Is This An Ok Renovation Quotation?

[glomglom 0]

Hi,

I recently got a second hand condo (3 bedrooms, 1141 sq feet) for which I intend to overhaul the kitchen and common toilet..this is the quotation i was given..$51800

please advise if it is reasonable? Also do you think there will be any more hidden costs? Thank you very much!

1. Demolition of kitchen (Wall tiles, floor tiles, existing kitchen cabinet) - $1200

Demolition of common bath and exisiting cabinet - $1400

2. Wet work

a. cement mortar base for kitchen cabinet -$480

b. labour & materials to install selected homogenous floor tile to kitchen (waterproofing) – Approx 120 sq ft -$800

c. labour & materials to install selected wall tile to kitchen– Approx 320 sq ft - $1950

d. labour and materials to install floor tiles to common bath (waterproofing) – Approx 60 sq ft -$600

e. labour and materials to install wall tiles to common bath -Approx 220 sq ft - $1320

f. labour & materials to repolish existing marble flooring @ living & dining area.Approx 380 sq ft. -$800

g. Shower kerb to common bath. -$120

h. New hollowblock wall @ common bath shower & vanity area.-$900

3. Plumbing

a. labour & materials for the following plumbing work: $1800

i.New concealed piping work to kitchen and common bath.

ii.Labour only to install sink.

4. Ceiling / Plastering

a. New fibrous plaster ceiling to kitchen Approx 130 sq ft. - $450

b. Supply & install fibrous plaster ceiling to living, dining.-$1200

c. New fibrous plaster ceiling to common bath Approx 60 sq.ft-$300

5. Carpentry

Kitchen (plastic laminate + ABS trimming)

a. Top & bottom built-in cabinet c/w provision space for fridge, cooker hob, hood & sink.Approx 12 ft L - $3200

b. Full height cabinet c/w built-in space for oven, pull out working table.-$1000

c. Caesarstone worktop. Approx 12ft L - $2400

d. 01 no. of stainless steel disk rack. - $120

e. Sandblasted glass notice board.- $200

Living & Dining (plastic laminate + ABS trimming)

a. full height built-in feature wall storage c/w provision space for wall mounted LCD tv & hidden lights. Approx 7ft L -$1750

b. Wall suspensed T.V console c/w provision space for video & audio equipments. Approx 7ft L -$1120

c. built-in L-shaped wall suspensed shoe cum storage cabinet c/w display shelving & underside hidden lights. Approx 13ft L - $2900

d. custom made dining counter c/w storage cabinet base. $1050

e. 10mm thk tempered glass top for dining counter.$600

Master Bedroom (plastic laminate finish)

a. Full height built-in wardrobe c/w sliding door & sliding out mirror $2000

b. Low height bedhead board. 8ft L $900

c. 02 nos. of suspensed bedside table. $500

d. queen size bed base c/w pull out drawers. $900

e. Partition boxed up at bedhead area. $900

f. Wall to wall mirror cabinet c/w shelving & hidden light. $900

g. Vanity cabinet c/w granite top. $1000

Guest Room (plastic laminate finish)

a. Fibrous plaster wall beading to room perimeter. $250

b. Laminate paneling to bay window ledge. $350

Study (plastic laminate finish)

a. Full height built-in book storage cabinet c/w open display shelving. Approx 6 ft L $2000

b. Full height built-in book storage cabinet c/w open shelving. Approx. 4 ft L $1500

c. L-shaped wall to wall writing table c/w drawers. approx 13 ft L $2000

d. L-shaped built-in wall mounted book storage cabinet c/w hidden lights & open display shelving above writing

table. Approx.13 ft L $2500

e. Laminate paneling to bay window ledge. $350

Common Bath (plastic laminate finish)

a.Wall mounted mirror cabinet $520

b.Vanity cabinet c/w granite top. $1000

c.02 nos. of wall suspensed shelving above w.c. $320

6. Electrical

Additional & alteration electrical wiring works -$2300

7. Painting

a. provide ICI emulsion painting to wall & ceiling of whole premises.-$1200

8. Showerscreen

a. 10 mm thk tempered glass fixed shower screen panel @ master bathroom.-$350

b. L-shaped tempered glass courner entry sliding shower screen c/w powder coated framing, @ commom bath. -$600

c. 10 mm thk tempered glass door to master bath c/w wall hinges & lockset. -$650

9. Parquet

a. Supply labour & materials to re-polish existing parquet flooring for 03 nos. of bedroom. -$900

10. General

a. floor protection with cardboard. foc

b. General cleaning after completion. $250

Total costs $51800..

basin, sinks, lighting, appliances all not included..

