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Is this a reasonable price?

by Maria
(Arlington, MA)

Is this a reasonable price to tear down two walls and a ceiling in a bedroom?

Hi,

I recently had a complete roof job on my house. It was installed incorrectly and water got into one bedroom.
In short, I need to tear down two walls and the ceiling in that bedroom. The size of the bedroom is 12'X12'.

Below is a summary of the work that needs to be done:

- Tear down two walls and one ceiling
- remove all insulation in that area
- wash down the affected walls/ceiling with a mold resistant solution (person doing the work states we do not need a mold remediator)
- install new insulation, put up sheet rock & Paint (2walls and ceiling).
- paint the remaining two walls in the bedroom to match.

Please note - he is not plastering the walls and ceiling just sheetrock and paint.

Here is the problem - my sister began dating this guy who sent his friend over to give us a quote. He is charging $4800 for this work.
My sister decided to hire him without my approval.

I feel we are being way overcharged.
Please let me know what you think!

Thanks,

Maria

Comments for
Is this a reasonable price?

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Sep 25, 2011
 Costing
by: Gary

Hi Maria,

It's a horrible feeling when you feel like you are being ripped off! I'm in the middle of a legal battle at the moment with some rogue traders I mistakenly hired to render the front of my house.
They've screwed it up and don't understand why I'm not willing to hand over any money, it's a really stressful thing to go through.

The price you've been quoted translates to around £3000. It's difficult to assess without looking at the room exactly how much is involved. I also don't know how much a tradesman earns per day, or the quantities/costs of materials where you are.

A job like that could certainly involve more work than you might think, are the walls coming down and staying down or being renewed? If they're staying down there may be plug sockets/switches that need re-routing or disabling. If they're going back up there's obviously the cost of new materials and the labour for that.
There's rubbish to get rid of at the end of all that too (assuming he's taking care of that in the price)

I think the only advice I can give you is that if you are not urgently wanting the work done and can put the guy off for a couple of weeks or so (maybe say it's more expensive than you had expected and you need time to raise some funds) and get a second and third opinion.

At the very least it will help put your mind at ease.

Also, make sure you have a signed contract with details about everything that is involved.

Visit the find a carpenter page and there's a link to some free contracts you can print off and use. They're free and vary depending on the size of the works being carried out.

The biggest thing helping me in my case at the moment is the contract that they've breached and the exchange of text messages/e-mails that is written proof of what was agreed and I'd complained about throughout the job.

Be very wary of anyone who won't put down in writing a contract like this, if they're legitimate then there's nothing for them to fear in signing a contract with you.

Hope it all works out for you and there are no more leaks etc..

Gary

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