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The PVC molding and trim is essentially just nailing pieces to the walls. The ceilings already have light fixtures. It's just swapping them out for ceiling fans. That's one day of work. On day 2, the backsplash and vinyl kitchen tile.
What about the chair rail and wainscotting? What about the time measuring and cutting all angles correctly after setting up the portable saw? Same with the tile. You are really under estimating the time involved for doing a good job.
What about the chair rail and wainscotting? What about the time measuring and cutting all angles correctly after setting up the portable saw? Same with the tile. You are really under estimating the time involved for doing a good job.
Use corner blocks on the chair rail to reduce the need for miter cuts. The wainscoting is just basic 1 3/4 in. trim cut into boxes. I could have those pre-cut.
Who allows a random stranger to choose their backsplash, light fixtures, and chair rails.
I was trying to put some money into the pocket of a small business owner. That's okay. I'll have HD quote the work since I'm buying from them.
Yeesh, calm down a little. Deep breath...
I think they were saying "weigh in on", not choose outright. Some products HD has are good for a DIY/simple install and don't wear well, others are just a flat PITA to actually install and look good. Someone that installs a bunch of tile may be able to steer you away from a product that looks good in the box and looks like a Kindergarten project on the wall (kinda like that PVC crown molding stuff, IMO. I've had bad experiences with it - YMMV).
I'd hop on Nextdoor and see if anyone around has had similar work done and who they used, then bid by the job - it's just simpler and you may find that your $1,000 budget for labor is more than sufficient. Obviously, we don't know what size backslash, or how much demo work is involved on the flooring, etc. However, bid by the job allows you to pick and choose what of that type of work you'd be willing to do if the bids come in over your budget.
OP, have you ever put up crown molding? I have. A lot of it.
Something you need to understand is that no corners in a house are square and no ceilings are level. Installing crown molding so it looks like poop is dead easy - if you want it to just go up and down like a row of hills everywhere there's a little high or low place in the ceiling or wall. I have not worked (thank goodness) with PVC fake molding but I bet it's even harder to get it to look right because it's so flexible.
Getting crown molding to look right takes a lot of figuring and cogitation on where you want to follow the ceiling and where you want to keep it straight, damn what the ceiling's doing.
Have you ever hung a ceiling fan? So tell us, what did you do to brace the box properly? Hanging a twenty pound rotating machine from the ceiling ain't the same as hanging a two pound static light fixture. If it's a first floor ceiling with a room above it, there's no telling what you might get into.
That's just two jobs that could go smoothly in a couple hours each, or could blow up in your face.
And chair rail and wainscoting? A day? Pre-cut off site? Hoo boy.
I know most handymen like to charge by the project. Has anyone ever had any luck hiring a handyman based on an hourly wage?
I have a lot of odd jobs and I thought I could offer like $60/hr for eight hours a day, for two days.
Odd jobs would include:
-Doing interior wood trim work (add chair rail, wainscoting, etc)
-Install PVC crown molding in two rooms
-Put in kitchen backsplash
-Install three ceiling fans
-Put down vinyl tiles in kitchen/bath
OP, I know you don't want to hear this, but I do agree with the others who say that is definitely more than 16 hours' worth of work -- and I know this from recent experience with interior wood trim work, crown molding, kitchen tile, etc. Many of those need very precise cuts and those take time if you want them done right. The backsplash may take more than 1 day if you're doing tile -- they'd have to come back the next day to do the grouting.
But two weeks' worth? No way. My handyman company would probably estimate 3 days for those things but 4 person-days as the crown molding would likely need 2 people.
Not sure about the ceiling fans. I have asked my electrician about installing several in my house. He estimated an hour or two each for rooms that already have ceiling light fixtures (he MIGHT have to make the "hanger" heavier-duty than what was done for just the light fixture, but at least there's already electricity there -- which sounds like the case for you). I would not even ask my handyman company to do electrical work; they are insured but I prefer to have my electrician do all electrical work!
