Home Improvement Sticker Shock

[VaNurse]

I just moved into an 11 y/o, 2,042 sq. ft. double-wide manufactured home near Raleigh, NC. I had a home improvement estimator come out today to give me some prices. He shows up in his company logo golf shirt and starts off the conversation by asking if I'd be willing to sign today if the price was right. I responded that I didn't plan to contract today because I have someone else coming out tomorrow for bids and my other half isn't home. He appeared startled and stated that he thought I was single. I responded no, your appointment clerk asked me if there was a Mr. X and I replied no. She didn't ask if there was another decisionmaker in the household. He gave me the spiel that the company was paying him to come give the estimate and, if I contract today and they didn't have to spend the money to send him out again, he could give me a good deal. I made it clear that there wouldn't be a contract written today. From that point on, while he was polite, I felt my chain being yanked.

He wrote the following prices on a piece of legal paper, which shocked the shite out of me. If anyone is in the business or has knowledge of fair pricing in these areas, please let me know if these are legit, if he was trying to rape me or just didn't want the business.

Roof, medium pitch, approx. 2700 sq. ft. w/ felt paper and 25 yr. shingles (included tearoff and up to 100 sq. ft. replacement subroofing) - $ 6,010

Gutters & Downspouts, 5" oversize, seamless - $950

Windows (13 - counted from exterior of home, never measured), including removing and re-installing vinyl siding to allow for installation in mfg. home and wood casing (unfinished) on inside - $ 14,740

Deck, including footers, handrails and 10 steps: 10'X27' - $9365
or 12' X 27' - $10,665

Any advice or comments are appreciated.

 

[dawgball]

Windows (13 - counted from exterior of home, never measured), including removing and re-installing vinyl siding to allow for installation in mfg. home and wood casing (unfinished) on inside - $ 14,740

I don't know what kind of windows he is replacing it with, but for a manufactured home, I would think that is a steep investment for windows.

What is the percentage difference of value in manufactured home vs. regular home.

Is a "manufactured home" the same as a trailer or is it the same as the new pre-fab modular homes that I have read about?

 

[THE KOD]

He gave me the spiel that the company was paying him to come give the estimate and, if I contract today and they didn't have to spend the money to send him out again, he could give me a good deal. I made it clear that there wouldn't be a contract written today. From that point on, while he was polite, I felt my chain being yanked.

Roof, medium pitch, approx. 2700 sq. ft. w/ felt paper and 25 yr. shingles (included tearoff and up to 100 sq. ft. replacement subroofing) - $ 6,010

Gutters & Downspouts, 5" oversize, seamless - $950

Windows (13 - counted from exterior of home, never measured), including removing and re-installing vinyl siding to allow for installation in mfg. home and wood casing (unfinished) on inside - $ 14,740

Deck, including footers, handrails and 10 steps: 10'X27' - $9365
or 12' X 27' - $10,665

Any advice or comments are appreciated.

...........................................................

The guy is just too lazy to work on his sales.

Its a classic line of bullcrap and it dont get you no cheaper rate.

The roof and gutters sound close to what I have seen. Have you checked out the new metal roofs ?
I have heard they are cheaper and last longer.

Get at least 2 more bids on everything. You can do better on the pricing.

Make sure they show you liability insurance before they start. A big part of roof pricing is liability ins.
Alot of them dont carry it because it costs so much , they let it lapse. And if they fall off the roof and get hurt, not good for the homeowner.

gl

 

[bubbas1]

A couple of months ago we re-shingled the roof on our cabin. 900 square feet and it cost right around $800. Going by that the total cost of supplies should be around $2400 for your roof. Add another $300 for a dumpster and the rest of the amount is labor. You might seriously want to consider doing it yourself. As long as its only 1 layer it will rip off easily. Wife did ours in a couple of hours by herself. A couple cases of beer and a couple of helpers and you will be done with the job in a weekend.

Manufactured homes have odd size windows. So usually they have to be made special. That will raise the price but I dont know by how much.

I wouldnt go with the guy that gave you the 1st estimate. Sounds to much like a pressure sales pitch to me. Couldnt trust anyone that is like that.

