Basement Bar How much would you charge for this?

[Yuri]

Hey folks,
I'm quoting a basement renovation project at this moment. As part of it and paid as separate item I need to give a quote for a construction of a basement bar. I came across this photo, it is not my work but I like the design and would like to build something similar. I would probably build it out of chary plywood, stain etc. I'm curious how much would you charge for something like that. I intend to do both bar, upper part and shelves on the wall.

Thanks for your help
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[WarnerConstCo.]

As much as I could.

 

[Yuri]

Ah, well that is like saying the sky is blue. Of course. But really can you give a number?
1K
5K
Something...

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Ah, well that is like saying the sky is blue. Of course. But really can you give a number?
1K
5K
Something...

No, I can't give someone a number, it is impossible.

 

[Yuri]

[/quote]
No, I can't give someone a number, it is impossible.
[/quote]

Thanks that's helpful.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

No, I can't give someone a number, it is impossible.
[/quote]

Thanks that's helpful.
[/quote]

It is helpful.

No one can tell you your numbers.

I don't know what you have to make to cover your nut, labor and your profit.

I don't know how fast or slow you work.

I don't know how big of a pia the customers will be.

I don't know a lot of things about you that goes into setting your prices.

 

[woodtradesman]

I'd be at $12-14k no counter tops included.

 

[timcgibbs]

Yuri,

Looks like fluted posts (want to use solid cherry for those) and ply for the case work.  The counter top alone will run you around 6-9k. Plumbing and electric another 3-4k (not including the viking wine cooler that is back there!) I wouldn't touch the job for less than 30k.

Why do people want 'bars' in their homes anyways?!  Isn't the point of a 'bar' to go out and be with your community? good times or bad?

Good luck on the job!
-Tim

 

[Yuri]

Hey Tim,

Thanks for your reply.
I agree that fluted post would be solid cherry.
There is no way that client would even pay that much. But it's a good observation. I really like the design of that bar, may be I can slim down on on wine coolers/racks and on granite etc. I'd love to do something similar, but not at 30k for sure.
I"m gonna draw this in sketchup and try to price it without granite, without plumbing (dry bar) no appliances. I will want to install pot lights.

But again thank you Tim for your reply, it helps way more then just "charge as much as you want" I feel if you don't have anything to post, don't post at all. But that's just me. Peace.

Yuri

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Did I say charge as much as you want?

I say charge as much as you could.

How do I know what costs you need to cover?

You may have no costs to cover if you have no insurance, do this while moon lighting from a regular job, or don't care about making a profit and saving money.

 

[Yuri]

Did I say charge as much as you want?

I say charge as much as you could.

How do I know what costs you need to cover?

You may have no costs to cover if you have no insurance, do this while moon lighting from a regular job, or don't care about making a profit and saving money.

No worries, I noticed you replied the same to other post with similar question. So I get your point. Thank you for your reply. 

 

[tiralie]

Hey Tim,

There is no way that client would even pay that much.

How do you know the client won't pay that much?

Have you asked them if they have a budget?

 

[Yuri]

[/quote]

How do you know the client won't pay that much?

Have you asked them if they have a budget?
[/quote]

I did. He's whole kitchen cost him 50k. He can do a cheap option of buying "made in china" bar for roughly 1k but he'd rather build one in. He understands that it would be more money, but 30k, I don't think so.
But to be honest with you, I didn't ask him what would be the tops that he would pay. See from my experience people won't never tell you their bottom like cause they don't know it themselves. If you show them the product (photo) and tell them "it's gonna cost you this much" then they will consider.

 

[Yuri]

Ok may be I'm not charging enough.
What would you charge for this fireplace mental?
Details:
Birch plywood and birch skirts
Demino joints
gunstock stain, wipe on poly
total time including finishing 10 hours
size 96x10x12

BTW I've build two of them, one got installed in my house second I sold.

Here are the photos:

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[BMH]

Yuri,

The calculation is simple, you decide on what hourly wage you want and you charge for the number of hours it took you to do the project. Material plus whatever percent you need to keep your tools up to date. We had a house built and we are remodeling our current house using this principal. We use two different general contractors that work using this system. The quality of the work is fabulous and they are no loose ends as they get paid the hours necessary to do the work right. On the other hand none of the contractors spend time on the cell or hang around doing nothing. These crew get paid better wages then most, but they work hard and leave the premises every night neat and tidy.

I find at the end of these projects I have a better product then my neighbors and funny enough cheaper. I am still friends with these general contractors and have recommended then to quite a few people.

Bruce

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Yuri,

The calculation is simple, you decide on what hourly wage you want and you charge for the number of hours it took you to do the project. Material plus whatever percent you need to keep your tools up to date. We had a house built and we are remodeling our current house using this principal. We use two different general contractors that work using this system. The quality of the work is fabulous and they are no loose ends as they get paid the hours necessary to do the work right. On the other hand none of the contractors spend time on the cell or hang around doing nothing. These crew get paid better wages then most, but they work hard and leave the premises every night neat and tidy.

I find at the end of these projects I have a better product then my neighbors and funny enough cheaper. I am still friends with these general contractors and have recommended then to quite a few people.

Bruce

That is like saying I have no idea how long it will take me to do something, so can you pay me while I figure it out.

T&M has to be done in some situations but, in the end the person paying usually ends up feeling it took too long for the work to be done.

With a lump sum, they don't pay attention to how long it took you.  They are not getting billed per hour.

 

[tiralie]

How do you know the client won't pay that much?

Have you asked them if they have a budget?

If you show them the product (photo) and tell them "it's gonna cost you this much" then they will consider.

[/quote]

Yuri:
No one said you aren't charging enough.
Usually people (clients) have a range they think they want to pay, you need to discover what that is. Show them samples of what you think is appropriate based on what they have told you and then give them some price ranges if you really don't know.
It's irrelevant what he paid for his kitchen, it's a completely different set of conditions (practical and aesthetic) that drive a kitchen/cabinet renovation and a bar.  A bar is a vanity/luxury purchase a kitchen is utilitarian. You need some kind of a kitchen (at least my wife thinks we do), you don't need a bar in your house.
There is always a cheaper solution.
It sounds like (based on what you have said) he wants to buy from you. Your job is to figure out how much he is willing to pay and build to that.

If you want a "portfolio project" and you want to build something the client truly can't afford that's a different issue.

Good luck, let us know how your negotiations go.

Tim

 

[Yuri]

I agree with pretty much all that you folks said above. Actually I agree with WarnerConstCo. I would not want to sign up with a contractor who will bill me by hour. I would rather like a project price and time schedule in which it will be done. I would be ok with a small delay but would not feel comfortable with a delay if I'm paying say $40/hour.

Also as far as the fireplace mantel, I sold it for $300 CAN. I think I could have sold it for double. But oh well.

Thanks

 

[Chris Hughes]

I would say the mantle could easily have sold for six hundred installed.  As to the bar, I rep for a couple of lines of cabinetry so I use by price books as price references.  T&m is for jobs that there is no way to quantify all the cost in a job.

 

[kfitzsimons]

Yuri,  since you put up a mantle on a stone fireplace, how did you mount the mantle? Bolts glued into the mortar? I need to build a mantle and mount it into a fireplace of Indiana limestone and mortar. I didn't want to start a new topic / thread just for this.
Thanks, Kevin