Is this a fair quote for finishing my basement washroom?

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4000.00 seems low. Maybe too low. I would get at least one more price, but three is better. I helped a friend do his basement bathroom a few years ago and it was about 10,000.00. Not fancy either. The plumbing alone was 4000.00. I've managed about 20,000,000.00 worth of construction so far this year and every subcontractor that I've had a problem with were the ones that went in too low.
 
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10K to do a bathroom??? I did a whole basement for around $15k. Drop ceiling, bathroom, subfloor and finished floor, kitchen, drywall, etc. Wasn't super fancy, but mid range finish.
 
Riceburner said:
10K to do a bathroom??? I did a whole basement for around $15k. Drop ceiling, bathroom, subfloor and finished floor, kitchen, drywall, etc. Wasn't super fancy, but mid range finish.
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Did the same. But I did most of it on my own/ free help. What? I'm Italian. I'm related to someone who does something.

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We're probably about $25 - $30 K into our basement (almost done), but we have a kick-*** shower and sauna. Porcelain tiles from Italy, Aquabrass shower fitting (Italy again), engineered hardwood from Finland.

The only trades we used were electrician, and tilesetter, and the new stair will be premade. I did framing, subfloor, insulation, drywall, flooring, plumbing myself. Wife did taping/mud, primer, paint.

A couple of doors, some baseboard left - next year no more projects for me, just mc riding and my other hobbies.

some photos for you:

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All toilets are 'low-flow' these days... They work in your basement as long as your drains and vents are done right. There may be limitations of where you want the toilet vs the distance/slope to where your main drain lines are though.

You need a well-performing toilet though, anywhere in your house. MAP score is one factor. I put a dual-flush in my basement - use button 1 for #1 and button 2 for #2 and all is well. American Standard Cossette model. I want to buy two more to replace the two builder-grade toilets I have upstairs...

A0F87773-C2C1-4F8B-99BC-D94DA787FFB6_zpspcmpsckn.jpg
 
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FLSTC said:
All toilets are 'low-flow' these days... They work in your basement as long as your drains and vents are done right. There may be limitations of where you want the toilet vs the distance/slope to where your main drain lines are though.

You need a well-performing toilet though, anywhere in your house. MAP score is one factor. I put a dual-flush in my basement - use button 1 for #1 and button 2 for #2 and all is well. American Standard Cossette model. I want to buy two more to replace the two builder-grade toilets I have upstairs...

A0F87773-C2C1-4F8B-99BC-D94DA787FFB6_zpspcmpsckn.jpg
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My neighbour bought the American Standard Champion. Hailed as being uncloggable iirc. 26 golf balls flushed at once no problem. My son dropped a deuce there. Clogged it. Proud dad moment, that was.
When I change my toilets will get the dual flush. Spent $96 last bill on wastewater.

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$4000 is a price I would give to my best friend, he would need to pay me cash and let me work on weekends around my regular work.....and it wouldn't include any materials-he would need to supply them.
I do this kind of work for a living, and have for 28 yrs.
Be wary.
 
Joe Bass said:
My neighbour bought the American Standard Champion. Hailed as being uncloggable iirc. 26 golf balls flushed at once no problem. My son dropped a deuce there. Clogged it. Proud dad moment, that was.
When I change my toilets will get the dual flush. Spent $96 last bill on wastewater.

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One secret I've learned the hard way is don't use those wax rings with the collar. I think they provide these with some toilets... Just a plain wax ring (thicker if the drain flange is lower than normal). Crap gets hung-up on the collar...

The Cossette has a larger flush valve diameter so supposedly the water drops into the bowl at a greater rate, but another secret is the shape and location of the water pool in the bowl - some efficient toilets have a low level or not placed right and some 'loads' don't get pushed by the siphon jet in time. The Cossette's bowl is shaped well and I've personally tested it.

I think that those old school british toilets with the deep bowl and water tank up near the ceiling had the right idea...

At Canaroma over on Weston Rd, they have a Toto in their staff/guestwashroom that you can try. Has the heated seat and water jets, etc. Lucky I didn't get an extra gfci outlet down by where my toilet went and it was too late with all the drywall up, else my wife may have wanted to get that one...
 
My former neighbors dad is part owner of Canaroma. His washrooms were showroom quality.
Will look into Cossette at remodel time.

I guess I'm way off on pricing...We did our basement bath 11 or so years ago. Basic Rona toilet, Costco vanity, Home Depot neo angle shower. Clearance tiles, mirror, lighting. Fan I used the one from ensuite, and put a bigger better one there. Probably $1k in material. Did most of the work myself or free from family. Seems I got done on the cheap.

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What if something goes wrong?

Know a guy that ended up with extra steps on one floor and wrong sized steps on the other. Took 4 times as long as originally proposed. This was on a major addition. Prepurchased cupboards didn't fit because window locations were changed.

There are reasonable allowances in construction. The 10 foot wide room could be off by an inch or two but shouldn't be 8 feet.
What could go wrong with a bathroom? Are we about to find out? Will the contractor have the balls to fix it?

The worst part is that if there is a compromise the owner sees it every day of the rest of their life.
 
Standard procurement practice is to get 3 quotes from different vendors (ideally of 3 similar perceived-quality), and choose one based on their estimates of cost & time.

Get everything in writing.

Personally DIY is the BEST way to go - and if you can't jackhammer concrete - you can always hire a guy to do that part of it cheap!

No one will EVER work on your stuff with the care and attention to detail that you would. And if someone you hire would work to that standard, then they're gonna cost BIG $$. Just sayin'
 
@Kri $han jackhammer concrete? A few swift blows with a sledge and you're good to go.

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breaking out concrete is monkey work and 20mins if you rent a demo hammer from homo depot, its hooking up and venting properly on waste pipe that most of the "I can do that" tribe get wrong.
 
crankcall said:
breaking out concrete is monkey work and 20mins if you rent a demo hammer from homo depot, its hooking up and venting properly on waste pipe that most of the "I can do that" tribe get wrong.
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Lol 'homo depot'. #NoHomo

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