But for those who are saying to get by-the-job quotes ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by odanny
Cheaper to have the projects bid, doing jobs hourly often means your contractor can work slow, with a bid there are no surprises.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barfbag
Get a quote based on each complete job. I would question whether offering an hourly wage could be construed as employment requiring tax deductions, workers compensation, insurance, social security, and other employee benefits. Best to avoid that mess. Also do not pay in full up front. Ever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GearHeadDave
I would always compare fixed price quotes. That way, if they make a mistake, you don't end up paying for it. Those that are efficient and don't many mistakes will usually have the competitive fixed price estimate. You MIGHT get lucky and get a job done cheaper with an hourly rate, but it's a risk.
Maybe if you have worked with a contractor for a while and really trust them, you could consider an hourly deal. But with someone you have never used before, there is no way I would do that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ferraris
You've just illustrated the problem with hourly pay for this sort of thing. It's a lose-lose situation, since your expectations aren't in line with how long the job will likely actually take. The handyman will feel like he worked his tail off, only to be met by an upset customer because he's taking too long.
When you pay by the job, it still might take longer than expected, but at least the price doesn't go up. You'll be much less tempted to micromanage and you'll be less stressed about the financial side of it since you know what you're getting into up front.
The price might not go up from the quote -- but the quote itself might very well be extremely high!
I have NEVER had a job come out cheaper by the project than by the hour, even when I have bought the materials (e.g. tile or disposal or whatever). For example, I had my washing machine moved upstairs to the other side of a bathroom wall (so there was already water & drain lines in the wall). I was quoted $500 for the job by my (former) plumber. OK, fine, I need to use my brand new washer so yes, do it. Well, the plumber took less than 3 hours -- which would have been $246 at his company's hourly rate -- and used maybe $50 of materials. So I was charged almost double by the job compared to what I would have paid by the hour. Never again!!
Another example: on an even larger project -- taking down the load-bearing wall between my old kitchen and old dining room -- my first quote was close to $6,000, JUST for taking down the wall. I ended up hiring a handyman company to do the work on an time-and-materials basis. I actually bought the materials (including the beam) and had them delivered to my house; the handyman company's workers simply came to my house to do the work and I was charged by the hour. It was <$2,000 (INCLUDING the cost of materials) -- about 1/3 the first by-the-job quote that I got (I posted about this elsewhere, and a TON of people who responded said that $6,000 sounded reasonable to them!! ). Anyway, it passed inspection by my code officer with no problems at all. I would be kicking myself if I'd paid one of the by-the-job companies. (Note, I realize some people like by-the-job pricing because they don't want to buy/order the materials, schedule an electrician separately, or whatever. So for those people, by-the-job pricing might be worth it. I am fine with doing the logistical work myself to save literally thousands of dollars.)
It sounds like some of you HAVE gotten decent prices by the job, but I suspect in many cases -- especially for the kinds of things the OP wants done -- then by-the-hour pricing would be less. I have now used my handyman company for lots of different projects (and they'll be back to do the backsplash tile in my kitchen, build my front porch, etc. in the next few weeks/months) and their workers definitely DO NOT work slowly. They have been fantastic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlygal
I was trying to put some money into the pocket of a small business owner. That's okay. I'll have HD quote the work since I'm buying from them.
OP, I definitely don't recommend that ^^^! HD will refer a contractor to you; the contractor will give you a rate that is WAY higher than what he would normally charge, since he has to pay HD as well.
Oh, I found my handyman company through homeadvisor. They had great reviews (which I've since added to!). I feel very, very lucky to have found them.
Use corner blocks on the chair rail to reduce the need for miter cuts. The wainscoting is just basic 1 3/4 in. trim cut into boxes. I could have those pre-cut.
PVC molding as you posted comes with corner blocks? They still have to be cut at angle. What is PVC molding anyway?
OP, please do not pre-cut stuff. That will ensure the person who finally installs it will have to throw a lot of it away. You cut each piece on site as you are ready for it. This is how you compensate for the inevitable unsquareness and unplumbness of walls, floors, and ceilings.
Listen. By the hour, by the job - you’re still looking for quotes. I always have mine itemized - if they quote 4 hours for demo at 85/hr and I decide that this week has been stressful and I want to break some ****, I say “great - take out that line item” and do it myself.
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