Not out of line, at least in regards to my just started master remodel...No fixtures,tile, etc, only all labor including paint,demo,tile installation,basic electic(i know there will be some upcharges )plumbing,some drywall...20K+-

That's sounds really high to me. I did a total gut on a 5x9 bathroom. Tore up all the walls and added that pink insulation and Durarock to the ceiling on most wall space. All new plumbing, install cast iron tub, built a side wall for tile on tub, 200 square feet of limestone all the way up the walls, recessed vanity and installed it, installed large mirror, ceiling lighting, all shower fixtures, and a new pocket door. My labor was $15,000.00 and I'm in the city of Chicago.
Donna

Organic, that seems about right and similar to my costs for labor, as my masterbath is approx 12 x 14+-, though the walls were only demo'd in areas receiving new tile, and the insulation is fine, as the house is 5 years old...actually your price seems higher on 2nd look, as you have 45 sf, vs 170sf +-

qdognj,
Are you referring to the floor tiles being 45 sf? What drove my cost up is I went to the ceiling with the limestone. He had to Durarock the wall to hold the tiles up. In total he installed 200sf of limestone. I think it's expensive no matter how you look at it.
Donna

Oh and he installed Ditra on the floor too.

I don't care if it's mudset mother of pearl tile being installed in a Manhatten penthouse. That's outrageous. I wouldn't even give this schmoe the courtesy of a call back.

"I don't care if it's mudset mother of pearl tile being installed in a Manhatten penthouse. That's outrageous. I wouldn't even give this schmoe the courtesy of a call back."

I presume this is directed at my $9000 tile labor quote? Have I given you enough information to opine upon what would be a reasonable figure? I am in Southwest Virginia, in a market where costs are normally quite a bit below the average.

Between the two of them, the plumber and the tile guy (who are in cahoots apparently) they are having their way with me. I have another contractor coming out next Wednesday morning to look at the job (which is supposed to commence on March 10) but have no way to determine just how far out of the realm of reason these quotes might be.

This all seemed so easy, I found great deals on all my fixtures and then to see it all billow out of control after all this time and energy (and help from this forum) is discouraging.

I was going to say that your plumbing quote sounded outrageous too. We will probably end up paying around $3500 for plumbing which includes moving all of the plumbing around except the waste for the toilet (moving one sink, adding a second sink where there was none, moving tub drain and supply, moving shower drain and supply), plumbing a somewhat complex shower, and running brand new supply lines from the basement to the 2nd floor and cutting the remaining lengths of galvanized out of wherever he could find them. I should have a better idea tonight what the final number will be though. That includes having plumber number 2 redo some work done by plumber number one (comparable prices though).

I HATE it when contractors think they have you and quote you ridiculous prices. Makes me nuts. We went through that with a couple of boiler install quotes, eventually found someone who was twice as smart and articulate as the others but 30% lower price. If you are not happy with what you are hearing, keep looking. You might want to call your local building inspector and get recommendations. We are friendly with ours but everyone he has sent us to has been fantastic and reasonably priced.

how much of this work you can do yourself?

"how much of this work you can do yourself?"

Possibly some or all of the demolition, but I know our limitations. The plumbing, drywall, tile- etc.- is beyond us in skill, time and desire.

I do not object to paying for work, for a craftsman being compensated for his trade. I just feel like I'm getting bent over, and I think those who responded here support that notion. I just wonder what a fair daily or hourly rate is for the work, maybe that is a starting point?

Of course, it's hard to be accurate with the information given, but the most I'd expect to see with the info given, atleast from the tile guy, would be about 1/2 of what you've been quoted, and unless you're using an exotic material or getting really "designy" with it, even that would be expensive, though acceptable.

around here plumbers and such seem to get about $75 per hour if you break it down. I generally just round up to $100 per hour and count on an 8 hour day and figure out how long they intend to take to do the job as an upper limit reality check on the price that was quoted. For example, our plumber charged $800 to run the new supply up to the bathroom and spent about 10 hrs on the labor plus that included all of the new 3/4" copper pipe, valves etc. Passed the reality check and would have up to a few hundred more. If there are a lot of materials required I might be a little low on the $100/hr but at least it's a place to start. I don't generally quibble about a hundred here or there but it did help me identify when boiler guys were building an additional $3,000-5,000 profit into the job on top of $100 hourly rate and materials (one of them was kind enough to give me a materials list so I priced everything out, added 20%, and there was still an additional $5k profit in there on the 3 day quoted job).

I agree good craftsmen is well worth their money.
Here is also option to hire tradesman as T&M- time and materials. Usually plumbing goes around $100 per hour in my neck of woods and you could figure out some of materials and fix some damage to the wall or floor that plumber will do on your own.
also replacing your pipes with copper would be different expense from replacing with pex or pvc/ if your codes allow it/ I think pex is very easy to work with and nice alternative.
There is also option to find a good handyman who will help you with basic stuff like drywall and putting plug outlets if you are willing to invest some of your time in it and learn in the process. Putting couple of new outlets in the gutted walls is really no rocket science. And I can't imagine paying $1200 for thermostat placement, unless you need extensive electrical upgrade through the house for this.
But again it is of course always matter of your own comfort level and how far you can manipulate your budget.