[blueocean 0]

Some quick comments :

1. Demolition of kitchen (Wall tiles, floor tiles, existing kitchen cabinet) - $1200

2. Demolition of common bath and exisiting cabinet - $1400

=> Labour cost for demolition is $2600 ? 2 guys x number of men hours ?

a. Full height built-in book storage cabinet c/w open display shelving. Approx 6 ft L $2000

=> $333 pfr for storage cabinet ? Is the design quite unique ? Or special design ?

6. Electrical

Additional & alteration electrical wiring works -$2300

=> Need to have individual breakdown eg number of power socket points, number of lighting points etc

Your work is being undertaken by a general contractor ?

[Honeygal 1]

i can only comment that:

the price for your kitchen cement base of $480 is too high. should not be more than $180, unless your kitchen is HUGE!

shower kerb price is also high. mine is $90 for more than 3 feet plus.

parquet polishing seems high too. my contractor charging me two rooms for $400.

mind you, my contractor is not known to be low price at all!

Edited June 13, 2010 by Honeygal

[blueocean 0]

I generally feel that most quotes are marked up by 40% to 50% of cost price ...

I had an electrician which initially quoted like $5000 ... in the end agreed for $3k plus ...

Then the usual justification is that ... oh ... we are giving you xxx quality etc

i can only comment that:

the price for your kitchen cement base of $480 is too high. should not be more than $180, unless your kitchen is HUGE!

shower kerb price is also high. mine is $90 for more than 3 feet plus.

parquet polishing seems high too. my contractor charging me two rooms for $400.

mind you, my contractor is not known to be low price at all!

[strawberry8 0]

too ex, in my opinion.

[glomglom 0]

The renovation is being taken care of my ID instead of a general contractor..Thanks for the opinions!

[glomglom 0]

the only worry is that if you bargain for cheaper quotation, they will give you inferior standard materials and poor quality of work..

[blueocean 0]

There is always a balance and that is part of the nego process. It doesnt mean if you pay more ... you get better quality. You just have to be fair. If money is not an issue, then it is your choice then

Some pointers :

1. The quotation should be specific. It should specify the length, the type of material used etc.

2. You should be happy with the schedule of payments. In the industry, there is no such thing as a "standard payment scheme". They will always like to say "oh .. this is standard market practice". There is nothing standard about it. Some contractors demand almost 50% or more even before work has started ...

3. It is very difficult to get back money once you have released it.

4. "Lifetime warranty" does not exist because it depends on whether the company will last a lifetime.

5. There will always be "hiccups" with the renovation work, and the person you choose to co-ordinate the works will determine how busy your life is going to be. Is he going to be uncontactable all the time ? Does he supervise the work ?

6. Most companies are not "ID". They are actually general contractors with a retail storefront and they are offering a "design and build" contract.

7. To prevent conflicts and prevent miscommunication, you should have everything on paper eg design works ... how it is going to be like ... Else the contractor will just design and build along the way and just say it is part of the design if any mistakes occur.

8. Read the CONQUAS guidelines on BCA website and also the guide to renovation at CASE website. You need to have a reasonable understanding of what is the quality expected from tiling, windows works etc ... Else, you will just get "smoked" by the contractors. Common excuse they give would be "oh .. it is like that" or "your wall or ceiling is slanted and thats why like that". Always verify what they say with your friends or other people.

9. Read the contract that you are signing. The terms and conditions are again not "standard" and usually are more favorable to the contractor. CASE has standard contracts for renovation and so does the RADAC - but seldom contractors use those as they find that it is not benefical to them.

the only worry is that if you bargain for cheaper quotation, they will give you inferior standard materials and poor quality of work..

[Trevon 0]

When you invite tenders either for the work at your house or at your work place, you will get many business that will submit their tenders. Most of the quote competitive prices and it will become very hard to choose the correct contractors.