I've probably contacted too many contractors and I'm a little overwhelmed. Here we go:
Contractor #1: These guys did the house across the street, and Vivian seemed really pleased. When the owner came in, he was really nice. Definitely seemed to know his stuff.
But his quote came in at $60,000. We were stunned. I thought we wouldn't be able to go through with the project. But, I already had a few more contractors lined up so I figured we'd at least see what they had to say.
Contractor #2: I think I found these guys by Googling, I'm not sure. Anyway, they're based out in Brighton but said they'd come by and quote the job. Their rep was here last week but I had to go out to their showroom and pick out cabinets and countertops so they could give us a quote. That's fine but the showroom is 45 minutes away, in Brighton and they didn't have Saturday appointments available for several weeks. I'm a little annoyed that I had to go out there to do that. His quote was $18,000 but that only included cabinets and counters (not labor or flooring or appliances).
Once I got to the appointment, they told me we couldn't have the design I wanted because of "code." According to them, the sink had to be 18" from the cooktop. Our design only had 12". Well, this affects the whole configuration and to be honest, I didn't like the one they had come up with. So, being a lawyer, I looked up that code. Turns out, this is not a code requirement. It's a design standard. Now I'm feeling talked down to and I didn't like that.
Contractor #3: This guy was recommended on NextDoor and he came out right away. Actually the same day I called. And on a Saturday! So he's the only one that Derek has met. And he's also the only one who really got in to our kitchen, looking at the plumbing and such. His quote came in the lowest so far, at $21,000 (but that's without flooring and appliances). However, when I emailed him to ask if his quote included permits, he never responded. It's been about three weeks. So I guess he took himself off our list.
Contractor #4: He was the only one sure that our wall was a load bearing one. And he was absolutely sure. He seemed nice. He tried to sell me on quartz countertops though. I really want wood.
His quote came in at about $43,000 but didn't include wood countertops (Surprise! It included quartz). I asked him to revise, which he did, and the quote went up to $46,000.
Contractor #5: This guy didn't show. So that was easy.
Contractor #6: This is actually a female designer who pairs up with a builder. I liked that she listened to me. I think her designs are going to be a little too fancy for me. Her builder was supposed to get back to us with a quote within two weeks, but that deadline came and went. To be honest, I like doing my own design work, so I don't think we'll go in this direction.
Contractor #7: This gentleman is actually a carpenter by trade. I like that, because I think he'll be great with the wood countertops and floors. And, he has no incentive to try to sell me quartz countertops. He was SO quick with responses when I asked questions and he has a great recommendation from one of Derek's colleagues. His quote came in at $38,000.
All in all, I'm a little sad that everything is taking so long! I've been collecting quotes for more than a month now. And some contractors just don't respond - do I remind them? Or just write them off?
Update: We decided to go with Contractor #7!
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