Bath Renovation Pricing

Sounds about right for a budget-level job of a bathroom the size you descirbe with the scope of work you outline. The scope of work suggests pretty much a gut renovation or close to it. You don't describe any electrical work, and that is really the only thing you aren't doing. For reference, doing the same work but doing it more high end by using marble tiles, Duravit-quality fixtures, tempered glass barrier wall and door in shower, nickel-plated hardware and accessories, some minor electrical, etc would run more like $40,000. Bottom line: the bids sound right.

Thanks for your response kyle. To be clear, that amount is only for the labor, and does not include any materials. We are purchasing the materials and are planning on using good quality marble tile, fixtures, etc. None of those items are taken into account in the above price.

Well, if you are going for a high end finish and the final price will be about $35-45,000, then you are in the ball park. FWIW, I advise against ordering the stuff yourself. It just doesn't save that much in the end I find and the aggravation is enormous. Toilets arrive without fittings and straightening that out takes 100 phone calls, missed work, people not showing up with the delivery, more missed work... then a chip is found on the toilet and the contractor says it came that way and the manufacturer says the contractor did it and then you have another 100 phone calls, meetings... Then the sink you ordered is 1" too big, or you failed to order the proper plumbing fittings because there were pieces needed you never even heard of--so the tile guy can't finish until the pieces arrive, but when they arrive the tile guy is busy on another job and can't return for another week and it isn't his fault because he had blocked out time for you back when you promised the plumbing would be finished. The shower glass comes with the wrong clips that the contractor tries to use but don't work and now he says he has to charge you more to repair the wall damage the wrong clips caused...

I found it much better to give the GC a list of the EXACT materials (with SCU numbers from sources) that I wanted and have him bid the contract including those materials along with the plans. If he ran short of tile, it wasn't my fault: he knew what I wanted and what the plans called for. The problem was his and there would be no up charge. Similarly, If something arrives damaged, it is up to him to resolve the problem with the supplier--not me. I told my GC, "I am choosing you and paying what you asked because I respect your professionalism. In return, I expect perfection, 100% adherence to the contract plans and material, and no deviation from the time line or budget. If I make changes, that's one thing; but if I change nothing, then this price is the final price. Period." That is how I worked. As I've said before on older threads, my gut reno of an entire apartment came in at 3% of budget (minor overruns due to my own few change orders) and within 2 weeks of projected finish for a 4.5 month project. I attribute this to vigilent monitoring of the job at all stages, excruciatingly detailed plans specifying every last detail and finish, and staying out of the procurement business and leaving that to the GC.

Thanks for the recommendation. I realized my above response was not clear. I will not be ordering the materials ourselves, I will be doing as you suggest, but just wanted to make clear that no materials are included in the above quote. I do expect to pay a bit more for this project in total, including materials, but I have a sense of how much the materials are supposed to cost. I am less certain on what the appropriate charges are for the labor.

You don't say in your post whether or not you are replacing the walls themselves. I would HIGHLY recommend demolishing existing walls and re-installing with new wonderboard. Also put in new insulation.

nobody thinks that those amount are CRAZY, it's a downpayment outside the city!!
Do you really beleive that in the 90ies people paid 30-40k for a new bath on fifth av? NO WAY! So why do you accept to pay it now? why play this absurd game?because real estate went up from 1991? Better to renovate yourself , find some good friends to help you out...

Switel: in most Manhattan co-ops, you cannot go down the DIY route. Building rules rule.

I usually charge a little less then the other two contractors but I don't think they are very far off

NYC10023, you got a good point but this doesnt explain to me the insanity of today's renovation pricing, especially when the US economy is collapsing!

Thanks for all of your responses. I guess these are in the ballpark. For perspective, I am not talking about an apartment on 5th, Park, etc, and not looking to renovate as such. Just want a quality job to bring it in line with the rest if the apartment, which has been nicely updated for the most part.

Bbny11,

Depending on the bathroom there have been times I am able to renovate a bathroom for 12-14k. If you would like me to take a look at I would be happy to.

To view my work: www.primerenovationsnyc.com

Primer,

When giving a proposal (after you've seen the project) do you add line items for insurance and overhead? One of the proposals included at the bottom 8% insurance and 10% overhead, which was applied to the entire amount (doing more than just the bath). That resulted in the second proposal costing about $15k more than the first. Thanks!

bbny11

It always depends on the project. Generally if the project is over 100k then I do have general conditions , profit and overhead as a separate line item. For a project of that size I would just include it in my price. I would write down each line item but I would not price out every line item. As far as pricing I would have a price for the bathroom and then break down the other items.