Anonymous
09/06/2022 14:07
Subject: Contractors gouging or are the prices fair?
Anonymous wrote:12:55 again. Do the French drain yourself, or hire a handyman or willing teen/college student to help you. It's not financially smart to pay a building contractor for unskilled labor. My husband, along with both our immediate neighbors, all do as much work as they can themselves.
I take home about $250 an hour for every extra hour I work and I get enjoyment from my job. Digging ditches is not enjoyable for me at all. I would much rather work an hour behind my desk, pay someone $100 an hour to dig the ditch, and pocket the $150.
Anonymous
09/06/2022 13:56
Subject: Re:Contractors gouging or are the prices fair?
This is the simplest example of fair market value that there could ever be.
The fair price isn't based on the value of materials and labor then adding a small markup.
If he doesn't have a place to go for his next job, the price comes down a bit. If his phone is ringing off the hook with opportunities, the price goes up. He'd much rather do a long, larger project than 5 small ones. It's not much more complicated than this. This is why you try to get 3 quotes when you can, but if you are trying to back into the cost of materials and labor, you aren't going to get there.
The fair price isn't based on the value of materials and labor then adding a small markup.
If he doesn't have a place to go for his next job, the price comes down a bit. If his phone is ringing off the hook with opportunities, the price goes up. He'd much rather do a long, larger project than 5 small ones. It's not much more complicated than this. This is why you try to get 3 quotes when you can, but if you are trying to back into the cost of materials and labor, you aren't going to get there.
Anonymous
09/06/2022 13:49
Subject: Contractors gouging or are the prices fair?
OP again. Just to clarify some things. We are definitely getting multiple bids but they alway in the same range, I’m really surprised by how close they end up being. And when I say contractors, I don’t just mean building contractors. The french drain bids for example all came from small businesses that specialize in drainage issues.
Anonymous
09/06/2022 12:47
Subject: Contractors gouging or are the prices fair?
Anonymous wrote:we had 2 quotes for some exterior painting + wood repair.
One was $9600
One was $3500
I thought the $9,600 was 2K too high. Glad I got another quote.
Note - the 2nd quote was from a smaller contractor who said they recently had more than 1 job get delayed.
People are starting to put off work
With that kind of disparity and your original expectations about how much it would cost, I would be concerned that the second contractor will cut corners on the repair work to keep it within the budget.
Anonymous
09/06/2022 12:44
Subject: Contractors gouging or are the prices fair?
we had 2 quotes for some exterior painting + wood repair.
One was $9600
One was $3500
I thought the $9,600 was 2K too high. Glad I got another quote.
Note - the 2nd quote was from a smaller contractor who said they recently had more than 1 job get delayed.
People are starting to put off work
One was $9600
One was $3500
I thought the $9,600 was 2K too high. Glad I got another quote.
Note - the 2nd quote was from a smaller contractor who said they recently had more than 1 job get delayed.
People are starting to put off work