Help with estimate
#1
10-17-18, 08:51 AM
Help with estimate
First of all, let me just admit up front that I am a complete idiot.
A friend of mine (my partner's boss's wife) has a glamorous art studio in downtown Atlanta. The kitchen, however, is not so glamorous. She hired 5 guys to update her Kitchen with Ikea cabinets and the design they came up with was terrible.
The guys had never installed anything Ikea before, so 4 months later, they still had only barely managed to get the cabinets installed (identical to the previous layout).
When I saw the mess they had made, she had just fired them, but paid them a total of around 5kl. She'd also had to hire a plumber for $200, an electrician for %1200 and she was really upset.
I offered to help and because I am an idiot, didn't set up a price in advance.
I redid the entire kitchen, installing the cabinets the correct way, moving the range, built custom cabinets, tore out a set of built in shelves, built a custom enclosure for the refrigerator, re-plumbed and wired the bathroom, installed drop ceiling and pocket door in the bathroom, modified some built-in shelves for the entrance to the bathroom, installed cabinet lighting above, below, and inside cabinets. I painted, hanged drywall, established a water supply shutoff for the floor, rerouted the hot water so they didn't have to get hot water from the basement (4 floors below), I scraped, cleaned, and caulked the windows. The list goes on and on.
And that doesn't even mention the custom bar I installed.
I also managed the returns of the excess cabinets where she got about 1.5k back.
And I did all of this by myself.
This is a classic story of why you get agreements in writing in advance. But since I didn't do that, I need some advice.
Now, the project is done and she absolutely loves it. But I have no idea what to charge for this or how to organize the charges to make sense. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, how do I estimate the charges? Where do I find what's reasonable in this case? Thanx in advance for your kind consideration.
A friend of mine (my partner's boss's wife) has a glamorous art studio in downtown Atlanta. The kitchen, however, is not so glamorous. She hired 5 guys to update her Kitchen with Ikea cabinets and the design they came up with was terrible.
The guys had never installed anything Ikea before, so 4 months later, they still had only barely managed to get the cabinets installed (identical to the previous layout).
When I saw the mess they had made, she had just fired them, but paid them a total of around 5kl. She'd also had to hire a plumber for $200, an electrician for %1200 and she was really upset.
I offered to help and because I am an idiot, didn't set up a price in advance.
I redid the entire kitchen, installing the cabinets the correct way, moving the range, built custom cabinets, tore out a set of built in shelves, built a custom enclosure for the refrigerator, re-plumbed and wired the bathroom, installed drop ceiling and pocket door in the bathroom, modified some built-in shelves for the entrance to the bathroom, installed cabinet lighting above, below, and inside cabinets. I painted, hanged drywall, established a water supply shutoff for the floor, rerouted the hot water so they didn't have to get hot water from the basement (4 floors below), I scraped, cleaned, and caulked the windows. The list goes on and on.
And that doesn't even mention the custom bar I installed.
I also managed the returns of the excess cabinets where she got about 1.5k back.
And I did all of this by myself.
This is a classic story of why you get agreements in writing in advance. But since I didn't do that, I need some advice.
Now, the project is done and she absolutely loves it. But I have no idea what to charge for this or how to organize the charges to make sense. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, how do I estimate the charges? Where do I find what's reasonable in this case? Thanx in advance for your kind consideration.
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#2
10-17-18, 01:47 PM
Group Moderator
At this point, I would count/estimate the time you spent and give her an hourly rate and total.
#3
10-18-18, 04:21 AM
Did you both agree or assume that you would be paid something? Add up cost of material then add about 15% to 20% for your work.
Keep in mind that you're doing this in a voluntary basis and that you are trying help your friend. And I assume you are not a licensed carpenter, plumber or electrician. What's important to you, the payment or the fact that you helped them ? Also what can they afford.
Keep in mind that you're doing this in a voluntary basis and that you are trying help your friend. And I assume you are not a licensed carpenter, plumber or electrician. What's important to you, the payment or the fact that you helped them ? Also what can they afford.
