Another contractor rip off ?

Question

How much would you pay for

13 hours of spackling and sanding

the Sheetrock ?

I’m in upstate New York .

Matthew Irish-Jones · Answer

@Marci Stein.

This has probably happened to everyone on this site.

Couple things to do in the future that can help you avoid this.

1) no up front bid = no work

2) collect a W-9 up front

3) check insurance up front

These three things will help weed out poor contractors

Lee Bell · Answer

Couldn’t give me a bid upfront because he said he didn’t know how hard it might be and how long it will take .

Red flag right there. I would call BS on that.

Will Triplett · Answer

Once again, I agree with Trenton. I come out of the contracting world and and any job over $500 needed a bid. I worked on lots of old houses (sometimes 100 years+) and if I couldn't determine what might happen I just gave a conservative estimate and if Iost the job, so be it.

Trenton Miller · Answer

Definitely a high price tag.  I have done entire 1,000-1,250 sq ft homes for slightly higher than what you paid.  I would use this as an expensive learning lesson.  Moving forward, thoroughly vet your contractors before hiring them.  I hate to say it but, this happens... all the time.  I also agree with what Will said about an upfront bid.  This would have been valuable in the breakdown of his price.  IE materials and labor per man.  The fact that he could not give you an upfront cost should have been a red flag.

Max T. · Answer

@Marci Stein

I pay a guy 250/day.

Figure 2 days for that time.

Plus a little more for the helper. Maybe another 100.

Angelo Russell · Answer

@Marci Stein the question is “How many hours should it have taken?”

If I do that job it’ll probably take me 40 hours because I really don’t know what I’m doing. Lol! Use Google to get an idea of time and cost before talking to any contractor.

Trenton Miller · Answer

@Will Triplett Great point Will.  Finishing sheetrock is labor intensive, typically a crew will go in, so you have to consider whether or not the 13 hours were man hours.

Will Triplett · Answer

I agree with Jay. A job that size usually calls for a bid up front. How much were the materials and are the13 hours man-hours (more than one person on the job)?

Trenton Miller · Answer

Was any sheetrock hung?  How many square feet of sheetrock was sanded & spackled?  The size of the job plays a big role here..

Patrick Harrington · Answer

Shame on you for not having a rough price up front. Or getting 3 bids. You can not negotiate after the job it done.  The way it works it works with some contractors is what ever the market will bear. Not sure what people think it cost to run a contractor business but it cost money to turn the key. Just like a house all the expenses. I would say if you thought it is to much money try doing the job yourself and see how much work it is. I get paid for what I know not how much I do. Just a different prospective on The comments.

Another contractor rip off ?

Most Popular Reply