"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
| In article ,
| "stainer" wrote:
|
| I usually give free estimates at the time of looking at the job,
| then I inform them about the "design fee" to get a plan.
| Interesting how things work differently at different places. If you
| gave me an estimate and then mentioned the design fee (especially
since
| the fee is not credited toward the project if we accept) I would have
| tossed you out the door as trying to rip me off.

ripping you off..........how?
you got your free estimate (which you expected)
I never said you would get a free kitchen design.
designs take experience, knowledge and time.
my time is worth the money you would spend.


Especially since I am
| sure the actual bid doesn't always match up with estimate after you
get
| exactly everything down on paper.

my estimates are written in stone on paper or verbally

I say give the window shoppers the free estimate without a plan
and if they want a plan, charge them $300 for it and it is NOT deducted
from the contract price.
at least this way you are being paid for your time and you didn't waste
more than 20 min. on a plan that a window shopper is expecting for free.

I usually give free estimates at the time of looking at the job,
then I inform them about the "design fee" to get a plan.

works like a charm
it usually weeds out the garden so to speak.


"RicodJour" wrote in message
oups.com...
| On Jun 22, 7:39 pm, Brent Bolin wrote:
| On Jun 22, 5:27 pm, "ScottO" wrote:
|
| My friend is in the market for a kitchen remodel. He says Home
Depot wants
| $100.00 to just come out and measure. I've never heard of this
before. Is
| this common?
|
| Just did this. The money is refunded/applied to your order.
|
| Which is pretty standard. I started charging for estimates a long
| time ago. Same deal. You sign up, you get a refund. Cuts down on
| the tire kickers. It also lets people know that you value your time,
| and you expect them to do the same.
|
| R
|

I wanted them to reuse the existing one. Had a little bend on the cap
that I fixed. Cap looked fine and was on for who knows how long and
no rust.


On Jun 23, 11:41 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
wrote in message
#3 comes out says "$50 we can do it now" I said "Do
it!!" For a really large job estimates help determine a fair price.
If three guys are about the same money then its up to refenreces and
reputaion.

Since a decent stainless steel cap cost almost that much, it is a good deal.
You did get stainless didn't you? I found out abut rusting caps the hard
way with the first one.

Your price would likely be ridiculous and hear thanks but no thanks
with that attitude

On Jun 23, 3:04 pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Jun 23, 11:13 am, wrote:

It is foolish to think a homeowner shouldnt compare prices. Unless
the estimate is in the range I was thinking the job should cost then
I will get a couple estimates.

I wrote, "Most people that get more than a couple or three bids are
simply price shopping. They think that all contractors are
interchangeable and will pick the lowest bid."

How do you construe that to mean, "Don't get bids?"

BTW, I wouldn't take a ladder off a truck for $40, much less go up on
a roof and install something. Maybe you're thinking about a handyman
working out of his 1987 Econoline or Town & Country?

R

On Jun 24, 8:13 am, wrote:
On Jun 23, 3:04 pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Jun 23, 11:13 am, wrote:

It is foolish to think a homeowner shouldnt compare prices. Unless
the estimate is in the range I was thinking the job should cost then
I will get a couple estimates.

I wrote, "Most people that get more than a couple or three bids are
simply price shopping. They think that all contractors are
interchangeable and will pick the lowest bid."

How do you construe that to mean, "Don't get bids?"

BTW, I wouldn't take a ladder off a truck for $40, much less go up on
a roof and install something. Maybe you're thinking about a handyman
working out of his 1987 Econoline or Town & Country?

Your price would likely be ridiculous and hear thanks but no thanks
with that attitude

I imagine you'd consider a "ridiculous" price to be any price that is
higher than what you want to pay.

Let's see if I've got this straight. You misread my post, attempt to
say that I advised not getting bids, then when I say that it's not
worth my time to take a ladder off of a truck for $40, it's an
attitude?

There are at least a couple of attitudes here. My attitude is that my
time is money - that I do fine work and expect to get paid
accordingly. Your attitude seems to be that getting several bids and
picking a low average somehow enables you to determine the value of my
work. That's just nonsense.

I pay my plumber $100 an hour and my electrician $90. These are my
subs. I understand the value of good work and I'm willing to pay for
it. Not thrilled about the bill sometimes, but I've never regretted
it.

Isn't the system great? I get to choose who I work with and so do
you. You and I would never get past the initial phone call. Saves
everybody's time.

