This guy wants $900 for work on our deck. Help -- is this reasonable?

[bertha katzenengel]

The deck stretches across the back of the house - I'd say it's maybe 40' x 10'. It's also to clean and paint the wooden floor of our enclosed front porch - size, about 20' x 8'. (I'm guessing - I'm not going out there in the dark to measure; there are mosquitoes!)

The quote is for:

pressure wash both
replace one 2x6x14 deck rail
tighten loose rail boards
seal deck with "CFW Clear"
paint front porch with "Sherman Williams Duration Self-Priming Paint"
quote includes all paint, sealant, lumber

Now: is $900 a reasonable quote for this work? I heard the number and about choked.

I know you'd have to take in where I live, etc.... but... what do you think?

:scared:

[MissB]

1. I don't know, but I always get at least three quotes

for any work that I need done. Especially since it isn't something that you need done right this very minute.


I received a quote the other day for nearly $20k for some masonry work. We have all the materials. That was just the estimated labor charge. It was 4x what we expected.

[bertha katzenengel]

2. quotes - yes... thank you!

Will do.

I'm having a handyman service send a guy over for some other work on Friday. I'll ask Mrs. V. to ask him if his company does the type of work that Mr. $900 quoted us on.

Good luck w/ your masonry job. Ouch.

[seaglass]

12. Wow, my husband does masonry - it must be quite a job. n/t

[MissB]

19. Goodness no.

It is a set of 8' wide steps and some steps in the landscaping (about 10 steps total) plus a small patio about 80 sq feet. Did I mention that we have all the material?

[MissB]

3. I'd ask him to break down the approximate labor hours per job

(considering the deck and the porch floor two separate jobs) so that you can easily compare quotes.

Honestly, looking at it, it seems quite high. It doesn't take too much to pressure wash, although that may include equipment rental. One piece of wood probably isn't that much (you could call your local Home Depot or Lowes and ask how much a board in that dimension would cost - is it pressure treated wood?)

I'm thinking it is high on the labor cost side of things, but he may be expecting this would take quite a few more hours than you think.

[bertha katzenengel]

4. He told Mrs. V. it's two days of labor. Honestly, the only real labor

I see is the sealing and painting. Especially if he has to get down on his knees. That IS tough.

Still, I think you're right - high on labor.

Yes, pressure treated. I will check the price on that board.

[sandnsea]

5. 10 hr days

$45 an hour. Yeah, it's reasonable. Unless you want to hire an illegal immigrant.

[bertha katzenengel]

7. Truth be told, I'd hire anyone who needed a job.

As long as s/he were qualified.

$45/hr is reasonable for this kind of work? I don't necessarily doubt it. I'm just ignorant.

[sandnsea]

8. Yes, $45 hour is reasonable

for a trade person running their own business. Been to a mechanic lately? They charge $60 hr where I live.

You'd hire anybody? Great. That's why workers are saying illegal immigrants drive wages down. Congratulations for doing your part to keep half the families in the country at near poverty levels.

[bertha katzenengel]

16. Thanks. And, having grown up dirt poor and saving myself via the

bootstrap route, yes, I do all I can now to screw the poor whenever I can. :sarcasm: Your response to what I've said isn't logical.

I doubt seriously that illegal immigrants post to Craig's List, which is where I find most of the laborers I hire to work around my house when there's a job I can't/won't do.

[Misunderestimator]

17. She said "As long as s/he were qualified"

Nowhere in her post could it possibly be construed that she was talking about hiring an illegal immigrant. How odd for you to bring a slam against immigrants into it.

And $45 an hour is WAY too much for ONE person to fix a deck. It's far too high for someone with as little overhead as would be needed for that. A mechanic is a more highly-skilled job with a hell of a lot more overhead.

Don't do it, Bertha... shop around. Since the materials are included, I would say that you will buy them up front yourself and see what he quotes for just the labor.

[bertha katzenengel]

24. off topic

Have you ever used your lovely voice for

"oh, sweet mystery of life, at last, I've found you"?

Not being prurient or peepish thomasina. :blush: I just can't get that song out of my mind since Skankzilla -- the in-heat escapee who came home after five nights of tramping around -- came home, and I can imagine it in your voice. Several tones lower than the sainted Madeline sang it, though.

:hi: Miss you, darlin'.

[Misunderestimator]

34. LOL!

I can't hear anyone but Madeline singing that! You're so funny, and sweet. But to find your kitty, I would have sung anything you wanted. :hug:

[sendero]

31. I agree with you..

... $45 an hour is not reasonable for this kind of work, which requires no real estate (shop), little in the way of equipment, and even skill level (I'm Joe homeowner-handyman and I could do this with my eyes closed).

I bet the OP can find a better deal. Some contractors like to itemize every step and make it all sound like a huge job. This isn't. She should be able to get this done for a lot less IMHO.

[China_cat]

11. If the company is registered and insured

this is not unreasonable. Part of the cost, too, will probably go for a permit that can run quite high but land YOU in big trouble if you don't have one.

[Misunderestimator]

18. A permit to *fix* an already existing structure? I doubt it.

[China_cat]

20. You'd better check your county regs

We have to have permits for ANYTHING we do on the property. Had to have a permit to take down the tree, permit for the new roof a few years ago, permit to replace windows, permit and inspection for any electrical work, permit to PAINT, permit to repair any part of the structure. It wasn't fun to have a building inspector come out and tell us that if we couldn't produce the permit to fix the steps on the front porch we'd have to take them off, pay a fine equal to 3 times what their valuation of the 'improvement' would be and THEN have to pay $150 for a permit to replace the steps.

