the Price of General Contractors

Condo remodel that included the following:

wallpaper stripped from kitchen, living room/dining room, one bathroom

ktichen repainted and wallpapered

living/dining room and hallway repainted

2 bedrooms repainted w/wallpaper borders

2 bathrooms repainted, one with wallpaper border

all dark closets and doors repainted white

new lighting fixtures installed

disposal put into kitchen

ceiling fan put in kitchen

chandelier hung in dining room

kitchen ceiling patched

shower stall replaced in one bathroom

This was a job that took about a week's time. Before moving into a small 2 bdrm condo, a major overhaul was necessary. Previous owners were smokers so there was a lot of cleaning to be done in order to prep the walls. Old, nicotine-stained wallpaper was removed from kitchen and the living room/dining room area. One bathroom had wallpaper removed. They couldn't work with the existing wall other than to texturize it with paint, which I didn't find out about until I saw it. I wasn't happy about it, but it really was all that could be done with the wall.

All the ceilings were repainted. I was never on the premises but checked in on the progress every evening after work. I had to pick up a lot of small items including all the lighting fixtures and hardware before the work began. I provided the contractors with the names of paint and wallpaper I wanted and they took care of that. Overall they did a good job, but there were a few things that I didn't discover until after the job was done. My kitchen has a tiny alcove where the washer/dryer are stacked. The washer/dryer were pulled out during the work and then put back in place. When the guys put the washer/dryer back in they bent the dryer hose and the first time I went to use the dryer it didn't work. I had to call them back to fix it. I never checked to make sure that the doors that were removed to be painted actually closed after they were rehung, so it wasn't until later that I realized a couple of them don't shut properly. The workmen also left with a fan they thought was theirs, but was really mine. They returned it and apologized. For the amount of work they did, it was a good job.

I got 4 different estimates for this job. I spent a day on the premises interviewing people and getting a feel for them as well as estimates. I didn't go with the cheapest estimate because I just didn't like the people. The company I went with was recommended by my realtor. They were very friendly and had a lot of experience doing this kind of work. If I didn't have to have everything done at once in order to move in, I might have broken up the work. It was a lot to get done in a week and despite a few glitches, I would have them back to do work again. I also wish I could have been around a little bit more to check on the work as it was being done, but this just wasn't possible.