Sticker Shock, or Why I Decided to DIY

13 years ago

Hi guys.

New here, sort of -- been lurking for some while. We are one week out from moving to our new old 1955 low-slung rambler that needs massive cosmetics (read: kitchen and every bathroom). Here's the shorter story:

Master bath remodel comes first, since there is currently a pan leak with rotted floor joists. Ew. Anyhow, I did the right thing and got an architect to draw plans and met with three contractors and chose my favorite. I gave them a $30k budget, although I actually had $35k set aside. The space is *maybe* 300 SF including closet, so its not a huge space. Probably actually much less. Anyway, after months of working with them, they finally came back to me last week with a bid: $50k. I fired them on the spot.

So, now I'm leaning towards DIY. My husband is reasonably handy and we have handy friends, so...

Where do I start now? I have plans and I have some fixtures/tile chosen. I have the money. I have the impetus. But I have no direction.

Help!

Signed,

Master Bath-less in Dallas

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Comments (10)

sherry326
13 years ago
I live in the dfw area and just got done doing a complete reno on my bathroom. I got several estimates, and was extremely happy with the guy I chose. He was very professional - showed up on time, wrote an estimate on the spot, presented his insurance. His company replaced the shower pan with a tiled shower floor, built new walls, plumbing, electricity, the works.
His website for contact info is http://vtbservices.com/
Also, please check out my pictures to see the great work he did.

Here is a link that might be useful: New bathroom with doorless shower & nexus cabinets
sherry326
13 years ago
P.S. My entire bath came out to under $6000 including labor & materials.
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Evilbunnie (and I love that name!), I definitely don't think your post was finger-waggie. You brought up some excellent points that I hadn't considered, such as contingencies, the my possibly unrealistic $5k remaining budget, etc. What sealed the deal for me on my decision was when I sat down with my trusty Excel spreadsheet, with this forum's advice in mind and the pricing I'd done on the things I wanted, and laid out a 3-step, 2-3 year plan. Even with doing mid-range components (nothing super expensive, but better than rock bottom), I came up with $17,500 for my total. And that's if everything had gone right. I cancelled the cabinets the next morning. I decided that I simply could not afford to do what I wanted to do with my kitchen. I would rather do a $500 patch job to get me some temporary storage and to knock out the wall to give me more open space, than to spend, say, $10k or $12k and end up with a kitchen that I just wasn't happy with. And truth be told, things always go wrong, don't they? To do what I really wanted to do, it probably would've ended up at $20k if not more. The fact is, I'm 27 and I still have student loan debt. I have a secure job that I love, but that doesn't pay awfully well (I'm a writer for my state's fish and wildlife agency). My budget is tight with a mortgage on one income and this economy is just plain scary. My cash needs to stay in my savings account. Your advice and everyone else's brought me back to earth. And I am SO thankful for that. It's a tough lesson to learn, but we just can't have everything we want at this moment, right? I believe we can have what we want, but slowly and with planning and hard work and good old-fashioned saving money. I am so glad to have changed my mind before it was too late. And how wonderful to be adopted! :)
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Also - forgot to mention, take a look at the videos on BC Stone's site - quite informational. I know many folks here swear that you should be there when they template, you should be there when they lay it out on the slab and decide upon seams, etc. I must confess I didn't do any of that and an extremely pleased with the results. I asked our contractor about it and he had me talk to BC Stone directly. They said I was more than welcome to but explained their process. Templating is done with electronic / laser measurements - not luan like most use. Seams and layout - they would do cut outs if I wanted to drive the 2 hours to see it but they assured me if I told them if there were any parts of the slabs I wanted to feature / stay away from they would work around it and do a seam that wouldn't be noticeable. Well given that I chose them based on their reputation, I went with their judgement and decided to let the professionals do their thing. I am very glad I did. the one seam we have is hardly noticeable. When I first looked at the install, I walked past it twice before I said, oh, there is the seam. If I had laid it out, I would have done a worse job of locating the seam. And their templating was spot on. Everything fit like a glove. No gaps, flush to the wall (which weren't necessarily straight), tight fit. They had to do no on-site modifications / drilling / etc - everything was cut perfectly back at their facility So if you hire a professional and feel comofrtable with them, let them do their thing. No need to micromanage their work
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I am going slightly bonkers and doing an about face, now considering stainless range, off-white knobs, brass trim around the knobs. Hood still to match cabinets. Is this coo-coo? I can't see how it would look because for some reason, the white knobs on the Blue Star site are not showing up as white. I hate stainless and always loved the idea of redoing a kitchen with the ability to have paneled appliances and a colored range. But now in the midst of this, it all feels like over kill in my small-ish kitchen. And I'm noticing that while my hood and range ideabooks have all white hoods and ranges, my original ideabook of favorite overall kitchen looks all have stainless. These were my original inspiration before I got all crafty with the details: And, here is my kitchen currently - the L part is what is being redone with new cabinetry / range.
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mahatmacat1
13 years ago
This is almost unbelievable as it reads. I wonder if I'm missing something...you had contractors giving time to you for months without paying them anything? That's the first thing that stands out to me. I can almost imagine why they gave you 50k bids on a 30k budget, then...but maybe I'm reading it wrong. I hope I am.

