1. I had to call a plumber because a toilet float was busted and I couldn’t remove it no matter how hard I tried. They came and “found” all sorts of things “wrong” and quoted me almost $4k. A quick visit to Google and 1 phone-a-friend showed that they were full of sheet. I finally had to break the overflow tube to get it off but successfully replaced it for $15.
It was replacing whole toilet and completely (and unnecessarily) disassemble the bathroom and main drain (loo, sink, shower) to “bring it to code.”
2. $500,000.00 to convert a deck to three season room. That’s double what my house is worth. He wrote it on the back of his business card. He could’ve just told me he didn’t want to do it.
3. About 6 months after I bought my house the sewer line clogged and shit backed up into my downstairs bathroom. Called the local big chain cause I didnt know any better and they wanted 10k to dig up the main line and replace it, refused to even try snaking it or running a camera because “he knew what the problem was”. Obviously that was way past my budget. Guy even acted like he was cutting me a deal as a “new home owner” and all that bs. I sent him on his way and went to talk to my neighbors for recommendations and he came back to my house and magically the price dropped to 8k, then when I still wouldn’t budge he found a coupon or some shit to bring it down to 6k, then 4…
Anyway I got a local plumber to come snake it and fix that for like $200, was just some roots from a dead bush that got removed.
4. Handyman/carpenter here…I was the third or fourth person to provide an estimate to replace a screen door. At this time, the client knew the exact door they wanted and seemed well versed in getting sales pitches.
I survey the home, drive to the supply house and get for a quote for the door. I add 5 hours of labor as the supply house said it takes 2 guys, 2 hours to install. I email the quote, $750, which is rounded up. The client calls to confirm the unit I’m using is the specific one requested – it is.
While I’m installing the door, he tells me the lowest bid he got was $2,700 with the bidder saying the door unit cost was $1,700. My cost for the door was $360.
5. $125k for 40′ x 30′ garage with no finish work. No insulation, to electric, no garage doors. Just a big ass rectangle. Opted to go with the Amish builder who bid $50k. Ordered my doors separately and did the electrical myself. Total cost was about $62.5k. We’ll round up to 65k because I still need to insulate it.
6. $15,000 for 5 windows. I almost did it too, it was my first house thing I paid someone else to do. But they shot themselves in the foot because I needed to wait for a check to clear the next day and they REFUSED to wait. “Only good for today” “if I leave it’s going way up. I had to fight for this price for you”
Found a local guy, did all 5 for $3000. And even came back a week later to make sure everything was good with them. Plus he left me two extra screens in case I needed backups. He said they were so cheap to order on the initial order that he always gets atleast one extra for his client if they are standard sizes.
7. $40k for 4 entry stairs, railing, and a landing at the door. Not even a full porch. I told him I’d die on my shitty cement steps first.
8. I have about 700 square feet of basement that is almost finished; it was built that way and I’m the idiot for not having the home builder just do it all. Framing, electrical, HVAC, insulation and plumbing is all done. The rooms only need drywall and floors, and the bathroom needs the fixtures installed.
My last quote was $130 per square foot, or $91k to complete it. When I asked the guy why he just said “That’s the going rate for all basement work regardless of how much work has already been done. Don’t worry, you’ll get it back if you ever sell the house.” That quote makes sense if the basement was fully unfinished, but no sense at all with 75% already done.
9. 8×8 addition to the house for a mudroom. No foundation, was just going to be on posts. No plumbing either. Fixtures and painting not included. Basically an insulated box with 2 windows and a door.
$65k. Over $1000/sq foot. Was blown away.
10. $87,500 for 28 roof solar panels installed. This was after rebate.
11. I have some very tall pines as a property line. One guy quoted me almost 40k to take them down, because he had to rent a crane, pay for his equipment wear and tear, and have at least 8 loads from a dump truck to take the trees away.
An hour before another arborist came and said 8k for everything, and he could chip every single one and either take the mulch, or leave it where the trees used to be. I told the second guy he was 5 times the price of another large tree company. He clicked his pen, and walked to his truck and drove away, never to be seen by me again.
12. Our heat mysteriously stopped mid-winter, and we called a local company with an allegedly good reputation to come out and fix it.
They quoted $8,000 for a temporary fix, and we would need to replace it in the summer when they were less busy.
My husband is a scientist, and he looked over the quote. He said it didn’t make sense. The things they were fixing weren’t even related to the problem.
13. $30,000 to repair a drain line that became disconnected from the sewer main. It involved digging down 12 ft, installing shoring, and busting up two of the neighbor’s driveways across the street and replacing a few feet of cast iron drain line.
We got another opinion. This guy had the city come out to flush the sewer main from manhole to manhole so he could get a good look at the situation with his camera.
After finding that there was a bottle stuck in the main under the broken drain line connection he was able to convince a city maintenance supervisor that this was the city’s problem and the city ended up taking care of the whole thing. And we are only out a couple thousand for the exploration and consultation that the two plumbing companies did for us.
He went to the crawl space and looked up the error code on google, and we ordered a $50 switch and he fixed it himself. It’s continued to work for four years after that incident.
14. $57,000 to scrape popcorn (not hazmat), texture imperfect smooth finish, and paint my house.
I provide paint.
Next guy did the scrape and texture for 6,500 and even did minor drywall repairs from the plumber. I painted it myself in two weeks after work.
15. We fell victim to the cost-plus scam. I guy we knew, quoted $44,000 to renovate our place. He ran out of money and left. Supplies would get delivered and then disappear and older lumber would appear later. We were told he was financing other projects. Finished project came in at $175,000. And two more contractors. Ended up selling and moving. Bastard.
16. 10K to replace 12 bricks on the top of my chimney crown