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Can homeowner select bathroom fixtures?

compiler
9 years ago

The contractor probably prefers cheap materials and fixtures. Can homeowner select the bathroom fixtures in the home remodeling project if the contract does not specify it? What is the best way to ensure the materials and fixtures can be selected by the homeowner but not always by the contractor? Thank you for your answer.

Comments (10)

  • greg_2010
    9 years ago

    Can homeowner select the bathroom fixtures in the home remodeling project if the contract does not specify it?
    Ask the contractor. There might be an upcharge but I doubt they'd say 'no'.

    What is the best way to ensure the materials and fixtures can be selected by the homeowner but not always by the contractor?
    Put it in the contract.

  • millworkman
    9 years ago

    Not ask after he is doing the work. I said it on another thread, if you have to double check and ask about every thing he is doing perhaps you hired the wrong guy. This all should have been spelled out in the contract BEFORE he was hired!

  • geoffrey_b
    9 years ago

    If this is after the contract has been signed - ask him how much he allotted for the fixtures - then you can buy the fixtures and take the allotted amount off the final payment - but get this in writing first!

  • renovator8
    9 years ago

    The contract should specify the fixtures or a budget for buying them later (Allowance). If that did not happen you are at the mercy of the contractor and should sit down with him and try to negotiate what you want at a reasonable price.

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    A HO who knows how to create a spec list for like to like bids from contractors can certainly pick whatever they want. People that get bids, pick the lowest, and then want to renegotiate for better product than was included in the contractor's bid, probably can't. And they should be soundly spanked as well. Which the contractor will be more than willing to do. Metaphorically speaking.

  • snoonyb
    9 years ago

    Why haven't you been to the store, selected the fixtures you want, give each bidder the list and when the contract is presented for signing, builders line or equivalent has not been inserted, in place of those fixtures.

  • azmom
    9 years ago

    "People that get bids, pick the lowest, and then want to renegotiate for better product than was included in the contractor's bid, probably can't. And they should be soundly spanked as well." -

    Don't understand the logic in the above statements. Why homeowner cannot renegotiate by making up the price difference or making even price swap? This is what a change order is for.

    The project is for homeowner and is paid by homeowner, not contractor. Of course homeowner has every right to make selections.

    If a contractor is that difficult to work with and thinking to "soundly spank" the homeowner for changes, the contractor should be quickly fired.

  • snoonyb
    9 years ago

    "Don't understand the logic in the above statements.
    This is what a change order is for."

    The logic is, get off your chair, put on your gown-up clothes, come to the bid prepared, rather than abdicating your responsibility, to yourself, fiscally, to if and maybe.

    "The project is for homeowner and is paid by homeowner, not contractor. Of course homeowner has every right to make selections."

    And every change the customer makes has an additional cost.

    "If a contractor is that difficult to work with and thinking to "soundly spank" the homeowner for changes, the contractor should be quickly fired."

    Unfortunately, it's not as simple as "closing a door"
    and expecting that when you open it again, someone else will be standing there.

    Let alone the legal process.
    Your project will be on hold during the re-bid process.

    There are also contractors with the business model designed around the probability of change orders, cheap in front, but hold onto your hat, because it may be the only thing you have left.

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    If you won't do your homework on the front end, don't be surprised when the price for the project triples on te hind end. And that you still get one of the crappy jobs with the after the fact pictures crying about how awful the job was.

    And don't be surprised that the contractor that you got the low bid for doesn't have the skill set to do the 12x24 marble herringbone set tile for your bathroom. He bid on using a 12x12 standard set porcelain, and doesn't even understand the additional support that the subfloor needs to be able to use large format tile. Nor does he use the specialty white medium bedding mortar that large format stone tile needs. And he certainly doesn't understand that the project will cost him 2x the time than was in his original bid. The HO might think that they are ''merely'' changing the materials on the job, without understanding that the scope of work has drastically changed, and thus the job cost will too.

    If you think that any reputable contractor that would do a good job won't be frustrated and resentful of the massive change orders in the middle of a project, then you don't know any contractors personally. That throws off their scheduling, which is a major headache that impacts more than just your job. A professional may not let you see that frustration, but, if they are conscientious enough to do the job correctly in the first place, and actually have good business sense, then they will pass ALL of those additional costs to you. And you'll actually end up paying 30-50% more to do the same job than if you had just bid out the actual specs that you wanted from the beginning.

    The low bidder with low skills might pass on the additional cost between the 99 cent porcelain to the 8.99 marble, but since he doesn't really understand that he has an entirely different job on hand, he doesn't do any of the correct support for the tile, or use the right mortar. So right off, you get lippage, and pretty soon, it cracks. And you complain about ''hacks'', not understanding that you are the one that set yourself up for failure from the beginning.

    If you won't educate yourself on the front end to develop your specs, you will sure be educated enough in ''shoulda, woulda'' by the project's end.