My empty nester self bought a small house not long ago. Built in late 70's, small ranch. One of the main things it needs is a total bathroom remodel. It functions now, but that is about all you can say. Its pretty worn out.
What is the best way to proceed; Purchase the shower, toilet, vanity, etc. myself and hire someone to do the work? Or just get a contractor?
I will hang up an listen to the answer. Thanks.
If you go the contractor route, get multiple quotes and do some homework on who is good at what they do.
I recently priced the tearing out the original tub/shower combo and replace it with a walk in shower including putting on green board. I contacted 4 different firms and all prices originally came in around $15,500 - $17,000, all higher than I had hoped for. After I received each quote I told them that I was going to get 3 more bids, and their prices started coming down quite a bit.
The highest bid came down to about $14,000 if I took it that day, which I didn't because he was actually the first quote I got. The next quote was a little over $16,000 and I told him the same thing, that I had 3 more quotes to get. He didn't immediately come down but told me to call him before I made a final decision because he had somewhere between 10-20% that he could come down.
The third quote was also around $16,000 and he offered me some financing options, no interest for a year. I then told him that I was getting 3 more quotes and he then gave me what I felt was his bottom line, about $11,000 if I put 50% down and paid the balance at the time of completion. He also asked me who else I was getting quotes from and I gave him the 3 others names and he flat out told me not to even use 2 of those. The third he said was a very good and reputable contractor. I also knew this guy's company was very good as well from some personal recommendations. I also found his presentation to be very good and very informative.
The 4th quote I got was actually the lowest original quote but when I told them that I was getting 3 other quotes, they immediately gave me a quote about $10,200, which was the lowest overall. They were relatively new in the local market and I felt was trying to get their foot in the door, so to speak. However, given the 3rd contractor's advice I simply told them that I wanted to consider all 4 and I would get back with them, which I did the next day and told them that I was going with someone else.
I did not tell any of them how much the other quotes were. I basically just asked them to give me their best number. Given that, I was surprised how much mark up there was in their original numbers.
All 4 offered acrylic wall panels that went from the shower base up to the ceiling. None of them recommended going with the tile and grout option due to the maintenance and cleaning which I agreed with. I wanted something that would be low maintenance and tile and grout is not the way to go for that. Also make sure they use licensed plumbers, and skilled tradesmen and not their brothers-in-law.
This was my recent experience.
