a cast iron tub myself). Sweating copper is certainly learnable and doable, so I generally like to encourage people to try. But it's not for everyone.
As for that price, I'm not totally sure, as there are a lot of factors and I can't see your bathroom. But I didn't faint when I saw the price either. Could be fair, could be a bit high. Didn't totally surprise me. Again, lots of factors and I haven't priced similar.
My opinion on a lot of bathroom work is that it's either worth doing the work yourself and making sure it's right, or paying a little extra for someone that you expect to do a great job. Lots of "gotchas" in a bathroom. Wouldn't want a general handyman to set the tub not level due to lack of experience and have water always leak out the edge to the floor, for instance. Not saying a general handyman can't do an excellent job or that a "well established" company can't mess it up.
Eh, lots of vague answers, but hopefully that helps a little.
04-06-2022, 09:51 AM (This post was last modified: 04-06-2022, 09:53 AM by nkarasev.)
OK, little extra $ is fine with me. But I did faint with the actual 3,300 tag a bit. I expected around 1,500-2,000, maybe a bit up
Plumber said they would do all in about 6-8 hours, so 105 per hour is sweet price ! But I think I got like 300 per hour ...
That is why I am nervous.
Also this is just an estimate. I expect typical final price to be higher, so we are likely talking about 4,000 or close.
My bathroom is really the most typical setup, with all studs fixed and square (myself) I even offered to have 1 stud off to rotate the tub horizontally without tilting it at all when moved into the room (it is alcove). They said yes - nice to have. They also asked that I drill all the fastener hole in tub after installation myself - they do not want to be responsible for potentially cracking it. I think this deserves to have a deep discount.
We are in suburbia 40mi west of Chicago, not strictly the most expensive area, maybe middle level. And competition is high to (it just sucks to invite too many estimators - I have my private time valued too)
The only job that I am not 100% happy doing myself is to setup tub on a mud since my tub has 6 legs, pretty wide each (4 inches square) so the mud under legs will not let it setup easily down to the floor. But I don't think this is alone a $1000 job, must be less
Anyway, thanks everyone for the input! I appreciate
(04-06-2022, 09:51 AM)nkarasev Wrote: The only job that I am not 100% happy doing myself is to setup tub on a mud since my tub has 6 legs, pretty wide each (4 inches square) so the mud under legs will not let it setup easily down to the floor. But I don't think this is alone a $1000 job, must be less
That brings back memories. More than one way to skin a cat. I redid our master bath a few years ago and here is how I set a 450 lb. tub in place by myself...
(04-06-2022, 11:25 AM)joe1086 Wrote: That brings back memories. More than one way to skin a cat. I redid our master bath a few years ago and here is how I set a 450 lb. tub in place by myself...
This is neat!
Only I cannot use that since mine is alcove and has a skirt preventing from easily hooking up underneath.
Maybe this is the answer for the price tab?
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
