Bathroom remodeling in NYC - how to choose and get best price?

This thread is all bull with 2 people arguing over labor costs.

The fact is I got full labor for $1000. A single individual who will likely get a lot of business and recommendations and everything said on this thread was all wrong.

Since labor isn't being subcontracted out, he is able to do all of it himself and he is willing to work for $1000 labor cost. Start small, build customer rapport and gain a lot of business and then start charging higher prices and making more money with minimal overhead costs.

All of these contractors who charge tens of thousands for intricate work are fine and all, but it means they have already been established.

EvilCapitalist said:   mikef07 said:   
You can call quote a wishing price all you want, but someone was using these companies based on both reviews, websites, pictures of projects, and referrals, therefore by definition this non union laborer was getting more than a union laborer in NYC which you said WAS IMPOSSIBLE.
Wrong. As usual. Someone could also be quoting a 2001 Honda Accord for $120k. It does not make it worth $120k unless someone BUYS it.

And for the Nth-time. Union rate is measured dollars an hour. No bids on the number of hours. The rate must be higher PER hours with as many hours as it is going to take. Everything else is a subject to revision.

Got it. You don't understand basic math nor have an understanding how capitalism works. That is not arguable so no point in arguing it. You think $200/hr is less than $100/hr. Makes sense. I guess it really is not your fault since you are imply not intelligent enough to understand basic math. Sorry for assuming you were.

grex23 said:   This thread is all bull with 2 people arguing over labor costs.

The fact is I got full labor for $1000. A single individual who will likely get a lot of business and recommendations and everything said on this thread was all wrong.

Since labor isn't being subcontracted out, he is able to do all of it himself and he is willing to work for $1000 labor cost. Start small, build customer rapport and gain a lot of business and then start charging higher prices and making more money with minimal overhead costs.

All of these contractors who charge tens of thousands for intricate work are fine and all, but it means they have already been established.

Earlier you mentioned, that aside from the plumbing work, there is also electrical work to be done as part of this bath remodel, and the fact that the co-op requires the contractor has to be licensed and bonded. Now you claim a single individual is doing all the work by himself. So this individual is a licensed contractor, licensed plumber, a licensed electrician, a carpenter, painter, taper, possibly a ceramic tiler, is bonded(I don't even want to go into what it takes to get bonded for construction work these days), insured, will pull the necessary permits, and is doing this bath remodel in a NY city co-op high rise for $1,000.00 in labor ? WOW! This thread should be moved to the "Hot Deals" section.

ETA: BTW, By any chance does the "single individual" you are hiring wear a shirt with a big red "S" on the front and a red cape in back?

grex23 said:   A Manhattan contractor had emailed me which had a huge portfolio of bathrooms from expensive Manhattan propertiesHopefully your project will appear in a similar portfolio

$10 that grex23 doesn't end up posting before and after pictures

I thought this was FatWallet, where people save money, not throw money in the wind for work they can do them selves.

We remodeled our bathroom a couple of years ago for a $1000 total, and our bathroom is the size of some NYC apartments.

Got rid of the plastic enclosure in the shower, and tiled the walls, tiled the floor with radiant heating, and got all new cabinets, and double sink from IKEA, installed 4 recessed lights and exhaust fan with yet another light. All for $1000, all it took about 4 weekends.

glxpass said:   winter said:   $10 that grex23 doesn't end up posting before and after pictures
Why bother, since they're likely to be the same picture?There will be a difference but it will be subtle...the regular outlet will be replaced with a GFCI outlet....look for it.

holv said:   blueiedgod said:   I thought this was FatWallet, where people save money, not throw money in the wind for work they can do them selves.

We remodeled our bathroom a couple of years ago for a $1000 total, and our bathroom is the size of some NYC apartments.

Got rid of the plastic enclosure in the shower, and tiled the walls, tiled the floor with radiant heating, and got all new cabinets, and double sink from IKEA, installed 4 recessed lights and exhaust fan with yet another light. All for $1000, all it took about 4 weekends.

