Man,

these people are a bunch of jokers. Don't listen to them. I wouldn't trust
a contractor any more then a used car salesman...the only exceptions are
friends or people that have already proven themselves trustworthy.
Contractors will charge a number on the high side. If the job is easy and
cheap, they get to keep some extra dough. If the job is more
difficult/costly, they stick it to you. They show up for a few hours every
few days. They hire ILLEGAL aliens and pay them dirt wages, but still
charge you full price. I have known contractors that said something would
take a week to demo...I did it in a few hours. Real trustworthy people out
there. Find a friend and buy him a keg of beer Other then that, ask
lots of people if they know anyone that is trustworthy.

You know, I make it a point to upgrade the valves whenever they are exposed.
It only costs a few bucks and you just increased the reliability of the
system. The old valves are usually full of crud and about 1/4 of the time
they don't even work very well. If you already have the walls exposed, just
spend the extra $200 to get the new anti-scald valve for the shower. If you
want to be real cheap, you could probably find something for $100.

Contractors and handymen should be federally regulated and they should have
standardized forms that list anything that is remotely possible. Gees, they
could put a spreadsheet or a database on a laptop and input the
requirements, it could print out like 20 pages with all the possibilities
and likely cost. As they do the work they could update the data every night
and you could log into a webpage and see exactly where things stand. Once
the job is done, you would have a printout of everything that was done and
all the parts and labor would be itemized. If the job was cheaper, you
would get your discount, if the job cost more you would pay the extra
amount. Some auto mechanics and home inspectors have something similar. It
is pretty nice to see something like that.


wrote in message
...
On Sun, 4 Mar 2007 08:13:44 -0500, "Berkshire Bill"
wrote:


"John" wrote in message
...
I have a small bathroom remodel, probably about 10 hours, certainly no
more
then 20 hours of work for one person. How much should I be looking to
pay
a contractor? What is the labor rate, not counting hardware?


I generally won't quote if the customer is providing the material, so I
would probably bid $8000.00 if there isn't a bathtub or toilet involved.

Bill


I'll do the job for $500,000 plus travel costs, labor and materials.