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Message |
    
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2376
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 1:00 pm: | 
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This is a list of the work we need done:
Remove tiles on floor/wall and kitchen cabinets. Fix up walls and paint.
Move a gas line.
Possibly extend water line.
Put in new flooring, possibly tile or some other material.
Upgrade electrical into house and add a few outlets in kitchen.
We would like the work done sometime soon (next month or so) and (I guess this is a given) not cost a lot of money. Any recommedations would be SUPER appreciated. |
melicious
Citizen
Username: Melicious
Post Number: 592
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 1:22 pm: |
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I love Tico's. I don't know about what is a lot of money to you, but I found them reasonable and reliable and skilled.
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Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2377
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 1:53 pm: |
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Yes you are right, price is all relative. I guess what I would like is advice from people who did some research on GC's, got different quotes and chose that person because they were a good value (considering price, professionalism and quality). Also, ideally you were happy with your choice of GC and want to recommend them now. But in all honesty we aren't wealthy and can't go for the best quality, most expensive contractor. We need our money to go far. |
sportsnut
Citizen
Username: Sportsnut
Post Number: 2521
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 2:20 pm: |
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We've done a lot of work on our house over the past six years and I can't emphasize enough that you get what you pay for. I know its cliché but I can't think of anything worse than spending money and not being happy with the result. To answer your question specifically though: We interviewed four or five contractors for our kitchen and none of them were inexpensive. We interviewed five contractors to re-do our front walk and driveway and we found that the cheapest guys wanted to take short cuts that in the end would have probably cost us more. For example a couple of driveway pavers wanted to just put down new asphalt over the old without putting in a new base. That wouldn't have worked due to the settling of some parts of the driveway and would have led to cracking later on.
The only way to really save money in this market is to learn to do some of the repairs yourself. Obviously somethings are better left to the pros (gas line, updating the electric coming into the house and the watermain) but much of the stuff you mentioned can be DIY. Removing the cabinets, tiles, fixing the walls and even adding electrical outlets are all DIY projects. I won't lie and tell you that it will be easy but it can be done but you need to take time to read how to do it and give it a try. If the issue is time then you have to figure out how much your time is worth and figure on paying a multiple of that to a contractor.
We found Tico's to be pretty reasonable on the estimate side but you also need to compare what is included because prices may vary significantly until you compare apples to apples.
We used The Restoration Group for our major kitchen Renovation and would recommend them again, but they are not inexpensive. But they were a pleasure to deal with. We interviewed Mike McKell, Tico's, Classic Construction and one other (the name escapes me now) and we found everyone to be professional and responsive. We liked Mike but couldn't agree on the timing. As I said, none of the above were inexpensive but Tico's was probably the least expensive of all of them.
Hope that helps and good luck. |
dave23
Citizen
Username: Dave23
Post Number: 1938
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 3:12 pm: |
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Alley, I PL'd you a recommendation. |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2382
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 4:22 pm: |
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Thanks Dave23, I'll check it out.
Thanks Sportsnut, the info you supplied is really good. For instance if we get a quote from Tico's and we can't afford it, then we know we shouldn't bother the other guys you mentioned AND that we should expect to have to do a fair bit of this work ourselves. All good to know. Thanks.
Keep em coming folks. |
JC
Citizen
Username: Demolitionman
Post Number: 32
Registered: 6-2006
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 7:41 pm: |
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www.claytondemo.biz
a-z |
JGT
Citizen
Username: Jtg7448
Post Number: 219
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 12:39 pm: |
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All,
In the interest of comparing apples to apple, as far as I understand it - Tico's is a carpentry contractor, not a General Contractor. Remember the difference comes with a difference in service provided and price. Has Tico's gone into the practice of being a GC?
The recent increases in the price of copper have caused electrical bids to go up steeply and will continue to rise...this affects copper piping for plumbing as well.
The cost of fuel is increasing all shipments for buidling materials and these items will go up in cost. The cost of a piece of plywood just isn't what it used to be...
I don't know how this will all pan out for General Contractors as the real estate market is cooling and the craze for home equity loans with it. There have been discussions on the board regarding the housing market, but how about the home renovation market?
Are prices rising or falling? In my recent experience they are rising due to material costs, but will they have to fall to meet the deflating housing market????
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melicious
Citizen
Username: Melicious
Post Number: 604
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 12:59 pm: |
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Tico's was GC on my bathroom redo.
...please don't let my home depreciate...please don't let my home depreciate...please... |
thegoodsgt
Citizen
Username: Thegoodsgt
Post Number: 1033
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 2:21 pm: |
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Another recommendation for John Clayton.
www.claytondemo.biz |
Alicia Hernandez
Citizen
Username: Alicia
Post Number: 2
Registered: 7-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 3:16 pm: |
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Call ricky's Carpentry resonalbe price and very professional.
Tel# 973-677-1125 |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2392
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 4:45 pm: |
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Well do I need a General Contractor for this type of project or would a carpentry contractor be fine? This project doesn't appear to have any carpentry at all. |
bettyspaghetti
Citizen
Username: Bettyspaghetti
Post Number: 37
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 6:24 pm: |
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We like John Clayton! |
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