I think the issue is that many buildings won't allow you DIY renovations. There isn't much you can do when your building has a requirement to use a specific contractor.

I have never lived in a Co-op, never saw the value in owning shares of the cooperative, but if you operate under "what they don't know, doesn't hurt" then why not.

grex23 said:   "When dealing with co-op, be careful. Mine requires over 1M insurance guarantee, work hour limitations, permits and specific contractors for specific jobs. For example, need plumber for toilet, cannot be general contractor. Also exit inspection. have service elevator, there's a fee for us and also fee if anything scratched/damaged."

My building is lax on requirements. The only thing they really want you to show is insurance so its licensed and bonded for protection to the building as well as maintain appropriate hours and the like and make arrangements with super for water shutoff. The one I found is a licensed plumber and electrician and is a licensed contractor.

I don't know if this is normal but my building seems to stick notices under my door all the time regarding water shutdown for the building due to work being done (valves at times, backflow, hot water heater, water on the line being shut down due to construction) and so on and so forth.

The NYC license website shows contractors which are not permitted for electrical and plumbing. When I was dealing with quotes, someone came in with an offer for one of these contractors (which are not the vast majority by the way) and I rejected the offer outright. Had I not checked the NYC License website, I would not have known they were not licensed.

Another one claimed licensing and he wasn't which I reported to the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs for misrepresentation of being a licensed contractor.

Consumers need to do dilligence when selecting contractors but there are many legitimate good ones which see a steady stream of business.

But the others said this was impossible for you to find someone licensed and bonded.

not a finance topic

grex23 said:   Requiring a specific contractor if you own a co-op or a condo would be collusion and fraud. ... But they can NOT force a single contractor to get access to the building legally.

Uh, you sure about that, Hoss?

I've known buildings where there was only 1 acceptable contractor ... to ensure there would not be any damage to common structures and to ensure what work was done would be compatible with those structures.

grex23 said:   My building is lax on requirements.

For some strange, inexplicable reason this doesn't seem all that surprising to me.

grex23 said:   I own a co-op unit

You own shares in a corporation that give you exclusive access to a certain space. You don't own the unit. This is not a condo, it's a co-op. But this point is moot unless your building restricts who can do the work.

solarUS said:   Kanosh said:   grex23: Congratulations, you've succeeded in making a stir here about how you can hire a qualified, fully licensed and bonded contractor cheaper than anyone else in town and in defiance of your co-op board. Good for you. Now, stop posting here, and let the work begin. Post an update after something actually has been done.

Because until the work actually begins, all of this is just talk, and talk is cheap.
are you talking about "Talk" in Dallas, Texas or in a high-rise in NYC, NY? because...

Didn't MikeF teach you anything? "Talk is exactly the same regardless of location or circumtstance!

mikef07 said:   Quikboy4 said:   solarUS said:   Kanosh said:   grex23: Congratulations, you've succeeded in making a stir here about how you can hire a qualified, fully licensed and bonded contractor cheaper than anyone else in town and in defiance of your co-op board. Good for you. Now, stop posting here, and let the work begin. Post an update after something actually has been done.

Because until the work actually begins, all of this is just talk, and talk is cheap.
are you talking about "Talk" in Dallas, Texas or in a high-rise in NYC, NY? because...

Didn't MikeF teach you anything? "Talk is exactly the same regardless of location or circumtstance!

Hey it's the clown who voted red and agreed that you can't find any contractor that charges more in Dallas than one does in NYC except by definition the labor that Grex has is cheaper than almost anything in Dallas.

Thanks again for pretty much proving you are worthless to this forum.

Actually Mike, I voted your threads red mostly for the name-calling and your whole "argument for the sake of argument" behavior, which appears to be your biggest contribution to the forum.

But hey, everybody loves a clown, so why can't you?