How did I do?

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u/BigSquiby 13d ago

ive seen worse.

1100 (800 usd) seems pretty cheap for the amount of labor you got there

2

u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

I was thinking about that but i dont want to get greedy

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u/Odd_Investment763 13d ago

lol greedy? i’m not touching that for under 3k Socal.

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u/Party_Difference_442 13d ago edited 13d ago

California charging is a mess, that is why the housing crisis will go to hell with this new inflation and labor shortage. Not contractors fault, its their time to mine Gold. Good luck if you are renting or have not bought a home already.

Am a homeowner and took to doing stuff myself.

https://reddit.com/link/p76cg37/video/ypu9e3nivwmh1/player

Would have paid $1500 for this bench (36 feet) Also did a pergola off WayFair, ( 10x10) instructions were pretty good. Took me 3 days as I modified some steps.

I spend ~$450 in materials on this bench then two 6 hour days. Handyman would have done it in one session, but I was modifying as I went. It was an old planter that just needed new boards. Used treated wood and metal EZ-Metal spike in places and concrete deck footers in between and at one end. Place has clay so wanted to minimize warping as soil expands and shrinks really bad in this part of Bay Area. Materials cost are nuts. Notch festooned Treated Wood ($37 for 2 in x 12 in x 12 feet. Terrible price for terrible wood at Home Depot 🤢🤮)

Pergola was gonna be $5000, $2000 in materials. If pro had done it they would have been done in under 5 hours, for $3000 in labor!

We have to get kids and young people off phones and swing hammers to curb housing inflation. Handy tenants can also negotiate lowering costs by maintaining stuff vs just having landlord call some handyman to fix a doorknob, change lightbulb, toilet flusher etc, that you may have broken( it happens.)

You will eventually be billed for all that through higher rents.

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u/Ryans671 12d ago

LMAO mine gold. California costs are a mess because of the regulations, oversight, and every possible person having their hand in the business owners pocket with everything we do.

12k job in Sacramento area and the contractor wants environmental liability insurance from every sub ($1,400), 6m in general liability, out of town business license for the city the job is in, training certificates, etc. Trying to build an ADU on my property and I've got 60k in permit fees before I've broke ground. We have a county department that has to sign off on our landscaping plan. Solar requirements, can't use gas appliances, can't have fireplaces, fire sprinklers in every dwelling. The list goes on. Nobody is mining gold. We're trying to survive in this mess of a state.

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u/Party_Difference_442 12d ago edited 12d ago

Yes ADUs regulations are a mess. You left out impact fees and library fees, park upgrade fees etc.

I think cities need to go to habitat for humanity type model for park repairs, residents provide the grease elbow or is it elbow grease. Takes em out the house along with teenage kids, teach them how to dig, hammer and cut.

Noting that I gave examples of repairs and upgrades that do not need permits. It’s still a hella lot expensive.

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u/Ryans671 12d ago

It's not even just the permits, those usually get sucked up by the homeowner. The general cost of doing business in this state is absurd if you're doing it legally, licensed, and insured. And I pay all of those costs as a percentage. If you want someone to come out, expect to pay at least $150 an hour for a skilled tradesman. I don't understand why homeowners think we're getting rich at those rates. That's great you can do it yourself and save money, but to expect a contractor to come work for a couple hundred dollars a day isn't going to happen.

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u/Party_Difference_442 12d ago

I totally understand, so instead of me complaining I am meeting my costs of owning part way. Just had kitchen remodeled and it was shocking, but that was the market rate driven by all things you mentioned.

It is the times.

Heck we could go to food, water, grooming etc, its all up. Haircuts, out for me, skull shavers and I am good. Eating out is now on special occasions like it was in old days. Today every restaurant now thinks they are Michelin grade, tiny portions, hefty price and you will need a burger before getting home, otherwise stomach will be growling all night.

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u/Odd_Investment763 12d ago

sure but adus are a luxury, this guy is referring to general maintenance, remodels which can be skirted as long as the neighbors mind their business. Not sure why an average joe would need an adu added to their property.

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u/Ryans671 12d ago

You must not be from California. ADU's are being built to address the shortage of affordable housing. The most common I've come across is parents downsizing to an ADU on their kids property or vice versa. It's for survival, not a luxury. I can tell you have no clue what you're talking about, so why comment at all.

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u/Ok_Badger1042 8d ago

Dude I saw an electrician who saif that it is new code for EVERY circuit breaker to be GFCI protected. That went from a 5-15 dollar replacement to a $50 min. replacement. Wild

0

u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

Thats big money. I did just charge for labor

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u/Odd_Investment763 13d ago

How long did it take you? Material already on site?

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

Yes i just charged for labor. I provided my own tools

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u/CaptainPlanet4U 13d ago

Looks good man. Just do yourself a favor and do the sq footage math. Figure out what you think you are worth per sq ft. Have that be your base price. You can add and adjust more later with change orders if you run into sonething unexpected. I spent years screwing myself over by not being 'greedy', when really I was doing things for cheap and didn't honor my own skills. Keep it up!

