NEGOTIATING YOUR BEST DEAL97exact cost. All he can do is draw on his experience to estimate the total labor needed for the project. With remodeling this guesswork is especially difficult. How can you calculate the exact time required to replace kitchen cabinets Determining the amount of time needed to raise a roof or add a dormer is an exacting process. When a contractor is dealing with new construction, such as additions, estimates are much easier to make. There are few existing conditions to contend with. The contractor knows When you receive all your what to expect when building a quotes, add a minimum of 10 pergarage and can be comfortable cent to the overall cost to protect yourwith the hours needed to comself from cost overruns and increases in plete the job. Stripping an material prices. existing bathroom to the bare studs and joists is a different story. Estimating the labor in this situation is risky. The best a remodeler can do is to rely on his years of experience and allow for the unexpected by padding the price. There is no way to know what will be found when the wall coverings are removed. Suppose the floor joists have rotted Will the existing conditions allow for a satisfactory finish without unplanned additional work Warped walls or floor joists require additional preparation before the finished products can be applied. On one remodeling job we opened the wall to do a simple sink installation and discovered a swarm of bees. Working in a beekeeper suit slows your work down quite a bit! A seasoned contractor will have some money loaded into the quote to allow for these unforeseen problems. You can extract this money from the bid and enjoy the savings. How can you coerce the contractor to eliminate his buffer zone and drop the extra money figured into his price You can offer guarantees and make your contract contingent on certain circumstances. This technique can save you money and put the contractor at ease. When a reputable remodeler pads a
