I have a good friend that is a contractor in Tampa. I have done work for him and with him. Basically a good guy. Does small to large jobs. I'm going to PM info to you. I called him but got voice mail. He's not a car guy, but does have a 26' Baja with twin blown big blocks, so you can talk about that.
SVreX wrote:Enyar wrote: I'm not hiring the low bidder.Yes, I understand. Any bid is subject to renegotiation without decent specs.
Svrex, rough estimate....how much do you think it would cost to build the structure I posted above? The concrete guy recommended contractor came by last night. Nice guy, didn't come off as well as the other guy I liked but this guy had pictures of past builds and you can tell this wouldn't be his first rodeo. Already got back to me with a quote and I liked his timeline. Only issue is this quote is way higher than the others. Basically at this price I can't afford this kind of addition. Now I'm trying to figure out if what I'm envisioning is outside of my budget and I need to scale it back or keep searching for contractors.
My friend, the contractor in Tampa, said exactly what Svex said. He is not interested in a small job with all the complications involved. Loaded with big profitable jobs. Is the economy really that bad if all these guys are busy? My grandson works for a contractor in Stuart FL, east coast. Same thing there.
The economy is not bad and I have no idea why anyone but the chronically unemployed believe it. Unemployment is low, stock market is up, money is flowing like water everywhere. must be the media trying to come up with something to cover to keep people watching/reading/listening.
In reply to Enyar:
I really can't answer your pricing question. You'd be shocked how much variation there is by region.
I recently saw pictures posted of a bathroom remodel in OH. I would have charged $6-8k. The price was $22k, and most people in the thread thought that was a fair price.
I live in one of the poorest areas of the country. I simply CAN'T charge much- I will get no jobs. I have learned to be extremely efficient to try to make up for it- I can get jobs done in less than half the time of many other contractors.
Your area is very expensive. The licensing costs in FL are off the charts ( I am in shooting distance of FL, and contractors in my area won't work in FL, no matter how bad the local economy is)
Total guess- I'd think it may push $100 per SF, but I am completely unfamiliar with your local market. (It would be $30-40 per SF where I am)
Bottom line- it's what the market will bear.
dculberson wrote: The economy is not bad and I have no idea why anyone but the chronically unemployed believe it. Unemployment is low, stock market is up, money is flowing like water everywhere. must be the media trying to come up with something to cover to keep people watching/reading/listening.
Unemployment numbers can include or exclude large numbers of people depending on how you want them to look.
dculberson wrote: The economy is not bad and I have no idea why anyone but the chronically unemployed believe it. Unemployment is low, stock market is up, money is flowing like water everywhere. must be the media trying to come up with something to cover to keep people watching/reading/listening.
True, nationwide.
Not true in some areas- Deep South, Appalachia, coal mining areas, inner cities, Maine, Mississippi Delta, etc etc.
Since the vast majority of the chronically unemployed live in those areas, THEIR economy might be pretty bad.
Even construction is not good, in spite of the fact that contractors are busy (as this thread shows). Huge quantities of construction companies closed in the last 8 years- according to the U.S. census, 50% of builders closed between 2007 and 2012. Membership in the NAHB is down 70%, permits are moving up, but still down 60% from 2008.
Home ownership rates are sinking dramatically, and are projected to continue. This represents a significant hit to the wealth of the average American household.
The correct answer is that the economy is improving greatly over it's recent record lows, but we've lost a decade, and have good reason to be concerned looking forward. The stock market has just recently gotten back to where it was pre-recession, and growth appears to have stopped.
I am happy that your economy is doing well.
SVreX wrote: In reply to Enyar: I really can't answer your pricing question. You'd be shocked how much variation there is by region. I recently saw pictures posted of a bathroom remodel in OH. I would have charged $6-8k. The price was $22k, and most people in the thread thought that was a fair price. I live in one of the poorest areas of the country. I simply CAN'T charge much- I will get no jobs. I have learned to be extremely efficient to try to make up for it- I can get jobs done in less than half the time of many other contractors. Your area is very expensive. The licensing costs in FL are off the charts ( I am in shooting distance of FL, and contractors in my area won't work in FL, no matter how bad the local economy is) Total guess- I'd think it may push $100 per SF, but I am completely unfamiliar with your local market. (It would be $30-40 per SF where I am) Bottom line- it's what the market will bear.
Thanks. I was planning for a 12x24' footprint and the last quote was $20k. For some reason $20k is unfathomable as an expense for me but something around $12k is reasonable. I guess I need to scale back the plans.
In reply to Enyar:
How much will it change the appraised value of your house?
That's probably the only figure that matters.
In reply to SVreX:
We're getting a little off topic for a thread about a porch, so I'll keep it brief. First off the market got back to pre-recession levels in early 2013, not that recent. There will always be areas and industries doing worse than others. And if you worry about "reasons to be concerned" you'll be worried your entire life. How many recessions have you loved through? If you're lucky you'll live through that many more. And I tell you right now is good times. Worse times are behind and ahead, as they almost always are.
I'm sorry the current boom hasn't helped you and your area. But choosing not to be licensed in a nearby area that pays way better seems like a way to guarantee that the bad times stay. Sometimes hoops are worth jumping through.
