Thought of replacing roof as it was leaking in an open porch area. Got two estimates. One from a small company that someone at work referred. Second one from a large, established company. Both appear on GAF as certified etc. Ofcourse the large company is some type of "Master...." certified. 

Now, larger company estimate is about 30% higher than first one, coming to few grand difference. 

Wondering why such huge difference. Any thoughts ? 

22 minutes ago, jackandjill said:

Thought of replacing roof as it was leaking in an open porch area. Got two estimates. One from a small company that someone at work referred. Second one from a large, established company. Both appear on GAF as certified etc. Ofcourse the large company is some type of "Master...." certified. 

Now, larger company estimate is about 30% higher than first one, coming to few grand difference. 

Wondering why such huge difference. Any thoughts ? 

Get a 3rd

and part of  the difference is paying for your " search "

Yup,  get a third estimate, throw out the one that's out of line from the other 2. I do this with most things now, but it's something I learned from a roofing contractor that I worked for (for 13-14 years) a long time ago.

Larger Company means larger overhead and usually higher quote, but doesn't mean better job. If you are in Central Jersey and you want the job done right there is only one roofer to use. I can also tell you a large company not to use. Their nickname has the work SLOP in it and rhymes with their company name.

 

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I hire contractors for a living.  Small projects of a few thousand dollars up to several hundred thousand dollars.

1. Check recent references.  You want to talk to three people who hired this contractor in the last 2 months, not the same 3 names they've been handing out for the last 5 years.

2.  Have the contractors tell you how they are going to do the work and what materials they will use.  Some estimates say "replace roof".  Who knows what you're getting.

3. The advice to get a 3rd estimate is a good one.  We often hold a public bid where contractors all submit their proposals to do a project and we open all of the bids at a meeting and all the contractors can come if they want.  We're looking for the lowest price.  But...when 3 contractors are all within a few thousand dollars of each other and one contractor is $50,000 less than the next guy, you're going to have problems with that contractor.  Right now, you don't know which price is the right price.  A 3rd quote will help with that.  And, if two contractors are in the same ballpark and one guy is much, much less, don't go with the cheaper guy.

Great advice. Will get 3rd estimate and go from there. Thanks everyone. 

There's an advantage to using a local company as well, especially if they're in your same town.  Word of mouth is better than a bag of gold for them.

Back 26 years ago, a company did a complete rip of 3 roofs, repaired and installed 25 year shingles. I got 2 estimates of ~10K.
Almost threw up. One of those estimates who did it the first time for ~3.8k if I remember correctly. They said that things changed and materials got more expensive. I get that. But they had no interest in giving me any discounts as a return customer. Then when I said I'll think about it, weeks later, they said they'd do it for ~8K, then later ~7k....
What was worse, they couldn't do it for several weeks later.
So they busted my balls when I asked for a better price, said no, then offered 2 more deals? KMA. [emoji1361]

The other thing to realize that no matter where you are in line, big jobs come first. Smaller jobs get done when they run out of big jobs. Local roofers are not great either. I contacted a local family that was in business for decades. Never even had the decency to contact me back. I had to leave voicemail which I did 3 times. They contacted me a month later and I told them screw off.
This is a dog eat business. General contractors, Specialized builders, etc. are almost the same way.


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I used to be a contractor and did some roof work when we needed to fill schedule. There are a number of things that affect a price and make it go higher:

1. Contractor's cost to do business...most legit contractors have higher overhead, have all the insurance, etc.  The one or two guys who are cheap may not be covered.

2. How busy is the Contractor?  If they're booked up for the next two years, you'll get a higher price from them.

3. Does the contractor think you'll be a pain in the ass?  If you tick the guy off your price will be higher.

4. Miscellaneous:  Do you have a Benz or Viper in the driveway? The price just went up. Are you a Dr. or Lawyer? The price just went up.

If the Contractor needs to fill a hole in his schedule, the price may go lower.  I did a lot of bidding, but I also did a lot of work for people who called me and said, "How can we get this done" because they knew my reputation. If you trust someone  it 's worth paying a little more.

If you don't...get three or 4 estimates and references and you'll be fine.

 

 

I used to be a contractor and did some roof work when we needed to fill schedule. There are a number of things that affect a price and make it go higher:
1. Contractor's cost to do business...most legit contractors have higher overhead, have all the insurance, etc.  The one or two guys who are cheap may not be covered.
2. How busy is the Contractor?  If they're booked up for the next two years, you'll get a higher price from them.
3. Does the contractor think you'll be a pain in the ass?  If you tick the guy off your price will be higher.
4. Miscellaneous:  Do you have a Benz or Viper in the driveway? The price just went up. Are you a Dr. or Lawyer? The price just went up.
If the Contractor needs to fill a hole in his schedule, the price may go lower.  I did a lot of bidding, but I also did a lot of work for people who called me and said, "How can we get this done" because they knew my reputation. If you trust someone  it 's worth paying a little more.
If you don't...get three or 4 estimates and references and you'll be fine.
 
 

Numbers 3/4, although true, piss me off. Just because someone makes money doesn't mean they want to part with more of it than someone else.

Most home renovation work is a commodity product and going with the low cost provider isn't the end of the world.


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Actually, I have to disagree with your assessment that most home renovation work is a commodity product. The PRODUCTS are commodities (roofing, siding, storm doors, etc.) but the installation....that's where most people get screwed. You can pay for the best grade of red cedar shingles for your roof then get a guy who doesn't detail the installation correctly and you've got crap.

Workmanship is the key to everything. I've seen guys who could even screw up a standard vinyl siding installation.  Carefully checking references is probably your best bet.

14 minutes ago, mikeyjones said:

 

 

Numbers 3/4, although true, piss me off. Just because someone makes money doesn't mean they want to part with more of it than someone else.

Most home renovation work is a commodity product and going with the low cost provider isn't the end of the world.


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3 shouldn't 

4? Ya I don't do that. Unless it's one of my wife's charity cases. Usually free.

 

6 minutes ago, JayWilling said:

Actually, I have to disagree with your assessment that most home renovation work is a commodity product. The PRODUCTS are commodities (roofing, siding, storm doors, etc.) but the installation....that's where most people get screwed. You can pay for the best grade of red cedar shingles for your roof then get a guy who doesn't detail the installation correctly and you've got crap.

Workmanship is the key to everything. I've seen guys who could even screw up a standard vinyl siding installation.  Carefully checking references is probably your best bet.

Prolly should hang up the bags if you're screwing up vinyl siding. But truth is, there are hacks in every industry. I have yet to advertise, I've subbed of a group that advertise like a summabitch. Hacks! Doing the game well, but time catches up with everything.

I watched screw-ups continue to have problems, rip people off, even get sued, and still manage to keep their business going. Sometimes I guess it doesn't catch up.

8 minutes ago, JayWilling said:

I watched screw-ups continue to have problems, rip people off, even get sued, and still manage to keep their business going. Sometimes I guess it doesn't catch up.

I hear ya. I truly hear ya

Forgot to mention. Most will not come out for a visual. They effing use Google Earth and estimate from there. Talk about bs.


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