I wanted to get some insight from you as to getting some foundation work done.
I looked at a house in the Indiana area and had ONE estimate for some foundation work. The contractor said that there were no pads for the main house beam and that he would have to cut into the hardwood floor and cut out large areas to work (the crawlspace barley has room to move.
I made the mistake of telling the contractor how much I was paying for the house when he asked me. He shot me a number of $15,000 to cut the floor and pour 3-4 two foot by two foot pads and colums under the beam. When I balked at the price he asked me how much I thought it would be and I told him I thought it would be about $5,000 - $6,000. He then said that no one would fix it for that unless they jury rigged it. Then he said that he needed to take measurements (to save face) and gave me a proposal of $10,600.
Unfortunatley, I only had time to get one estimate. I try to get three unless they align with the costs in the means series of books on construction costs throught the USA.
Thanks for any advice, and if you are new to rehabbing, make sure you get several estimates. Also, I keep forgeting to tell the contractors that I am a General contractor/rehabber right up front so I get the GC price and not the homeowner rape price.
Call the next contractor and tell them you have a house that need some pads poured under the support beams.
When can you come by and give me a written estimate? When he arrives have a friend there taking measurements too, your friend tells you (in front of the real contractor) Thanks Len, I’ll get you my price for the foundation work within 2 days. Oh and while I’m here, when are you starting the house in Ridgedale? You respond… as soon as we wrap this up.
It might sound sleazy to some people, but I’ve been in this business for a LONG time, there is NOTHING that motivates a contractor to sharpen his pencil more than some competition. Especially if he thinks he might get some repeat business from you. If these guy’s think 1) you don’t know what your doing or 2) it’s a one shot deal. The price WILL be higher.
And in reality I’m sure you will invest in other properties so you may very well see him on another one of your projects.
Yeah, get more estimates. When I talk to contractors I always let them know I am getting multiple quotes on the job. I also let them know this is what I do for a living and if I like their price and work there is a great chance for repeat business.