R

"mm" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:34:01 -0700, "Madx" wrote:


My husband just reminded me we had to pay home depot $100 to measure for
laminate flooring we were going to do. They sent out some one with a tape
measure and a scratch pad (no cad drawing)

I thought the normal thing was to write numbers down and then do the
CAD drawing whereever the computer was. A floor is two dimensional,
and ought to able to be represented on paper.


I know the cad drawing comes after from the computer. But what I was trying
to say was that the $100 did not produce any kind of formal write up just a
recording of the square feet in the flooring order department. The
resulting number would have inflated the materials cost and the labor cost
which at the time was $9 a square foot for boh.

We bought pergo at $2.50 a square foot and installed it ourselves using our
own measurements and ordering 10% more.



The resulting number of square
feet was off by 150.

OTOH, this guy couldn't.

I suppose if the work were done by HD you would have/ might have
gotten the extra 150 feet for free. What *do* they do then.

My caution that they might run out of the color still seems possible
but less likely with laminate tile, because they can ship from all
over the country.

I remeasured and a future contractor measured to
confirm. The number of square feet was just recorded in the order
department. We did not receive a materials list or anything professional.
As for the kitchen design we took our own measurements in and they were
used
to give us a free cabinet layout.

That's the basis of why I would not pay $100 for someone to measure or
write
up a proposal. It's part of the cost of doing business as a contractor in
hopes of getting the job.

The guys who came out spent no more than 1/2 hour replacing chimney
cap. They got $50. That's $100/hour labor. So they made what you so
generously pay your
plumber. They also have a satisfied customer (fair price, good work)
who will call again if needed for chimney work and who will tell
everyone abut them. The jokers who show up and say "I wont take a
ladder off a truck for $40" arent likely to get repeat business and
certainly not recommendations. Neighbors are quick to tell others how
much a contractor is a ripoff artist.

On Jun 24, 9:09 am, RicodJour wrote:
On Jun 24, 8:13 am, wrote:





On Jun 23, 3:04 pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Jun 23, 11:13 am, wrote:

It is foolish to think a homeowner shouldnt compare prices. Unless
the estimate is in the range I was thinking the job should cost then
I will get a couple estimates.

I wrote, "Most people that get more than a couple or three bids are
simply price shopping. They think that all contractors are
interchangeable and will pick the lowest bid."

How do you construe that to mean, "Don't get bids?"

BTW, I wouldn't take a ladder off a truck for $40, much less go up on
a roof and install something. Maybe you're thinking about a handyman
working out of his 1987 Econoline or Town & Country?

Your price would likely be ridiculous and hear thanks but no thanks
with that attitude

I imagine you'd consider a "ridiculous" price to be any price that is
higher than what you want to pay.

Let's see if I've got this straight. You misread my post, attempt to
say that I advised not getting bids, then when I say that it's not
worth my time to take a ladder off of a truck for $40, it's an
attitude?

There are at least a couple of attitudes here. My attitude is that my
time is money - that I do fine work and expect to get paid
accordingly. Your attitude seems to be that getting several bids and
picking a low average somehow enables you to determine the value of my
work. That's just nonsense.

I pay my plumber $100 an hour and my electrician $90. These are my
subs. I understand the value of good work and I'm willing to pay for
it. Not thrilled about the bill sometimes, but I've never regretted
it.

Isn't the system great? I get to choose who I work with and so do
you. You and I would never get past the initial phone call. Saves
everybody's time.

R- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Dont bother with HomeDepot for any installation work. The measuring
fee is a ripoff palin and simple. I paid them $35 for measuring to
replace a front door. Guy game out, maybe five minutes and tape
measure and disappeared- wouldnt tell me anything. Went to store to
get "estimate" and of course they pull the "non standard
installation" and want $650 labor to install door and of course I had
to special order door for another $500. I ate the $35 and found a
guy who did work for inlaws. He told me what size standard door to
buy (nice fibreglass one $240) and installed for $300. He will be
doing our back door this week and guess who's getting first bid when
we redo main bath? Same with an electrician. I accidently cut wires
in ceilng . Inlaws gave name and he came out and fixed wiring plus
installed fan box for $120. REasonable to me. He will get called for
any other elictrical work

On Jun 24, 9:57 am, "Madx" wrote:
"mm" wrote in message

...

