Dusty,
Why is it you are a professional on flooring installations but don't have the balls to fill out your own profile?
No legitimate professional installer would waste his time offering-up a phony estimate if he had plenty of any kind of work. I suspect there is more to your needs than you are telling us.
Where did that quote come from? Sure wasn't me. Nor did I ever claim to be a professional. I was relaying what I have learned over the past few years as a homeowner (and one who happens to have 18 years of 4 houses being updated to tell you I am not completely clueless). I didn't presume to represent anything but what I have found here and here is about a 1.5 hr drive from where the OP is living so pretty similar situations. I can tell you for absolute sure, a legitimate professional installer will do PITA quotes. Even a contractor I had working here was complaining to his trades about them giving PITA quotes vs just being honest enough to say they didn't want/need to do small jobs. It's called appearing to be willing while preferring to take easier or larger jobs and not having the jam to just say so. Some will say so and I totally respect that but others won't using the PITA to get them of the hook instead.
Therein may lie the answer to the higher estimates you are getting. I suspect your prep work is substandard and no one wants to deal with it. The high estimates account for fixing the things you have screwed up.
Your suspicions are quite incorrect I'm afraid as I had a very reputable contractor do all the prep including putting in all the durarock and red guard and he made sure it is all straight, plumb, and everything else. Those walls were knocked right back to the studs just to make sure it was right. As a matter of fact he is one of the contractors that usually only does the nice high priced jobs but since he's a friend of a friend he offered to help me out trying to get this little bathroom done and even he just couldn't get a tiler to come in within reason.
He himself was more than miffed at the trades he normally uses wasting everyone's time by doing PITA quotes. The tiler I did have do the work had no complaints at all and was actually very impressed given we are dealing with a 70 year old house here and all that means when it comes to walls not being close to straight any longer. The others who quoted also had no issues with the prep. So I have not screwed anything up (nor am I difficult to deal with or late in paying or any other excuse you might be able to come up with). Thank you very much for passing judgment without just asking politely.:furious:
You are using larger tiles than I was so that is less cuts and generally less work so that does effect price.
That statement right there shows ignorance of the tasks at hand. Nothing could be further from the truth my friend.
Well maybe your guys are different than the ones around here but they all tell me the smaller the tiles, the more cutting and work they have to do and one quoted me $400 less (and that included the price of the new tiles in that quote) if I would use 12X12 tiles just to save him some work (his words). Believe me, I have had to listen to the whining these guys come up with when faced with using subway tiles. I can't imagine where that logic isn't working for you given it takes more effort/time to lay tiles which require 8/sq. ft than 1. Give me a break please for knowing something of what I speak. This isn't my first time nor am I someone who doesn't thoroughly research things before either doing them or having them done.
More nonsense, that's NOT WHY plywood is undesireable....
For that and the rest of your quips that followed, I'm not going to bother. Go to the John Bridge forum and see how many professional tilers comment on just these things.
There's a wood flooring organization that monitors all wood floors?????
...and whom might that be?...
BALONEY!!! All manufacturers offer their own warranty. No organization is going to warrant the goods of any manufacturer.
Yes there is. Look them up. They are the overseers of all the wood warranties. The mfg has their own warranty and these industry folks know all about them and act as mediators and as an information source for both suppliers and customers. They have a site and a phone number and everything you need to know about the various wood companies, standards for warranties and installations. Their info is good for the US and Canada. I'm not looking for them for you since you seem to believe you know better anyway and would rather knock me than go find out for yourself. I told you their logo is on the mfg warranty info.
It's really frustrating in AB to know what prices are doing since the trades still seem to have the upper hand.
That'll be the day!
Ignorance is certainly bliss.:yes:
Are you in Alberta? If so, your experience here would be worth hearing about. If you aren't here, you have no idea. There has been a shortage situation for all trades here for over 3 years now. AB is not like other places in N. America when it comes to this as it's been booming here over that period to the point of importing foreign workers by the boat load. It's been exactly that long since I have been attempting to have this and other jobs done in this house so if anyone can tell you what it's like here, I am one good source. In the past few years, unless you were building new homes or having a $M+ reno done (and no that isn't an exaggeration) you were not able to get trades and prices more than tripled for just about any job you can think of.
Even with the recent slowdowns we have experienced, most are still busy just playing catch up with all the jobs that didn't get done over that period. Add to that a recent tax incentive to do home repairs (a move to keep the construction folks and trades working as the slow down hit the rest of the country) and you still have a very busy bunch of trades people here. The ones who aren't busy are finally paying for being so arrogant or inflating their prices over the same period because a lot of people aren't calling them back. If you are here I suggest you make a few calls and see how the prices vary for the same jobs. If you aren't, you know not of what you speak when it comes to our local conditions. You can call it ignorance but I have the quotes to prove it and they range from $250 - $5000 for tiling around my shower, all prep done, tiles, grout and adhesive all supplied.
Meanwhile I'm not sure why you feel compelled to respond as you did rather than just asking for clarification. I'm not impressed with your judgmental comments when you don't have all the info you need to begin with. You could of just asked.