shortykorte
Well-known member
Just found a website that may give you good estimates on construction cost. Also has repairs. http://howmuch.net/cost-guides.html
How much does it cost?
- Thread starter shortykorte
- Start date
The FIB
Well-known member
That's a pretty cool site, the big problem is its not zip code adjusted.
Construction costs can vary quite a bit depending on location.
Construction costs can vary quite a bit depending on location.
happy2rv
Well-known member
Years ago I bought a book, The National Construction Estimator. It was very handy for estimating costs, supposedly adjusted for location. I believe they still publish it, but some time ago they started making the data available online at http://get-a-quote.net/. It takes a little getting used to, but in the upper left corner of the page, there is a search box for what type of work you are wanting to estimate. The results show up in a column on the left hand side of the page. Alternatively, you can select a "costbook" in the drop down at the top center of the page and browse work categories. It's not the most intuitive interface, but once you get used to it, it provides a lot of data. The web results show the national average for materials and labor. Unfortunately it's hard to find the localized rates. The results show a page number at the top with arrows to go to the previous and next pages. I believe these correlate to the printed book pages, and page 11 shows how to localize the costs. However, there isn't a good way to navigate directly to that page. I've found the prices to be a little on the high side for my location, but it has still been a valuable resource over the years, especially for getting ball park figures.
JRC3
Well-known member
http://www.homewyse.com/services/index.html I use it for reference to bid things sometimes.
DieselPills
Banned
Without this, that website is totally useless!
Let me give you an example:
I'm working on a building in Oregon. Here minimum wage is $9.25, skilled labor is much higher, and Home Depot/Lowes prices are some of the highest in the country.
I'm going to be buying a house on the east coast. Over there, everything at HD/Lowes is almost 10% cheaper, every day asking price! Then if you need labor, minimum wage is only $7.25/hour, skilled labor is more, but not as much as Oregon! Obviously, the exact same job over here will cost significantly less.
But even if it was price adjusted for zip code, I'm sure it would be way off. Even experts have trouble estimating exact costs for jobs, that website is going to be way off. It just isn't that simple.
cleason
Well-known member
thats why we call it guesstimates, always be prepared for extras.my old house in honeoye falls ny, everytime i opened up the walls i was spending more than i expected. never tell your gc that u have some money in reserve.i do most of my own work,so i dont need to pay,for alot of the job. also have a lot of friends to barter with. union electrician 30 years.
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Richard Cranium
Well-known member
no matter what, you always find some thing that you are not counting on.
James-W
Well-known member
That is pretty common when trying to remodel an older home. Once you start tearing things apart you usually find a multitude of sins.
Jinks
Well-known member
Those sites can be "helpful". I used something similar recently getting a parking pad poured off my driveway. I assumed that the site would be a year or more out of date, & that it would be optimistic. With that I assumed the site owner would also get more "hits" if it made the costs appear more reasonable. The end result was that I paid about $300 more than the average of two sites. Much better than the bids of 2 & 2.5 times the price I actually paid.
A lot of contractors assume (correctly) that you have no, or minimal, experience in their specialty. They inflate prices because the average customer doesn't have all the information & relies on the contractor being honest. Sites like those help you find the really honest contractor.
A lot of contractors assume (correctly) that you have no, or minimal, experience in their specialty. They inflate prices because the average customer doesn't have all the information & relies on the contractor being honest. Sites like those help you find the really honest contractor.
hh76
Well-known member
If it were so easy, why would there be so many threads on here comparing contractor estimates that vary wildly.
cleason
Well-known member
never take low bid they forgot something, high bids usually ripping u off.
justanengineer
Well-known member
For fun... 
GJ Rules of Cost
1. All tradesmen are $100+/hr and dont know what theyre doing, so buy the most expensive tools and screw it up yourself.
2. All tradesmen pay full box-store retail for everything and cannot possibly do a job cheaper than you.
3. All contractors working out of a truck/van by themself or with a helper are evil and going to screw you. The only safe bet is to pay the most expensive company with the fanciest stores and newest/biggest trucks.
4. Cost is area dependent and tradesmen wont travel more than 2 miles, so there is no need to get more than 2-3 quotes, leave your subdivision, or spend more than 5 minutes researching cost outside your immediate area.
5. All garages cost $100+/ft2 for the bare framing alone. Concrete, siding, roofing, etc are all extra. If your 2-car garage didnt cost $100k+ it likely wasnt built correctly.
6. If you pay a tradesman you own them for life. They are responsible for every minor repair in the middle of the night, on Sunday, for free, even when you specified something cheap/wrong and/or they have no experience building that particular item. Treating them like ****, interrupting their work, getting in the way with your camera, not allowing them use of the *******, withholding and/or being slow with payment, and expecting them to work through inclement weather will neither affect the quality nor price of the work nor future work. Net 30 is the same as net 90.
7. No matter what anybody else nearby says they paid they are wrong, YOU are in the most expensive part of the country.
GJ Rules of Cost
1. All tradesmen are $100+/hr and dont know what theyre doing, so buy the most expensive tools and screw it up yourself.
2. All tradesmen pay full box-store retail for everything and cannot possibly do a job cheaper than you.
3. All contractors working out of a truck/van by themself or with a helper are evil and going to screw you. The only safe bet is to pay the most expensive company with the fanciest stores and newest/biggest trucks.
4. Cost is area dependent and tradesmen wont travel more than 2 miles, so there is no need to get more than 2-3 quotes, leave your subdivision, or spend more than 5 minutes researching cost outside your immediate area.
5. All garages cost $100+/ft2 for the bare framing alone. Concrete, siding, roofing, etc are all extra. If your 2-car garage didnt cost $100k+ it likely wasnt built correctly.
6. If you pay a tradesman you own them for life. They are responsible for every minor repair in the middle of the night, on Sunday, for free, even when you specified something cheap/wrong and/or they have no experience building that particular item. Treating them like ****, interrupting their work, getting in the way with your camera, not allowing them use of the *******, withholding and/or being slow with payment, and expecting them to work through inclement weather will neither affect the quality nor price of the work nor future work. Net 30 is the same as net 90.
7. No matter what anybody else nearby says they paid they are wrong, YOU are in the most expensive part of the country.
JRC3
Well-known member
It's all true...Every bit of it.
My advice is to subscribe to Handyman Magazine and watch some home-makeover shows on DIY Network so you can learn to do it all yourself.
My advice is to subscribe to Handyman Magazine and watch some home-makeover shows on DIY Network so you can learn to do it all yourself.
cleason
Well-known member
nice! im a tradesmen and i had my own electrical business. was lucky to get 45 an hr. back in the late 90s. there was always someone willing to work for nothing and under cut me.45 was for waste management. every one else was lookin for deals. i got to fix alot of deals work and do it your selfers. carpetry is one job u can do it yourself. ive built a lot of stuff. but i always check with buddies or building inspectors first. 30 yeaars ibew 86 roch. ny