On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:34:01 -0700, "Madx" wrote:

My husband just reminded me we had to pay home depot $100 to measure for
laminate flooring we were going to do. They sent out some one with a tape
measure and a scratch pad (no cad drawing)

I thought the normal thing was to write numbers down and then do the
CAD drawing whereever the computer was. A floor is two dimensional,
and ought to able to be represented on paper.

I know the cad drawing comes after from the computer. But what I was trying
to say was that the $100 did not produce any kind of formal write up just a
recording of the square feet in the flooring order department. The
resulting number would have inflated the materials cost and the labor cost
which at the time was $9 a square foot for boh.

We bought pergo at $2.50 a square foot and installed it ourselves using our
own measurements and ordering 10% more.



The resulting number of square
feet was off by 150.

OTOH, this guy couldn't.

I suppose if the work were done by HD you would have/ might have
gotten the extra 150 feet for free. What *do* they do then.

My caution that they might run out of the color still seems possible
but less likely with laminate tile, because they can ship from all
over the country.

I remeasured and a future contractor measured to
confirm. The number of square feet was just recorded in the order
department. We did not receive a materials list or anything professional.
As for the kitchen design we took our own measurements in and they were
used
to give us a free cabinet layout.

That's the basis of why I would not pay $100 for someone to measure or
write
up a proposal. It's part of the cost of doing business as a contractor in
hopes of getting the job.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

In article . com,
says...

The guys who came out spent no more than 1/2 hour replacing chimney
cap. They got $50. That's $100/hour labor. So they made what you so
generously pay your
plumber. They also have a satisfied customer (fair price, good work)
who will call again if needed for chimney work and who will tell
everyone abut them. The jokers who show up and say "I wont take a
ladder off a truck for $40" arent likely to get repeat business and
certainly not recommendations. Neighbors are quick to tell others how
much a contractor is a ripoff artist.

What?

How many "guys"? Assuming it's two (the most optimistic assumption for your
case), that's only $50.00 an hour. And you're not willing to pay them for the
travel time, and the wear and tear on their equipment. Let alone the chance
they took that there was some complication on your job that would mean a delay
or the need for more "guys" or equipment.

See, this is the problem with this kind of reasoning. You only consider what
happens in front of your face, and don't think about their business as a whole.

Banty

wrote:
The guys who came out spent no more than 1/2 hour replacing chimney
cap. They got $50. That's $100/hour labor. So they made what you so
generously pay your
plumber. They also have a satisfied customer (fair price, good work)
who will call again if needed for chimney work and who will tell
everyone abut them. The jokers who show up and say "I wont take a
ladder off a truck for $40" arent likely to get repeat business and
certainly not recommendations. Neighbors are quick to tell others how
much a contractor is a ripoff artist.

You hired a couple of handy people. They probably go dumpster diving
when not attempting to "do anything for a buck".

I'm amazed how you figure up worker's labor. No travel time, no
overhead, just pure profit. Ignorance never ceases to amaze me.

I wouldn't let bums do work on my property, let alone step on my roof,
for the simple fact of liability issues.

They were an actual chimney company. I guess the so-called
"legitimate" contractors like to bad mouth others to feel they are
worth more. Hey I' am a professional with a good salary but anytime
I can make $50 for 30 minutes work I'll take it!!!!

On Jun 24, 10:56 am, Mick Collens wrote:
wrote:
The guys who came out spent no more than 1/2 hour replacing chimney
cap. They got $50. That's $100/hour labor. So they made what you so
generously pay your
plumber. They also have a satisfied customer (fair price, good work)
who will call again if needed for chimney work and who will tell
everyone abut them. The jokers who show up and say "I wont take a
ladder off a truck for $40" arent likely to get repeat business and
certainly not recommendations. Neighbors are quick to tell others how
much a contractor is a ripoff artist.

You hired a couple of handy people. They probably go dumpster diving
when not attempting to "do anything for a buck".

I'm amazed how you figure up worker's labor. No travel time, no
overhead, just pure profit. Ignorance never ceases to amaze me.

I wouldn't let bums do work on my property, let alone step on my roof,
for the simple fact of liability issues.

wrote:
The guys who came out spent no more than 1/2 hour replacing chimney
cap. They got $50. That's $100/hour labor. So they made what you so
generously pay your

Actually they didn't. Aside from the fact there were multiple workers
if you count in travel time and general overhead they made a lot less
than that. That is one of the biggest things people don't understand
about business and the main reason why so many startups fail.


plumber. They also have a satisfied customer (fair price, good work)
who will call again if needed for chimney work and who will tell
everyone abut them. The jokers who show up and say "I wont take a
ladder off a truck for $40" arent likely to get repeat business and
certainly not recommendations. Neighbors are quick to tell others how
much a contractor is a ripoff artist.