And 300sf for a bathroom and closet? Not small? that's 10x15 for each room. That's not relatively large to you? Really? Are we talking megamansion here?
kitchenkrazed09
13 years ago
Step 1 - Join a support group or you may need psychological counseling by the time you are halfway through.

Step 2 - If you have the money, hire someone.

Step 3 - If you still decide you want to DIY, hire someone.

Step 4 - If you STILL decide you want to DIY, plan out as much of the project as you can ahead of time.

Step 5 - Learn the layout of every Home Depot within a 5 mile radius. Pretty soon people will be asking you where things are.

Step 6 - Remind each other that you are in this for better or for worse.

Step 7 - Come to the conclusion that you really don't have a lot of spare time and spending every weekend for two years working on your house is really not your idea of fun, and hire someone.

Good luck!
sombreuil_mongrel
13 years ago
Step 8: Appear on HGTV's "Over My Head" where the pro's (such as they are) intervene to rescue homeowners from themselves.
Casey
lazy_gardens
13 years ago
ROTTED FLOOR JOISTS?

That takes it out of the DIY category for me.
vampiressrn
13 years ago
I don't think you can be very effective in a DIY mode if you don't have any direction. Seems you might need to re think your project and do some more research to get started again. Just my thought...but sometimes it is best to avoid using friends to help you with these projects as it can strain relationships. I agree with lazygardens...sounds like the category you are in is pretty advanced. Best of luck with your project...wishing you success.
bill_vincent
13 years ago
KK-- Amen to that!! :-)

mgregroup-- If Sherry's guy is too busy or for whatever reason you decide you don't want to use him, I also know someone from Princeton who's top notch. If you want contact info, shoot me an email.
mgregroup
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the tips, especially the one about seeking psychiatric help.

@flyleft: I guess I wasn't very clear...my fault! My architect has been paid very well. He probably sleeps on a mattress filled with money. Very well. The GC didn't do anything more than take much too long to provide a cost plus bid for me. Also, I forgot to mention the 300 SF includes a 1/2 bath, but yeah -- you're right. The entire house is about 3400 SF GLA, so not a mega-mansion by any means, but I've been in several thousands of houses over the course of my career (appraisal) and I suppose I'm jaded about bath size!

@sherry -- your bath is beautiful! You must be thrilled! And the cat is adorable. I'll check out that site in a bit. Thanks so much!

@Bill -- will do -- thanks so much!
mahatmacat1
13 years ago
Ah, thanks so much mg (I'm guessing now, since you're an appraiser, your name reads mg real estate group? Or is it mg regroup as in form a new group of gorgeous vintage MGs? :)). I'm really glad to read the true story and hope you can find the right contractor soon. Question: what does GLA mean?

Sticker Shock, or Why I Decided to DIY

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sherry326

sherry326

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