# High Prices



## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

This time a year I do well with repair phone calls and have been looking at various chimney issues. Two jobs in a row I was more then half the money as another quote. To put it in perspective one job , that ive already done, was 3,000 and the lady had a quote for 20k. I will be doing another chimney top repair for 1600 and the fella has a quote from someone else for 5500. 

Im not sure what is what, but this is silly.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Were the customers elderly, cause I've seen that before. Other times i just don;t get it. I did a fireplace once @ +/- $12k...(a few other things involved, nothing big)I made money...the other price they got was for $18.5k and I'm pretty sure I know who it was, we do comparable new construction work (I do much better restoration in my opinion). Where did he come up with that??

On the other hand. That bridge I did. The owner originally thought that it could get done for $20k, uh uh. Another guy (potential customer, but not for a bridge) I showed pics to thought it looked like a $250k bridge...too bad he wasn;t paying. Another guy (just a friend, not a customer although I'll be doing some work for him in a short while) wondered if it could get done or a mil??? (no I'm not going to take advantage)

Some people just have no idea I guess?


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

They were knocking on 60, but certainly not out of touch and realized each job was a day or 2. 

One guy was going to dig down and pour a new footing for a pencil chimney that needed replacing. He would have had to cut out a driveway and fix the hot top lol, what a mess he would have made. 

Oh well keep on keeping on.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Anyhow, that bridge is an easy 100k lol! Them there rocks are heavy!


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

I didn't do all the work on the bridge...not including the homeowners sweat equity which wasn't nothing it was a little under that


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

But i do find it crazy what some people think...$500 just for that? (when I've already come out there to look at it, and then I'll be at it for a day) Or when I say $5k for a week and a half project with not a ton of materials they can;t shake my hand quick enough???


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

I just nailed a stick chimney re-build roofline up, lath and stucco ground up and stainless liner...6.5k. Three other bids were received, [email protected] +10k and one for $250.00 :blink:

I got the job :thumbup:

Obviously the 250 guy was patchwork...and very bad advice indeed.


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

Just nailed another as well from my website...A nice black woman in a neighborhood I'm really not fond of couldn't get anybody to even return her calls. I was skeptical at first, and genuinely feeling sorry for her so I followed up anyway even though thinking I had no chance...

Turns out she keeps a beautiful home, she's a professional and now we be another paying customer. I got my number as well and already she's interested in additional work.

Amazing how things turn out once in awhile :thumbsup:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

superseal said:


> Just nailed another as well from my website...A nice black woman in a neighborhood I'm really not fond of couldn't get anybody to even return her calls. I was skeptical at first, and genuinely feeling sorry for her so I followed up anyway even though thinking I had no chance...
> 
> Turns out she keeps a beautiful home, she's a professional and now we be another paying customer. I got my number as well and already she's interested in additional work.
> 
> Amazing how things turn out once in awhile :thumbsup:


You should add "Proudly Serving Blacks" to your business card.


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

I don't see color as much as I see bad neighborhoods. And yes, I choose where I work...

You need to pull your head out your azz and move out of your moms basement...and don't to forget to bring your sticky magazines with ya :thumbsup:


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## wazez (Oct 25, 2008)

You guys have different problem than most people on here......


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Hey SS, it's like the saying goes, the harder I work the luckier I get.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

wazez said:


> You guys have different problem than most people on here......


Seems to be reversed a bit, good guys are the cheaper ones. 

Must be a leap year!


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

superseal said:


> Just nailed another as well from my website...A nice black woman in a neighborhood I'm really not fond of couldn't get anybody to even return her calls. I was skeptical at first, and genuinely feeling sorry for her so I followed up anyway even though thinking I had no chance...
> 
> Turns out she keeps a beautiful home, she's a professional and now we be another paying customer. I got my number as well and already she's interested in additional work.
> 
> Amazing how things turn out once in awhile


Why do you lathe new work? I have a couple chimney block chimneys I keep an eye on with 1 coat of silpro cali stucco on them and they look like the day I built them 15 years later.


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

It's a stick running up the side of a twin...really bad white silica brick, with paint and loose materials. I'll prepatch, then lath. 

This thing has blown up from lack a proper liner...The acids really show the effect well on these type brick.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Ohh I gotcha, I thought you were ripping and replacing. 

Hows this for worn out?

Venting gas furnace and water heater into this










This is how the chimney was!! With the hole and all!









Bandaid from 10 years ago









I dolled this up and used the mortair mesh stuff I have for thin stone in this corner, why not right....


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## heavy_d (Dec 4, 2012)

superseal said:


> Just nailed another as well from my website...A nice black woman


What you do in your personal time is your business!!


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

I've tossed out some ridiculous numbers before on jobs I really didn't want to do.

Seems to work well at keeping them from calling back.

I will do repair work for return customers, but for the most part I try to leave it for the new guys with a truck and bucket of tools, hard to make any money on them.

I have two coming up once the weather breaks that I'm really not looking forward to doing, but I did a huge hearth and stove surround for them and they wanted me back.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

JBM said:


> Why do you lathe new work? I have a couple chimney block chimneys I keep an eye on with 1 coat of silpro cali stucco on them and they look like the day I built them 15 years later.


I use lathe on almost everything if I didn't build it.

A guy was giving me **** for lathing out a huge concrete wall that was to get stone veneer, I told him I had no idea what they used for oil on those forms, an I wasn't going to risk my rocks falling off.

Just good insurance I think, gives you a mechanical bond if the chemical bond happens to fail.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

JBM said:


> Ohh I gotcha, I thought you were ripping and replacing.
> 
> Hows this for worn out?
> 
> ...


I've done lots of those ones. At least they come apart easy.


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