So a business shouldn't even charge enough to cover their actual cost of
doing business?

wrote:
They were an actual chimney company. I guess the so-called
"legitimate" contractors like to bad mouth others to feel they are
worth more. Hey I' am a professional with a good salary but anytime
I can make $50 for 30 minutes work I'll take it!!!!


For a professional you seem to be totally unaware of the concept of
overhead and expenses.

Lets say your professional billing rate is $100/hour. Do you make $100
for an hours work? Or does the $100 also cover stuff like office
expense, education, staff etc?

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:27:39 -0700, "ScottO"
wrote:

My friend is in the market for a kitchen remodel. He says Home Depot wants
$100.00 to just come out and measure. I've never heard of this before. Is
this common?

ScottO.


I wanted something not off the self for plumbing, and Lowes wanted a
few bucks to have a contractor to lay out the work. Before even
buying anything.

tom @ www.OnThisDayInHistory.info

On Jun 24, 10:24 am, wrote:
The guys who came out spent no more than 1/2 hour replacing chimney
cap. They got $50. That's $100/hour labor. So they made what you so
generously pay your plumber.

You're not paying attention. Guys is plural, my plumber works alone.

If the guys sleep in your garage, they split that $50 for a half
hour's work. Otherwise they probably spent another fifteen or twenty
minutes traveling, and possiblly a fair bit more. Other things you
conveniently ignore are overhead, liabilty (the _risk_, not the
insurance cost), and certainly not the least important, the PIA
factor. Your PIA factor is astoundingly high.

They also have a satisfied customer (fair price, good work)
who will call again if needed for chimney work and who will tell
everyone abut them. The jokers who show up and say "I wont take a
ladder off a truck for $40" arent likely to get repeat business and
certainly not recommendations. Neighbors are quick to tell others how
much a contractor is a ripoff artist.

You're not paying attention. I would have screened you out in the
initial phone call. Frankly, you wouldn't even know about me since I
don't advertise and you obviously don't run in the circles I do. You
consider using Home Depot for installations. 'Nuff said.

R

On Jun 24, 10:33 am, wrote:
Dont bother with HomeDepot for any installation work. The measuring
fee is a ripoff palin and simple. I paid them $35 for measuring to
replace a front door. Guy game out, maybe five minutes and tape
measure and disappeared- wouldnt tell me anything. Went to store to
get "estimate" and of course they pull the "non standard
installation" and want $650 labor to install door and of course I had
to special order door for another $500. I ate the $35 and found a
guy who did work for inlaws. He told me what size standard door to
buy (nice fibreglass one $240) and installed for $300. He will be
doing our back door this week and guess who's getting first bid when
we redo main bath? Same with an electrician. I accidently cut wires
in ceilng . Inlaws gave name and he came out and fixed wiring plus
installed fan box for $120. REasonable to me. He will get called for
any other elictrical work

Lucky for you that you have some in-laws, otherwise you wouldn't have
a nifong clue how to locate a good contractor.

R

It's not hard to find good contractors. Just ask neighbors and
friends and cross off any sh***y ones that wont show up, cost too
much, bad attitudes, etc. This is why I do as much as I can myself.
If the chimney were lower I'd have put the cap up myself. Yeah I
could replace a door but the nuisance factor makes the price I got
reasonable to me.


On Jun 24, 3:16 pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Jun 24, 10:33 am, wrote:

Dont bother with HomeDepot for any installation work. The measuring
fee is a ripoff palin and simple. I paid them $35 for measuring to
replace a front door. Guy game out, maybe five minutes and tape
measure and disappeared- wouldnt tell me anything. Went to store to
get "estimate" and of course they pull the "non standard
installation" and want $650 labor to install door and of course I had
to special order door for another $500. I ate the $35 and found a
guy who did work for inlaws. He told me what size standard door to
buy (nice fibreglass one $240) and installed for $300. He will be
doing our back door this week and guess who's getting first bid when
we redo main bath? Same with an electrician. I accidently cut wires
in ceilng . Inlaws gave name and he came out and fixed wiring plus
installed fan box for $120. REasonable to me. He will get called for
any other elictrical work

Lucky for you that you have some in-laws, otherwise you wouldn't have
a nifong clue how to locate a good contractor.