SVreX wrote: In reply to Enyar: How much will it change the appraised value of your house? That's probably the only figure that matters.
Tough to say. Our house is one of the smaller ones on the block. We paid ~180 for it almost a year ago. Zestimate thinks it's worth 205 now but the neighbor just sold his larger house for $200k cash. It's not a super upscale neighborhood so a nice back porch would likely be nicer than par for the neighborhood. I would guess an extra $10k?
In reply to dculberson:
Never said I wasn't licensed.
In reply to Enyar:
So, anything over $10K is your enjoyment factor.
It's like upgrading the suspension on your car. You're not going to get your money back- so the value is how much pleasure you get out of it.
I'd you design it so you can close it in later (including HVAC). You can then call it living space, and add 288 SF of finished house to your appraisal.
That was the plan! But I don't think I would ever close it in.
If you finally found a guy that you like, but his number is high, I'd talk to him first - is there some aspect about the design that makes it so, that might be changed to save something? I'd also consider the cost of the investment vs. value added to the house, so long as it wouldn't put the value significantly under water, and the scope of your project wouldn't do that (it's not a 100K new kitchen in a 150K house).
As a data point, I spend a weekend with a group of 6 that includes a commercial electrician in Western PA. I have seen him every year for that weekend for the last 8 years. He's more than an acquaintance, but not a close friend. I needed to call him after the trip this year, and it took me weeks to get him, and only by going through a common friend. The electrician is busy, but really he didn't know my phone number and thus wouldn't answer his cell phone. He gets bombarded with calls seeking an electrician and he just doesn't have the time or want that work, and his only option is to ignore unknown phone calls. I think is approach is not uncommon.
SVreX wrote:dculberson wrote: The economy is not bad and I have no idea why anyone but the chronically unemployed believe it.Even construction is not good, in spite of the fact that contractors are busy (as this thread shows). Huge quantities of construction companies closed in the last 8 years- according to the U.S. census, 50% of builders closed between 2007 and 2012. Membership in the NAHB is down 70%, permits are moving up, but still down 60% from 2008.
This. It is not that construction is booming, it's that the bust washed out hundreds and thousands of lower-tier contractors and smaller firms. Even good companies that survived had to let workers go and are still hesitant to hire more in case it happens again. So the volume of work is up a little, but really the volume of competent, organized outfits left to handle it is way down.
On another point, which as a design professional I encounter all the time:
Given your estimate, is a $12k project actually going to do what you need and want it to do? If it will not meet the functional intent, don't even waste the $12k. There is no point building just what you think you can afford if it will not give you a worthwhile, workable, long-term end result. $20k may be $8k more than you wanted to spend, but that $8k may well make the difference between actual value and something that is outmoded before the paint is dry.
Also, in the grand scheme of home ownership, $8k is nothing if you are planning to stay in the place for any reasonable length of time. Increase your budget until you can make sure you're getting your money's worth.
In reply to SVreX:
Perhaps I misunderstood your comments about the difficulty of contractor licensing in Florida?
In reply to dculberson:
Perhaps you did.
I shared that to try to help Enyar. He lives in an area that is difficult to work in, and therefore expensive.
My credentials are not relevant to this thread.
I do know dozens of contractors who won't work in FL because it is so difficult, some of whom are jam-up reputable contractors. Nobody is refusing to work because of a licensing fee. The related requirements, however, are prohibitive and detrimental to business. It's easy for a contractor to loose money in FL.
I did not intend to call your credentials into question, I intended to say that work is out there but people make it hard for their customer to give them money and thus for their own personal financial situation to improve. This thread is an example of why - despite the economy being better than it has been in over a decade - people might not make money. They expect it to be handed to them when, shocking I know, they need to put in work to get it. Work they might not "love."
Excessive bureaucracy, arbitrary regulation, and unreasonable liability are not "work". They are severe hurdles to running a profitable business.
In reply to dculberson:
I have never met a contractor afraid to do work they do not "love". Every contractor I know avoids work they think they may not make money at.
I think that is a very reasonable business decision.
Failure to return calls most likely has absolutely nothing to do with "loving" the work.
None of us know the value of this job. Apparently, Enyar has 1 legitimate bid, which is more than he wants to spend. Assuming the value is around $20K, why is it wrong for contractors to not want to work for $12K?
Not returning calls is the universal language of contractors who are trying to say, "No thank you". I doubt the people who are turning down work are the chronically unemployed. These are people with plenty of work. They are not looking for handouts.
Duke wrote: Excessive bureaucracy, arbitrary regulation, and unreasonable liability are not "work". They are severe hurdles to running a profitable business.
Quoted for truth!
Having been a licensed low voltage contractor in So. Fla, your biggest hurdles come from Building and Zoning. Getting a permit will always require several trips for plans revisions. If you are unfortunate enough to be working in Dade County, bring a translator for dealing with B&Z. Seriously, almost nobody will admit to speaking English. Then the inspectors will arrive. I did an installation of fire and burglar alarms at a new WalMart. Inspector arrived and first words out of his mouth was "I hate my job!". Firefighter that had been injured on the job, now an inspector. He found a few errors.
In reply to cwh:
It's much harder than that for a GC.
B&Z is the easiest thing I do- that's pretty much the same everywhere.
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