All Forum Posts by: Jackson Sandland

I own a ~6200 square foot house on Martha's Vineyard that I would like to renovate and sell. Construction costs on the island are insane. I was speaking with an experienced flipper / investor this morning who thinks the cost isn't based in reality. It's more just that houses are already expensive, that it's a vibrant vacation destination, and builders decide to up their prices because they can. What I'm looking to do is bring in an out of state crew that does high end flips and be able to renovate for a reasonable cost. I came across a big luxury flip done in Vegas, where no detail was overlooked. It is absolutely beautiful and the rehab cost was ~$180k. Is it possible to bring in an out of state crew and pay them what they'd make in Vegas or slightly more? If I hire on island it could cost over over $1M. Open to any thoughts / ideas. Thanks!

This contractor is just creating expensive problems. There's a quote to replace a front door - just a regular front door for $7,000 lol. The door is glass but I've let them know this can be a basic $400 door but the contractor says he can't do it for that cheap and that I should hire a handyman but I'd have to keep an eye on him and that's part of why it's expensive.

I've also done some research and while there are many windows that need to be replaced, the sliding glass doors may be able to be fixed by fixing the sliding mechanism since the biggest issue is the doors stick. That hardware is maybe ~$50 per door all in with handles included. I've make it clear this needs to be as inexpensive as possible but they're refusing to listen and throwing huge quotes at me hoping I'll bite. No sense in using this guy. Gonna shop around and find someone reasonable.

Not at all.

@David M. - as far as I can tell it's pretty standard. Sliders are all 72" X 80", and the the windows aren't super big or weird shapes or anything - just regular windows. I heard that costs for materials have gone up from where they were a few months ago but I'm pretty sure the original quote is way too high.

@JD Martin - Good to know the cheaper doors could work. Plan is to do a higher end rental in a couple of years so cheaper doors could work in the mean time. I'll take a closer look to see the differences. Some of the windows are rotten, and there are sliders where condensation is on the inside so those would need to be replaced. There may be some that could be saved. I will ask about that. Thx.

@Lynnette E. - I did ask why it was so expensive but the contractor insisted the price was fair. Maybe that's what it costs to make sense for him if he's outsourcing all the work. Not sure, but it doesn't work for me. I agree there should be a discount for a bigger job all in one place.

@Matt R. - Thanks for the tip about Home Depot's Pro Desk. I'll ask around about the wind rating. We do get hurricanes so windows / doors that can handle that may be required.

@Lien Vuong - Great idea.

@Andrew Richard - Connected on fb.

Thanks @JD Martin - $300 / door would be a 50% reduction and that sounds great. The property is about 6,000 sq ft. The sliders have to be able to keep the heat in when it freezes, and be resilient to high winds so I'm thinking the $500 price point may be a compromise between aesthetics and durability.

Thanks @Jill F. I'm gonna shop around for a better quote.

I have a rental property on Martha's Vineyard and I've been getting estimates for replacing windows and sliding glass doors. The property has one section that was built in 1921, though I don't believe the windows are original, and a large addition that was put on in the 90's. I've done one estimate where a contractor thinks we need to replace 12 windows and 16 sliding glass doors. The quote from a general contractor looks way too high at about $64k.

The replacement windows don't need to be fancy at all. They just need to be able to keep the heat in and operate as expected. Same with the sliding glass doors. I called Home Depot and the cheapest sliding glass door I found with high quality / high quantity reviews was about $500. I was quoted at $600 / door for installation. Total cost back of the envelope is $17,600. I saw reviews online of contractors taking 2 hours to install a replacement door but Home Depot said it can take half a day / door so thinking there is room to make that cheaper.

I've also researched window costs and found posts on bigger pockets where replacement windows were sometimes about $200. So $2400 for windows and $1200 for installation would be $3400. A far cry from $32k for those windows.

With that background, do any of these numbers make sense?

Can you buy windows / sliding glass doors wholesale / cheaper than sticker price for a rental if you are the general contractor / otherwise?

What is the most cost effective way to replace windows and sliding glass doors for a rental property?

@Larkin Adey Very good to know.

@Kyle J. Interesting point. I will keep that in mind.

@Bryan Devitt On the Cape.

@Greg Dickerson That's a good idea. I'm going to ask.

@Bryan Devitt The property is in MA.