Rehab Cost Estimate- too high?

Question

All,
I got below quote from a contractor and it is much higher than expected. Would anyone be able to say, which components are overpriced? This is for a rehab outside of Columbus, OH. Any help is appreciated.
Irina

Robert Ellis · Answer

Seems pretty right. I look at line item by line item. I don't know how large that tree is but normally it cost us $1k per big tree or $1500 to remove it. Another thing is cleaning the ducts is about another 400 for us. So based on those two things I'd say it's pretty reasonable. I don't know the condition of the rest of the property or have pictures but those are two easy ones that stick out. Make sure it includes pulling permits for all the work. Columbus inspectors are always looking for people to fine

The payment terms aren't very good, i'd work with them to avoid paying 50% up front. Think of it like a bank. No bank does 50% up front for work that is being complete. They do draws, so break it up into 3 draws. maybe a 5k initial deposit plus 2-3 draws with a 10% holdback until final permit is approved.

Jay M. · Answer

I would also concur on the roofing.  I'm in a very, very expensive part of the country and I could get a 14 sq. roof done for under $5.5k.

The biggest item that scares me is the deposit.  If you give him 50% he is going to disappear quicker than Joey Chestnut can make a hot dog disappear.  At that pricing maybe he will actually do the work but to me I wouldn't give my grandmother that kind of deposit....

Christopher Phillips · Answer

@Irina Shetty

What's the house's square footage?

How many bids did you get? You should always get at least 3 bids unless you know the contractor really well.

Jon H. · Answer

I agree that the roof bid is high.  WAY high.  I have a 30'x30' (footprint) home with 4 dormers, all hipped, plus the additional top hip, and a porch roof with another hip.  I was quoted $7,500-$12,000 to replace it and my house is three stories tall with no ability for roofer to place dumpster beside house.  This estimate included adding ridge and soffit vents, ice guard, and new flashing on four chimneys.  It also included replacing some damaged trim around the dormer windows, and some minor repairs to box gutters (box gutters are a physical part of the roof and soffit structure).

So my quoted amounts might be replacing both your line 1 & 2 items.  But that may be a bit of apples and oranges.

Either way Line 1 and 2 are high, in my opinion.

Tree price is great.  I agree that you'll typically find $1-$1.5k per tree, depending on size and accessibility.  If you're getting 5 tress on a lot then you'll see the first around $1,000 and the rest around $500-$800.

Electrical bid is high - but it is reasonable to be high here - he has no idea what he's committing himself to so he is covering his backside. The line item states to "investigate and repair all electrical issues." Depending on what issues exist that he uncovers, he could actually lose a ton of money on that.   I would prefer to pay for the investigation of electrical issues and a report of them all with a line-by-line estimate to repair each issue uncovered.

I'm an estimator for a demolition company.  Anytime I have to estimate something I know little about, I pad my number so that I can cover contingencies by just getting the job done and not burdening owner/CM/PM with COs. Some people like that because it means I'm taking the risk and they don't mind paying for that.  Me, personally, I'd rather pay for only what I actually get, and I'd like to see who I hire get paid for what they do - no extra money, and no losses.

Does line 5 (exhaust hood) include the hood itself?  It's a tad high if it does, and WAY high if it does not.  A "proper recirculating hood" is just a standard kitchen hood.  Some models cost only $50.  To R&R an existing shouldn't cost but $250.  And if he means to replace a truly "exhausting" vent with a recirculating one, you need to not hire him to do much of anything.  A vent that exhausts is far better then a vent that recirculates!  His estimate is unclear here, in my opinion, but I'm unaware of the previous conversations y'all have had.

HVAC ducts is a good price, especially if he is also including the replacement registers.

I have no comment for carpet - no experience here to say.

$1500 to paint the whole house seems high to me, but only because I know I can paint a place that size myself in a couple of days.  When I bid my labor for demolition (which is a fairly unskilled job, like painting interior walls) I view ~$1,200 as 4 men for a day.

$1250 to spray your attic to inhibit mold seems extremely high to me.  He's basically putting bleach water in a pump sprayer and shooting it around.  *I think.  Call an environmental company.  I'm not sure if we're allowed to recommend companies on here or not, but I have a name of someone I trust that I use for residential and commercial abatement and remediation.

Punch-out stuff seems reasonable, maybe a tad low to me.  Punch-out is tedious work that can come with issues and take significant time.

Irina Shetty · Answer

Thank you all for the input! I truly appreciate it and will do my best to follow your advice and educate myself. The deal didn't go through after all, because we couldn't agree on a price with the seller and they now decided to fix it themselves.

Sean Grabow · Answer

Great advice and input above, second almost all of it.

Alexander Felice · Answer

it doesn't seem bad, but it does seem inconsistent.

11K for a tiny roof, seems very high

800 for a tree, way too low!

2000 for electrical???? too high!

how many bids have you gotten, average this one against 2 others and you'll know better where the market rate should be

David Robertson · Answer

A 988sf roof w/ a 6/12 pitch is only 1,105 square feet of roofing w/ a 10% material waste that's ~12 squares of shingles.

Roof Quantity Calculation

Oakridge roofing shingles are $140/sq at Lowes.

12 squares*$140/square = $1,680 in shingle materials + a few hundred dollars of underlayment and flashings, so there shouldn't be more than $2,000 in materials.

So in other words your Contractor has quoted you $9,000 for labor for a roofing job that will likely take a crew of 3-4 guys one to two days tops.  So either there are major structural issues with the roof rafters/sheathing or you are majorly overpaying for the roofing....or as Brian suggested there's is a detached garage that doubles the quantity of roofing?...

Brian Pulaski · Answer

I agree the roof seems high. However if this is a hip roof with a garage on top of the main 988SF house it could be about right. My friends 1100 or so SF house with a hip and detached 2 car garage was $11-12,000...

Rehab Cost Estimate- too high?

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