 

[Morris]

Roof sounds like is double what it should be. Why is he giving you a price on replacing some of the wood when he won't know til he tears off the old shingles? Sub contract the roof out separetly or like Bubbas said get some help and do it yourself. You'll be surprised at how much you can actually do.

I just did seamless gutters, 40' long front and back with 4 downspouts for $450. Shop around. Different contractors specialize in different jobs.

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

Get somebody else in there for more estimates. I would suggest looking for local handymen, as well. I also suggest looking into specialists for each type of job.

You should be able to get your roof done for much cheaper. When I had my house done, the estimates were from 3.5k - 8k.

Also, the pricing on the gutters is about twice what it should be.

 

[VaNurse]

Dawgball, I don't know the percentage value of a manufactured vs. "stick-built" home. As I understand it, there are three types (if not more) of homes: manufactured, modular and "stick-built". The manufactured is the least costly and, as the name implies is manufactured in a factory environment, hauled to the property on its own chassis and wheels, and set up onsite. In my case, it's a doublewide, hauled in two trailer-type pieces to the site and assembled onto a brick foundation. A modular is shipped in, at least two pieces (sometimes more) on a truck bed and is fully assembled onsite. A "stick-built" is completely constructed onsite, basically from the foundation up.

This salesman told me that it would be more expensive to install windows into a manufactured home because there is no framing. He stated that the windows are screwed into the side of the house then covered with siding. In order to install replacement windows, they would have to remove the siding and, in the process, some would probably be damaged therefore he had to allow for that in the price. It seemed reasonable in the explanation until the price came out to over $1,000 per window! He never measured any of the windows so I don't think the potential odd sizing came into play in his quote.

I have a flyer from another company that advertises a vinyl siding sale for $1699 for avg size home with 1,000 sq ft outside wall space. I figure this house to have approx. 2,000 sq ft outside wall space. Window World in Raleigh advertises any size window installed for $189. Assumably both of these deals has their profit already included.

Let's say all of the siding is destroyed in the process of replacing the windows and needs to be replaced and I even allow $400 per window, I still only come up with:
2 x $ 1,700 = $3,400
13 x $ 400 = 5,200

That's only $8600 for the whole she-bang including all new siding! Where in the hell is he coming up with the other $6000? Hell, even if I'd pulled out the "only valid at initial visit" coupon I had for 33% off, he'd still be at $9,900! Damn I hate this racket! I just wish someone would give me a fair price for a fair job without all the BS. I don't begrudge anyone a fair profit but I really despise all of the slick sales games. My ex was in the home improvement business and I already know the game. I just wished I'd paid more attention to the figures!

 

[marine]

That's only $8600 for the whole she-bang including all new siding! Where in the hell is he coming up with the other $6000?

Labor to install the siding?
:shrug:

Don't get wrapped around the axle with this guy. Wait until you get at least one more estimate and see how it plays out so you have some kind of reference.

 

[VaNurse]

No worries about me getting wrapped around his axle. Hell, I'll go to the DIY seminars at Lowe's and try doing it myself before I'd contribute to his commission check! Even if I screwed up the first time and had to start all over, I'd probably still end up spending less! :shrug:

 

[Looselugs]

This estimater thinks very very highly of himself.

Windows (13 - counted from exterior of home, never measured), including removing and re-installing vinyl siding to allow for installation in mfg. home and wood casing (unfinished) on inside - $ 14,740

You don`t not have to replace the inside trim unless you feel l the need to.Theres no reason to take the existing trim down just to install a replacement window.

 

[VaNurse]

There isn't any trim on the inside of the windows to start with and I don't like the look of the screws down the side. That was just a little cosmetic thing I wanted. Thanks for the input!

 

[gardenweasel]

i think you did the forum a favor,va.n......you demonstrated why it`s so important to get multiple estimates...

i had one company come out and give me a$ 6000 estimate for double layer shingle removal and 30 year tamko architectural shingles.....

then another contractor came out and gave me a $2900 estimate....

that`s insane...i know....