Quote:
Originally Posted by Retire in MB
No, I wish I was that skilled. I found this great local guy and his wife who have done a lot of work for me. Added crown molding and window molding to the bedrooms, and master bath. Painted all the rooms, hung new chandeliers, installed mirrors in my gym, mounted my TVs and lowered the kitchen counter to all one level. They are meticulous, licensed and reliable. An absolute treasure. I've recommended them to others and have created quite a demand for their services. I'm very happy with their work and they are happy with the additional customers. I only hope that they will find time in their schedule for me next winter. I want to add some bookcases to my bedroom.
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A good contractor/crew is gold!
We've had the same contractor do the following in our house, which we bought at about $80k below market value due to it needing to be updated:
All new flooring everywhere
Some painting in various rooms (some rooms had been recently painted in a neutral color just prior to us buying the house)
Total kitchen remodel
Various electrical projects done inside and out
Outdoor living space and hot tub/fire pit/pergola added
Now they are remodeling the kitchen.
Not only is it the same contractor, it's the same project manager and same couple of crews with the same guys EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Licensed and bonded - that's the only way to go.
I'm so spoiled now! Get this - the project manager/supervisor or the contractor calls me every single evening during a project to discuss what they did that day and what is going to happen the next day. They have finished ON THE DOT every single time. None of this "almost done...now you get to wait three more weeks" stuff. They are ON it.
Do we pay more? Yes. But some of that is because this contractor really doesn't want to use cheapo stuff from Lowes or Home Depot - she prefers, for instance, to install only fixtures that have no plastic parts - so of course we will pay more for those. In our bathroom for instance, we bought Delta fixtures - but they are a higher quality than the Delta stuff you can buy at Lowes.
Then she gets a ten percent discount which she passes on to the customers.
I think her labor costs are reasonable.
She then charges a ten percent contractor's fee on the total project.
But they have all the equipment and they work quickly, so it beats the heck out of trying to learn to lay tile or install counter tops ourselves. And even painting cabinets - wow, that's not an easy project either!
We are in our fifties and we've done our time when it comes to DIY projects! We will still do some things ourselves - for instance, we are slowly updating our fence, which is very long, so we do about 16 feet a month - LOL. I do things like paint accent walls, make curtains, reupholster small chairs, that sort of thing. But big construction type projects? NO MORE.
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