R

I'm glad I wouldnt find you. As soon as I said what I needed and you
replied" I dont even take a ladder off my truck for $40" I'd probably
hang up. That is a **** poor attitude and I bet you work for someone
only once! The advantage to Home Depot is that if the contractor
screws up you just have to sue Home Depot and they arent going
anywhere. If an independent contractor screws up they usually
disappear, change names go bankrupt etc and homeowners are out of
luck. It's sad that you feel a plumber deserves $100/hr. Find out
how much your kids' teachers make and then decide which job is more
difficult and worthy of that ridiculous rate.

On Jun 24, 3:15 pm, RicodJour wrote:
You're not paying attention. Guys is plural, my plumber works alone.
You're not paying attention. I would have screened you out in the
initial phone call. Frankly, you wouldn't even know about me since I
don't advertise and you obviously don't run in the circles I do. You
consider using Home Depot for installations. 'Nuff said.

R

wrote:
They were an actual chimney company. I guess the so-called
"legitimate" contractors like to bad mouth others to feel they are
worth more. Hey I' am a professional with a good salary but anytime
I can make $50 for 30 minutes work I'll take it!!!!

You really don't have any concept of overhead, thank you for verifying that.

wrote:

It's sad that you feel a plumber deserves $100/hr. Find out
how much your kids' teachers make and then decide which job is more
difficult and worthy of that ridiculous rate.

Very poor analogy, to say the least.

You have no concept what it costs to run a school. I've never heard of a
school with the only overhead, being a teacher's salary. That's as
absurd as you believing a plumbers only overhead is their hourly rate.

Please do share your experience, where a school operates with no
administrative costs, utility costs, upkeep, etc.

This should be good.

RicodJour wrote:

Lucky for you that you have some in-laws, otherwise you wouldn't have
a nifong clue how to locate a good contractor.


Rico,

Could you imagine the expression on this guy's face, when you asked him
what his budget was for a kitchen, bath, or addition? LOL, I'd pay to
see it! )

In article ,
"stainer" wrote:
| I usually give free estimates at the time of looking at the job,
| then I inform them about the "design fee" to get a plan.
| Interesting how things work differently at different places. If
| you
| gave me an estimate and then mentioned the design fee (especially
since
| the fee is not credited toward the project if we accept) I would
| have tossed you out the door as trying to rip me off.

ripping you off..........how? you got your free estimate (which you
expected) I never said you would get a free kitchen design. designs
take experience, knowledge and time. my time is worth the money you
would spend.

Doesn't your free estimate take experience, knowledge, and time? At
least if it is going to be anywhere near accurate?



--
--Tim Smith

On Jun 24, 4:08 pm, wrote:
I'm glad I wouldnt find you. As soon as I said what I needed and you
replied" I dont even take a ladder off my truck for $40" I'd probably
hang up. That is a **** poor attitude and I bet you work for someone
only once!

Well, you'd lose the bet. I am polite and respectful to people as a
rule. I give people the benefit of the doubt. You've shown yourself
to have little knowledge and a strong opinion. I don't respect such
behavior.

The advantage to Home Depot is that if the contractor
screws up you just have to sue Home Depot and they aren't going
anywhere.

You base your selection of contractor on whether you can sue them?
How come this doesn't surprise me?

I'd think that basing the choice on there being an extremely remote
chance of having to sue the contractor would make more sense. Think
about it.

If an independent contractor screws up they usually
disappear, change names go bankrupt etc and homeowners are out of
luck. It's sad that you feel a plumber deserves $100/hr. Find out
how much your kids' teachers make and then decide which job is more
difficult and worthy of that ridiculous rate.

My buddy was a HS teacher - when he retired five years ago he was
making northwards of $80K a year. Homes average about $700K. In case
you haven't figured it out yet, Sparky, I live in an expensive area.

Anyway, you have nothing more to offer, so have fun, do well, bye.

R

Just shows what ripoff artists most contractors are- 2/3 the cost of
most jobs is labor. I will redo the 1/2 bath myself . If one of you
jokers wanted the job you'd probably charge $5k or more. I know I can
do it for under $1k- floor toilet sink and walls mirror so I will.

On Jun 24, 4:42 pm, Mick Collens wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
Lucky for you that you have some in-laws, otherwise you wouldn't have
a nifong clue how to locate a good contractor.