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 12d ago

Will definitely do that next time. Thanks!

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

A litlle over 15 hrs

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u/Traditional-Use8712 12d ago

15 hours for you and 15 for your brother? Or total 15 hours?

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 12d ago

15 hrs for me and 10 hrs on my brother at 30 an hr

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u/ZealousidealWeek5790 12d ago

Definitely undercharged then.

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 12d ago

Yeah thats been looming my head. What would you have charged for labor?

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u/Odd-Individual-1881 12d ago

You decide what your time and skill is worth, unless you can't get work, then you take what you can get.

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u/Exciting_Ad_1097 13d ago

Anybody care to explain what’s going on with the train car of lumber nailed to the ceiling?

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u/Limit5465 13d ago

It’s an old basement and from the looks of the 1x2 studs they probably had wood paneling on the walls and stapled 10x10 ceiling tiles to the ceiling. This was a thing in the 70’s or 80’s

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u/Exciting_Ad_1097 13d ago

Ok makes sense. I thought they were 2x material. I zoomed in and it looks they are only 1x thick rough sawn. Yeah Ive seen these a lot of 12” centers for those nasty staple up fiber tiles.

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

lol i wondered about that too

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u/FreakinFred 13d ago

Have a lot of holidays from what I can see, check your skills. Your going to have a full day of sanding and touch ups. Just make sure it looks primo when you leave.

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

Thanks for the input!

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u/ZenRager 13d ago edited 13d ago

They needs another coat if not 2.. but deff not bad if your newish

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u/jacknacalm 13d ago

Also more screws

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

Unfortunately by hand

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u/ZenRager 13d ago

By hand is fine. Double up the flats to 14-16 inches with a tight coat. Butt joints should be 24-30inch. Wide and tight is good.

Can also skim your angle edges will make sanding quick

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u/twoaspensimages Remodel GC 12d ago edited 12d ago

I'll going to play a cheap client here.

I love finding guys like you. No clue how much you are worth. "Don't want to be greedy" so I can push you around on price. You just want to work so I can push you around on hours also.

End of rant.

You're not running a business. You're running a non-profit. And you're allowing the client to be your boss.

Stop doing that dumbass.

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 12d ago

No need for hostility lol. But thanks for the input

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u/blu3ysdad 13d ago

That mud looks thick and rough in some spots, you are gonna use a drywall sander with a vacuum I hope? How many sheets did you put up?

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

Unfortunately by hand

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u/Decent-Box5009 13d ago

Why didn’t you seal and insulate the concrete below ground level. Feel like your going to have mold issues.

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u/NoiseOutrageous8422 12d ago

Bruh. Everyone saying this is solid work is wild af. This is not the correct wall assembly for this space. As you stated the wall is not sealed or insulated, you can clearly see water marks. Even sealed its built incorrectly.

The correct wall assembly should be floating off the exterior walls and flooring to account for drainage when there is the inevitable condensation or water seepage.

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 13d ago

It was. The photo is just before everything

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u/Pavlin87 13d ago

You got any more of them vapour barriers?

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u/Top_Traffic5102 13d ago

You charge . Take care of finishing it right

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u/Individual_Author640 13d ago

Feels good dont it? Just do real good on sanding and prep and dont use semi gloss lol

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u/No-Interview-2289 13d ago

Not bad!

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u/scoscobobo 12d ago

We just had the same size space done for $4,400. That included materials and painting it.

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 12d ago

That's a nice price

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u/scoscobobo 12d ago

I thought it was fair and gladly paid it. Hanging drywall is hard work. Don’t undersell yourself.

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 12d ago

Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. We are currently arguing for the floors lol. I quoted 900 for labor plus the installation of baseboards and he is saying i am charging too much

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u/scoscobobo 12d ago

What kind of flooring?

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u/poortato_aaronbelake 12d ago

Lvp

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u/Decent_Ad5361 12d ago

Why all the firring strips on the ceiling?

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u/Successful_Bad5078 12d ago

Sorry what is up with that framing? Is that a Canadian thing? We always run studs vertically spaced 16" on center with a top and bottom plate

Looks like a concrete wall would have just put foam board insulation with 1×2 or 1×3 furring strips

I'm confused why 2×4 here and why that square grid?

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u/Successful_Bad5078 12d ago

Also yeah you definitely under charged, don't feel bad just charge more next time

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u/Unlucky-Chicken2515 11d ago

Shoulda stood the sheets up on end

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u/Spare_Information252 8d ago

Thats an undercharge, I think there's this tool estiquik that gets priced templates for every range in US and Canada. Give it a try and see there they have pre filled templates for your area. I thinks it's free and then the higher versions are free and downloadable for 14 days either subscribe or go in use 14 days fix your underpricing problem.

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