Any building contractors in the house? I have a question...

[bassadict69]

Help me understand this...

I am currently getting estimates on remodeling two bathrooms. I have told everyone that I am not looking for expensive products and I will be doing any painting, trim and staining myself. Everyone is coming back with estimates that rival the money to build a small house! What the hell? I am remodeling...not building a new house! I mean, come on, two small rooms for close to 50,000 dollars? Why so much?  One bathroom is a simple gut and reinstall new CHEAP tub, CHEAP surround and new cabinets and counter...

AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE?

[K5Jimmy]

That was the incentive for me to take a couple classes at my local community college.  I started with small projects and worked up to building a 24x36 shop.  I'm fixing to gut a bathroom, knock out a wall and go back with tile floor and shower area.  By doing the work myself, I can spend more on quality products and still come out with my shirt on my back.   

[beast96z]

That's ridiculous James. Did they give you a layout of what is costing so much? I redid my whole house in southern hills and I bet it didn't cost me 15k for the entire deal. Of course I did everything myself. All my sheet rock was decent, so I just textured it. Bringing in contractors can get expensive, but that's crazy.

[catt]

Kitchens & bathrooms are the most expensive rooms in a house to build or remodel but 50k I don't think so.

Do it you self

[copnjax]

I just had a bathroom remodeled and it cost me $2,000.  They tore out all the tile from the walls and the floor, replaced the sheetrock, put down new tile, etc.  I got a good deal!

[Furflys]

Its your Location. They think everyone in the area has loads of OIL money and they are shooting for your pocket. When you get them to come bid it tell them I am wanting to spend X-amount.

[tomd]

I find when you get a stupid bid it is because they don't want the work.  It is their way of saying we don't want to do it but if you are willing to pay this much we will do it.

Good luck finding someone.

Tom D.

[Canesfan]

Last year we remodeled our kitchen and master bathroom. Re-tiled all downstairs, knocked out a wall, etc.  Granite countertops in kitchen, self-closing doors and cabinets, marble in bathroom, all new tile in bathroom, new lighting and didn't pay anything near that.  Got several estimates and told them upfront what our budget was.  There are contractors wiling to work with you in this economy.

[Camden]

Your not missing anything. like someone said. apparently they dont want the work with a bid like that.
did they even look at the project?   even with painting and trim work i could do it for 6 times less than that

[tsmith35]

You might want to check out Angie's List for Shreveport. I had to have a bunch of work done in Nashville and found that the site made it easy to find good contractors for a reasonable budget. I think it was like $20 to sign up, well worth it to avoid the stinkers.

[Baxter83]

Like someone else said, I'm pretty sure they didn't want to mess with it. That's crazy too considering there are so many people out there, contractors in particular, who are resorting to things like remodels to make ends meet between big jobs right now. Keep shopping around contractors til you find one that's reasonable and has a trustworthy reputation. Stuff like that is why I do everything I can myself.

I built my father-in-law a 36'x30' garage with a 11'x30' above storage floor for just over 11k for concrete, wires, garage doors w/motors, and all.

[Jared LeBlue]

That is crazy high. Without even knowing the size of you bathrooms I could tell you it shouldn't cost you more than 5 grand. Heck I remodled my entire house, added all new exterior doors including a French door in the back, new floors throughout the entire house, refaced the kitchen cabinets, put new sinks and vanities in two of the bathrooms. New kitchen sink, new counter tops, added a pantry, built a computer desk, built a bar, built a 20x20 multi level deck, andf painted every wall in the house. I did all this for $20,000. Now that was the cost of the materials, we did all the work.

[Nutt]

Someone is trying to retire off of you.  I did a complete remodel on my house in '07 for less than 40K.  In this remodel I gutted 2 bathrooms, hardwood floors, kitchen with tile floors, complete paint, kitchen cabinets, etc.  The average for a bathroom should be around 5-10K with excellent work and great fixtures.  My master bathroom was completely re-arranged and customized.  Find someone else.  You are getting screwed.