Appliances, Plumbing, Electrical Allowances - MSRP or local price

9 years ago

So I was trying to come up with some good allowances for the final contract and was wondering what the best way to do this is.. We want good fixtures for everything.. As an example, for faucets and toilets we are leaning towards Kohler (family has always used the brand).. I was on their site and we are looking at the ones we like and when we look at places like Home Depot and Lowes the price is about 100 lower then MSRP listed on Kohler's website.. My question is this.. Should we be factoring in prices from places like this (home depot, lowes, etc) or using MSRP prices?

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Comments (9)

A Lleux
9 years ago
We actually went to a plumbing warehouse/showroom here that sells all types of plumbing fixtures to do a mock selection of everything for the house. We are contracting ourselves, but get contractor's pricing through them with buying so much. It ended up being cheaper than I can order anywhere online.
aam31
9 years ago
Don't use the box stores unless you plan on buying from there; have been told by multiple professionals they are not the same quality. Materials are different, etc. I went with Kohler for almost everything in the house except for a higher end master shower head. You should be able to get it for at least 25% less than the MSRP. This is one area to negotiate hard in!

I would also recommend going and doing a mock selection of everything. I wish I would have done this for EVERYTHING!! Luckily I have a friend in the plumbing business or this is one area I would've been $7k+ over budget!!
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I will second the opinion to take the allowance and do your own shopping on everything you can. If you allow the builder to choose, you'll get the cheapest thing out there. I bought my own doors, door hardware, cabinet hardware, sinks, toilets, faucets, lighting, appliances and some other things I can't remember, and I got discounts of much better than 10% on all of it, more like 25-50%. My builder installed them, but I purchased them. (Be sure your builder is OK with this--mine actually encouraged it and enjoyed watching me shop!). My method was to target the appliances I wanted, picking the brand and model in each category that I felt best met my needs, but were perhaps just slightly out of our price range. I picked the appliance to fit the task I wanted it to do--not to match the handles or even the stainless steel, as most things were not next to each other anyway. (Fridge was the exception) I considered performance and reliability first, then features that I thought would be 'nice to have'. Then I shopped, waited for sales, waited for rebates, sometimes waited for holidays, as some online places offered an extra 5% off on every holiday weekend. One day my husband noticed that the toilets we had chosen were on sale at Home Depot. They were $50 less each online than in the store with free delivery. You would do well to start looking as soon as your kitchen layout is decided. You can make your purchase when the time/price is right and then arrange delivery when the builder needs it. There are many people on this board that have done similar things--Deeageaux, I think it is, is a master, getting super high end things at truely amazing prices. When you find what you want, don't be afraid to ask the salesperson if it will go on sale, or will there be a rebate on this item. Sometimes, you can get both if you time it right, but not always. Good luck to you, and enjoy the new home. Cj
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This is s custom builder, so I'm f the opinion that I should be able to price stuff out and go with the best price weather it's through him or online or whatever. I'm pretty sure he does have relationships with some suppliers but if he gets a discount on items and doesn't pass the savings on to us then I have a problem with it. If it's truly custom, I would argue that being able to use anything under the sun is part of the deal. Not just what's available through his supplier. And no supplier provides everything possible. A lot of people call it a custom build when what they mean is that you can pick from any one of their plans, and they let you pick out your finishes, and maybe move a wall over a few inches, etc. There's still the concern about timing and availability. But he could offer a clause where if you can't provide it on time, then you pay to have the electrician come back later (or the tiler, or whatever.) And sometimes the subs don't like working with material provided by the homeowner. Tile is the worst. You get a great deal on some natural stone tile. But it's on clearance because the tile isn't uniformly sized. So the tiler spends 3 times longer than he budgeted for trying to make it work, and you're still not happy because it looks off. Plumbing fixtures is another one they hate when the customer buys their own. This faucet looks the same as a Kohler model, but it came from China at a fraction of the price. It's a pain to install, and it leaks, so now he's having to come back to fix it. As for pricing, he may have lowered his management fee knowing that he was going to save some money on materials. If he's not getting the money back on the materials, then he's being fully paid for his services. I wouldn't personally want to pay someone like that, I'd rather everything was more transparent. But I can't begrudge someone wanting to make a fair wage. It's pretty common for contractors to add 10-20% to their materials, it's part of their compensation. But usually, they get a discount from their supplier. So they add on their bit, and it's a wash to you.
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njbuilding143
Original Author
9 years ago
We aren't looking for top of the line Kohler but this is what we have figured in for plumbing fixtures.. I think we pretty much have it all figured out.. Would have loved to get the allowance lower to put money in other areas but I think this gives us a healthy allowance that will give quality products.. This would be for 2.5 bathrooms plus kitchen:

Toilets - $350 allowance each (3 total)
Bathroom Sinks - $225 allowance each (4 total)
Bath Faucets - $300 allowance each (4 total)
2nd Floor Hall Bath Tub - $550 allowance (1 total)
2nd Floor Hall Bath Shower Diverter - $250 allowance (1 total)
Whirlpool Style Tub w/ Faucet Master Bath - $2500 allowance (1 total)
Kitchen sink and faucet - $1,000 allowance (1 total)

Total = $7,500
mushcreek
9 years ago
Who's doing the actual purchasing? You, or the contractor? Some contractors won't allow the customer to buy anything, and I've read about some contractors charging MSRP PLUS a mark-up! Other contractors are more flexible and/or reasonable. Our contractor who assisted in our largely DIY build told me flat out that I would save money if I bought my own materials, and even told me who the best suppliers were.
aam31
9 years ago
We're able to go pick everything out, negotiate pricing, but then our builder actually 'purchases'. If it's a good builder, he shouldn't be getting markup on these types of products and should be unbiased as to where you buy things.

To give a different perspective, we are building around 4,000 sq feet, 3.5 bathrooms, plus the kitchen and wet bar/butlers pantry. My quote would have been close to $20k without my friend's help who was able to discount more than the standard 25%. The largest ticket items for me included a free standing tub and tub filler, and the master shower /installation. I also choose a fairly high end Kohler kitchen sink and faucet. These items alone made up $7k.
rwiegand
9 years ago
Don't do allowances at all. Specify the exact items you want (including part numbers, sources and links to online pricing (though don't expect to pay that lowest possible price-- just make your contractor aware you know what it is)) in the specifications portion of your contract and get quoted on the real price for them. Yes, it's a lot of decisions to make up front, but endless hassles are avoided by eliminating the ambiguity (and potential lowballing) inherent in allowances. It also ensures you can make an apples-to-apples comparison among competing bids for your project.
MFatt16
9 years ago
I would use exact products and use MSRP. If you find them for less later than you have a built in savings. Your allowances above are a little tight in my opinion but you should be close.
User
9 years ago
First, pick the faucets now and get competitive bids rather than pay a premium later. Allowances remove all price controls and contractors love that. An Allowance is really a Cost Plus mini contract that offers you no advantage.

Home Depot faucets are the same except when a model is exclusive to HD (avoid these). Otherwise too many of the models are plated plastic that look great but don't last very long. If the spec doesn't say brass skip it.

An Allowance should never include installation labor. Include a number and location of lighting fixture types in the contract. Don't design the house during construction.
User
9 years ago
" Don't design the house during construction."

Best.......advice...........EVER!!!

Appliances, Plumbing, Electrical Allowances - MSRP or local price

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A Lleux

aam31

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Appliances, Plumbing, Electrical Allowances - MSRP or local price

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