It would be nice not to have to do it but the consequences of not having a permit can be worse than not ever doing the work in the first place.

A contractor will know, will get the permit without you having to do anything (he can lose his license if he doesn't) about it and factor the cost into the price of the job.

[bertha katzenengel]

21. A permit is not required to replace a broken board on the deck in my

county.

[China_cat]

32. Here it's a $55 permit.

Painting is $35, electical work is $120 and an extra $75 for the inspection, roofing and other repairs are $55. And they're going up in August.

[Digit]

35. On your knees? I thought it only took a roller

just like you would paint a wall, only you are doing the floor of the deck.

[radwriter0555]

6. That's quite high. For a week's worth of work, sure, but not for 1-2

days worth.

Get more quotes.

[Schema Thing]

25. You can run a business on 750.00 per week?

[radwriter0555]

26. Yes. People earn a lot less than that even. Not everyone makes 50K

a year for cleaning a deck and replacing a board and laying sealer.

It's manual labor requiring a basic knowledge of very low level difficulty home maintenance.

[bertha katzenengel]

28. "It's manual labor requiring a basic knowledge . . . "

Manual labor I can't do right now, and honestly may never be willing to do when I'm able bodied. I'm lazy. And I don't know stuff. I'm willing to learn, but I'm not sure I'm willing to learn by doing, by myself, on my own deck. :shrug:

[Omphaloskepsis]

9. Supplies are super spendy now (post-Katrina)

Sounds reasonable to me. Remember, he has to adjust for giving estimates. They might have spent an hour getting to your house and coming up with a number. Someone has to pay for that. Your estimate was paid for by someone else. (unless you had to pay for it, that is odd around here)

I just dropped around 80$ on five gallons of paint. It is a high quality indoor. But, that shit is so much more expensive then a 2x6..

[China_cat]

10. If it were here in Charleston

it would be a very GOOD price. We had a tree taken down 5 years ago...cost us $600 (cheapest estimate which is what we took). I've been getting estimates on the driveway. Just for grading and gravel the lowest so far (out of 6) is $1500. Paved is starting at $2500. The one I'd like to have is over $6000.

[seaglass]

13. I don't know if it's high but keep in mind if a person doesn't

want the job they will quote high. Definitely get a couple more quotes to see what the going rate is.

[KittyWampus]

36. Pointing An Arrow To Your Post Re:High Quotes If You Don't Want Job

[seaglass]

37. Thanks. My husband has quoted high on real pain in the ass jobs.

Lots of times homeowners think something is simple but it is either time consuming or just an unpleasant job. There have been other times I've suggested my husband turn down a job just because of the personality of the homeowner, you can often tell who is going to be a pain in the butt or try to screw you out of money. I've been proven right time and again. I'm not saying this is the case with this job at all but there could be a reason the contractor doesn't think it's worth his while.

[Lochloosa]

14. Ok, here goes. I'm an estimator and a project manager

Now, I am in the electrical field.

That's at least a two day job. At least.

You can't paint wet wood. So the pressure washing will have to be done after all of the repairs. Then he will have to wait for it to dry and come back for the painting. Wait for that to dry and come back and inspect and touch up.

I think it's a fair price.

Now for a little project management advice.

1. DO NOT PAY UP FRONT! He may ask for 1/3 of the cost up front to cover the cost of the material. That would be reasonable and not unexpected. But do not pay anymore till the job is DONE.

2. Ask for copies of his license, insurance, bonding and most importantly his workmen's compensation insurance. If he does not have that then find someone else. If he were to get hurt your homeowners would have to pay and they would then drop you like a hot potato for allowing someone to work without it.

3. Get what you pay for. Don't be afraid to question anything that doesn't look right. That is why you hold back the money. Most of these guys get work by word of mouth and he will be trying to make you happy.

4. Finally, if he does a good job, write him a letter of reference.

[lumberjack_jeff]

23. Agreed

Replacing half the boards on the deck would take the same day that replacing one board will. A contractor isn't going to mobilize to a project for two hours of compensation. If he's dedicated to a project for a day, he'll charge accordingly.

Good advice too, btw.

[Digit]

15. It seems high to me, too

You did not say how large the front porch was...Also, you may want to specify how many coats of paint you have agreed to on the front porch.

If I were you, I would get a few more quotes.

[samplegirl]

22. That sounds way to

high to me. I would get more estimates. My deck
is bigger than that and it cost me around 500.00

[Catchawave]

27. Is this a reputable contractor ?

That is, from a trusted referral, like a friend or neighbor?

If so, $900 is not unreasonable.

If not, get two more estimates :hi:

[bertha katzenengel]

29. I don't know. I guess I could check him out.

I got his name from Craig's List.

A handyman service is coming to the house Friday for some other work. I'm going to ask what they'd charge at least to clean the deck and replace the board.

[Catchawave]

30. I'd feel better...

...if you asked your neighbors for referrals who have had handyman work done. Who knows, maybe one of them has a handy retired rent-a-husband (like mine!) hanging around the house too :) He was the one who thought $900 wasn't unreasonable, BUT, depends on the quality and reputation of your contractor. Working as bonded and insured, will definitely charge more than a friend or neighbor.

Pressure washing decks runs about $30/hour, you might want to start from there!

[Robeson]

33. I'd get a couple of more quotes, but if he is a qualified contractor...

...and he's actually going to "tighten" your deck, and check every screw, etc., plus all the other work you are talking about, then that price - with materials included - doesn't sound to far off.