Rico,

Could you imagine the expression on this guy's face, when you asked him
what his budget was for a kitchen, bath, or addition? LOL, I'd pay to
see it! )

wrote:
I'm glad I wouldnt find you. As soon as I said what I needed and you
replied" I dont even take a ladder off my truck for $40" I'd probably
hang up. That is a **** poor attitude and I bet you work for someone
only once! The advantage to Home Depot is that if the contractor
screws up you just have to sue Home Depot and they arent going
anywhere. If an independent contractor screws up they usually
disappear, change names go bankrupt etc and homeowners are out of
luck. It's sad that you feel a plumber deserves $100/hr. Find out
how much your kids' teachers make and then decide which job is more
difficult and worthy of that ridiculous rate.



Your argument is totally flawed and the exaggeration just makes it look
sillier.

There is a tremendous difference between the billing rate of a plumber
which covers business expenses and overhead and the salary of a teacher.

"stainer" wrote in message
...
why charge $100 for an estimate,when you can charge $300 for the plan.

free estimates are what gets potential customers to call you in the
first place.

I say give the window shoppers the free estimate without a plan
and if they want a plan, charge them $300 for it and it is NOT deducted
from the contract price.
at least this way you are being paid for your time and you didn't waste
more than 20 min. on a plan that a window shopper is expecting for free.

I usually give free estimates at the time of looking at the job,
then I inform them about the "design fee" to get a plan.

works like a charm
it usually weeds out the garden so to speak.


I got to where I could walk into a kitchen and give an estimate that would
be within $500 of the final cost. I would try to avoid spending the 3 hours
drawing up a plan, needlessly, like you said to "weed" the garden. Told a
lady, my estimate, once, and she went into a long tirade about how she
hadn't spent that much to buy the house 40 years before and there was no way
she would spend that much to remodel just the kitchen. So, I started to
pick up my things and leave and she says, "Well, since you're here draw up
the plans so I can see what you're ideas are". Yea, sure, so she could take
them somewhere else to get a lower bid? Not likely.

Tom G

On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 11:48:56 GMT, Norminn
wrote:



I'd tell HD that you have your own ruler and they can shove it !!!

We decided not to go with Home Depot after the measuring was done and we
saw the drawings.....apparently they measure the angle on all the
corners and one of ours was off. Our kitchen is rectangular, opposite
walls are parallel, so it made for weird looking drawings. Obviously,
the wallboard at the corner wasn't perfect. If they couldn't see the
obvious and correct it, I didn't want them mucking around in my kitchen.
They had one long wall shooting off into space, about 5 degrees off 90.

This would be a very exciting design, and make your kitchen seem far
bigger than it is. Especially when viewed from outer space. You
should have gone with it.

On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:02:53 -0400, "stainer"
wrote:

I say give the window shoppers the free estimate without a plan
and if they want a plan, charge them $300 for it and it is NOT deducted
from the contract price.

I don't know what "deducted from the contract price" means anyhow.
Don't contractors figure out how much they want, and if they get paid
300 dollars for the first part, charge less for the rest of it?

If they didn't charge less for the rest of it, they'd be charging 300
dollars more for the whole job than they would have if the
meausrements and plan were done after signing a contract?

(which someone might do if the contractor came recommended or if they
had employed him before.)

So isn't it pretty much always deducted from the contract price even
if they don't say so. If one signed a contract before anyone came out
to meausre, wouldn't it be high enough (300 or whatever) to allow for
the time it takes to come out and measuere and draw up the plan?

at least this way you are being paid for your time and you didn't waste
more than 20 min. on a plan that a window shopper is expecting for free.

I usually give free estimates at the time of looking at the job,
then I inform them about the "design fee" to get a plan.

works like a charm
it usually weeds out the garden so to speak.

George wrote:
wrote:
On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:27:39 -0700, "ScottO"
wrote:

My friend is in the market for a kitchen remodel. He says Home Depot
wants $100.00 to just come out and measure. I've never heard of this
before. Is this common?

ScottO.

Damn, I'm in th wrong business.

Or don't have much of an idea what it takes to operate a business.


A $5 tape measure and a couple
gallons of gas and an hour of my time for $100. Heck I could make up
to $1000 a day.....

I'd tell HD that you have your own ruler and they can shove it !!!
And if you make a mistake, HD will tell you that you can EAT IT !!!