# Lowball of the week



## Chris G (May 17, 2006)

put electrical plates on outlets	$50
install moulding $250
paint moulding $150 (pre-primed)
remove airconditioners (three) from office $150
dispose of buckets of paint $75
put together two bar stools $100
put together two kitchen cabinets - make sure kickboard is finished $400
put together bathroom cabinet $200
put together bedroom furniture (to be furnished) $300
shave closet door $150
rehang 2nd closet door and shave if necessary $300
paint doors $250
paint inside closets $250
rehang/install heater boards ??
regrout kitchen floor where needed $300
replace electrical recepticles where needed Call electrician
remove small track in bedroom - possibly replace $100
remove bedroom blinds $50
replace bedroom window treatment hardware $75
install bathroom window treatment hardware $50
razor blade paint off from window in living room $50
paint or popcorn finish roll kitchen ceiling $500
install finishing rail between carpet and tile around living room $250
seal tile and grout in kitchen and bath $200
place covers on kitchen ceiling $200
put moulding around bathroom cabinet $150
be responsible to pick up materials such as baseboard moulding, etc. $400

$4800 not including subbing the electrical.


EDIT:

Whooaaa I just re-read her list. I totally burned myself on the air conditioners. She wants them removed from her office and delivered to her home. I though I was just removing them and throwing them in the closet.


----------



## barrysking (Jan 14, 2007)

*minimum wage?*

If I am not mistaken Federal minimum wage is somewhere around $7.50 per hour. After working for 200 hours, the work might be half done. If a fool agrees to work for $3.75 per hour, then they might consider doing the job for free and adding it to their 'volunteer' portfolio. Perhaps the person hiring might be reasonable enough to guarantee minimum wage.


----------



## AbeBarker (Jan 3, 2007)

Two winters ago I was forced into Craigslist to keep my bills paid. I did it for three weeks and met an entertaining lot of people.
One guy... severlly racist against everyone except gays...?
This person was a developer who went on vacation for a month. He paid these guys from an far-away island to do all the finish trim while he was gone. Let's just say they did things like use 1x8 oak for window stool caps. Place was horrible.
Another guy buys this house, finds a craigs list contracter to gut-rehab it. Doesn't ask for liscenses references or contracts. He gives them $50,000 deposit. The crack heads do a third of the demo before they disappear.
That was just the three weeks I tried Craigs list. Word of mouth only these days.


----------



## cottageandcastl (Jan 26, 2007)

*word of mouth ONLY*



AbeBarker said:


> Two winters ago I was forced into Craigslist to keep my bills paid. I did it for three weeks and met an entertaining lot of people.
> One guy... severlly racist against everyone except gays...?
> This person was a developer who went on vacation for a month. He paid these guys from an far-away island to do all the finish trim while he was gone. Let's just say they did things like use 1x8 oak for window stool caps. Place was horrible.
> Another guy buys this house, finds a craigs list contracter to gut-rehab it. Doesn't ask for liscenses references or contracts. He gives them $50,000 deposit. The crack heads do a third of the demo before they disappear.
> That was just the three weeks I tried Craigs list. Word of mouth only these days.


i am tell you that word of mouth is the only way to fly. period.
in our line of work, a clean (?) COMPATENT individual is a rarity, if at this point you do not have a couple of good designers and a few real estate brokers that you are in contact with regularly, then hang it up, go grab some cardboard and stand on a street corner with your " will work for whatever" sign. i have been in the biz for long enough to know 1. look good, dont come knocking looking like you slept in the truck, 2. clean up after your self, i am constantly cleaning up afer other trades, specially electricians. 3. smile and mind your manners, yes mams and no mams go a long way to gaining the respect, and friend ship of your customers. And for goodness sakes, if someone needs alittle help with something thats not on your list, be a good guy and give 'm a hand. to heck with your "list". i am not suggesting that you spend a lot of time, but nothing is more miserabe than to hear "its not my yob, man".


----------



## Pillow (Feb 10, 2007)

Amen to that Cottage!

This lady is on crack! I agree begging for Jose at minimum wage.

Good point on the electrical outlets! You do not want some jerkoff screwing up your home wiring. I have seen to many "pro" electricians in new construction almost burn down houses on poor/loose connections.


----------



## Pillow (Feb 10, 2007)

Also any client/person who has inherited big money is most usually a tight wad who has no respect for other peoples work. Really unbelievable.

People who have made thier money and are well off do not ever question a bill. 

An older contractor told me that a few years ago and I never believed him until his words eventually shown as devine prophecy.


----------



## Humble Abode (Mar 19, 2005)

what a dumba$$...:thumbdown 

Someone should e-mail this thread to her.

Not that it would matter... people like this don't learn, even after they have a crackhead in their home.


----------



## Ted W (Jan 7, 2007)

I saw a similar add recently, also on craigslist, looking for a licensed electrician to rewire a 2 story home. Compensation = $6/hr plus lunch. I think it's still running if anyone is interested.


----------



## Terrence (Jul 6, 2006)

*Home Dumpster*



RobertCDF said:


> Of course your too low... Because you should never take a job with those terms... As far as a price goes just for what you listed, I think its close. BUT only if the materials were all already on site. However I dont do jobs were "the materials are already here" because I know they are not all there and its crap the picked out of a dumpster to begin with.


---
Hey Robert,

By "picked out of a dumpster to begin with" you obviously mean Home Depot, right?


----------



## Susan Betz (Feb 21, 2007)

karma_carpentry said:


> What do others think about this outrageous punchlist for $1500?


One thing I've noticed (we're in FL - we have lots of old people here) is that elderly people don't understand inflation. What might have been $1500 20 or 30 years ago is three times that now. They are stunned when they find out what things are going for. I tend to be more patient with old people on price issues.

That being said, if this woman is still working she's just an idiot.


----------

