Should I buy earthscapes from CarpetOne?

[Barry Carlton]

ljmunger said I am in the same boat trying to figure out if I should buy this product,also from a Carpet One. I really like the look of it, we have a small bathroom and laundry room in our basement.(185 sq ft) Didn't want to spend the money for tile, especially to add a heated system for it, thus we came across the Earthscapes. My concern is the price, or should I say the lack of itemization on the bid. I had asked for the bid to include the cost of removing pedestal sink, toilet, washer/dryer. (all would go back in except sink) I was originally quoted 3.65 for product and average 1.65 for install but my qoute comes out to 7.75. Am I crazy for thinking that this is too much? Help!

I don't know about your area or contractors but I both CA. and ID. where I have lived, most of the plumbing ned to be contracted out. If this is the case, the the per foot price could seem higher than you might expect.

barry

[ljmunger]

Seems that the only thing that was separated out was the install of a new sink that their plumber quotes at 200-250. Which was not include in the bid price. I have asked them to resubmit with a break down of material, prep of floor, and then moving of various items. Bid was emailed on tuesday and I messaged back what I wanted, but no response yet.

[Barry Carlton]

I quote a price for install plus the extras....remove toilet 35, moving appliances 25 each, etc. I don't and can't know what your contractor/salesperson saw and plans on doing, but the price per foot can rise substantially when including the variables.

I.E. it may not be an unreasonable estimate.

barry

[ljmunger]

but it is resonable to ask to them listed out, right? I know when I bid jobs, I am in construction, I let the know exactly where I am going to spend the clients money. Any recomendations on other products that are similar, or those to stay away from? thanks

[Barry Carlton]

It's never unreasonable to know what you are paying for.

barry

[Peter Kodner]

I always avoided unit costs when sending a proposal, but was very specific in what was included and what was excluded. You are selling/buying a job not a unit. The tendency is to compare units when in actuality payment is made for the job.

Many unit prices used to arrive at a job costs are not based on a per foot basis, i.e. adhesives are figure in gallons, fasteners in pounds, base by cartons etc. I also calculate labor in hours albeit after using production rates derived form experience.

In many cases a detailed itemized breakdown of costs is a case of TMI! Sell the project and your capability to complete it better than anyone else.

[Barry Carlton]

Peter Kodner said I always avoided unit costs when sending a proposal, but was very specific in what was included and what was excluded. You are selling/buying a job not a unit. The tendency is to compare units when in actuality payment is made for the job. Many unit prices used to arrive at a job costs are not based on a per foot basis, i.e. adhesives are figure in gallons, fasteners in pounds, base by cartons etc. I also calculate labor in hours albeit after using production rates derived form experience. In many cases a detailed itemized breakdown of costs is a case of TMI! Sell the project and your capability to complete it better than anyone else.

You stated this very well. I really seldom give a breakdown and do not like to. In my case the people who call me have done so do to referrals and so they trust me to be honest and fair. They already know that while I try not to be unfairly high, I will definately not be the lowest. And that I will always stand behind my work. If they want to shop and compare, they probably are wasting my time.
But as I said , it is never unfair to know what you are paying for.

barry

[ljmunger]

So this takes me back to my original concern. It started out as 3.65 per sq ft for product, and average of 1.85 for install. With their "bid" it works out to 7.75, this is why I want to know how we got there. If they are charging 400 to remove the w/d, toilet and sink then I want to know that. I have asked them to break down the material cost, which should not have changed, and the labor, and then the additional cost for the removal of items.

[rgfloor]

That $400 may be broken down as follows: Plumber, two trips, one to remove w/d toilet and sink $100. one to replace items,$200. Prep work which could be floor leveling, R&R baseboards, transition strips etc. $100

All are reasonable charges. Or it could be that instead of 185 sq ft you may need additional material because of layout of the room.

There really is not enough information here to give a realistic answer.

[ljmunger]

Here is what the bid says "We propose to furnish and install: Earthscapes Grenada
fosssil installed in the bathroom and utility room. 185 sq ft of material needed (comes in 13'2' width) Remoce exixting vinyl, remove reset w/d, remove and reset toilet, and remove pedestal sink. Install new vinyl over concrete. New baseboards after install by others. Reinstall of sink contracted to plumber, called and quoted 200-250 to install new pesestal sink, total $1430+tax of 125.84=$1555.84

[rgfloor]

I think you are getting off cheap!

My bid would be something like this:

185 x $3.65= $675.25
185 x $1.85= $342.25
remove existing
185 x .50= $92.50
Toilet R&R $75.00
Appliances R&R $50.00
Remove pedestal $25.00
Plumber replace sink $250.00
Prep additional if needed

Total $1510.00 plus tax

Now you can nickle and dime and do all your own R&R and prep, BUT it better be right when I get there.

[Jim McClain]

I'm retired now, but 2 years ago, my quote might have looked like this:

Earthscapes - 185sf @ $3.65 = 675.25
New baseboard (assuming amount) 50lf @ 1.79 = 89.50
sales tax, material only = 55.44
pullup & prep 150.00 (not responsible for hidden damage)
R&R plumbing appliances (no itemizing and incl. a plumber where nec.) 385.00
Install sheet vinyl 395.00
Paint/stain base and install 187.50
Total job = $1,937.69

I would not itemize any further than that. I would sub out any plumbing I couldn't do and get a 15% surcharge on their price for the management and liability (already included in my price above). I wouldn't pass off the baseboard to anyone else because of the loss of potential profit and opportunity to satisfy the customer's needs.

However, as Roger stated earlier, there just isn't enough info to show an accurate proposal here. My prices wouldn't likely have been any lower though.

Jim

[Barry Carlton]

Both of the above breakdowns are more than reasonable.

I would be just a little higher, but not much. There would be others come in at less and others at more.

barry

[stullis]

You work in construction and you can't figure this out?

I'd say you need to get out of construction.

[ljmunger]

"just roger"...just for you...You know, that is quite a jab. But ya know what, having 100 employees and 8 million dollars worth of work to do each year, I don't think I am getting out of it any time soon.

To the "professionals" thanks for the input, you guys have actually given me more information and break down than what I have gotten from the company that bid the job.