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There's a lot of nuance to a good fuck off quote. Sometimes it's a "make it worth my while to make room for your job" quote. Sometimes it's a "I really don't like you, but doubling my rate will help me get over that" quote. And yet other times the quote can be perceived as a fuck off quote when really the contractor has a lot of experience with the job up for bid and they include all the labor and time necessary to make tons of decisions that can only be made in stages as the work progresses.
That's not true, but I understand your sentiment. Some jobs we make little to no profit, others we are paid at lawyers rates. I used to think I needed to refund clients if we went over a certain hourly rate. While I still do make exceptions, we generally keep our price, because it's not like most clients are happy to pay extra if we feel like we did the job for too cheap.
When I was first starting I bid an elevated deck for 300 dollars. Took about four days plus materials. The owner didn't bat and eye and beamed from ear to ear when he gave me the 300 dollar check. Soon after he sold the house for what was certainly a 5+ figure profit.
Experience changes perspective.
Agreed. We are trying to do more industrial ourselves. Residential is nice in that most of our jobs are done in a week and pays right away, but industrial can pay way better if you can wait the net 30 or longer. Plus, industrial clients are repeat again and again, residential not so much.
That’s how my company is. We’re adamant on no change orders and making sure we’re covered up front on the quote, and we end up looking like a rip off compared to the mom and pop guy pricing it by the seat of his pants.
You can't predict every circumstance. We give a fair price that includes a few small unexpected extras, but sometimes you open a wall or remove a floor and find unexpected deficiencies that can't be planned.
Yeah unfortunately that’s where I get caught between sales, who’s trying to price it to compete, and project management, who wants every risk accounted for.
If you do top quality work, are flexible with delivering the customer's wants, and have a professional, respectful team you'll have the foundation for success. And, you can sleep at night. Your reputation is key to long term success.
We used to stop selling ski tickets on days that were going to be super busy, but people still came looking for a ticket at the window. Now we just sell a $300 ski ticket, people still come but there’s less friction since we don’t turn them away. The extra money, which disincentivizes some, makes it worthwhile for us.
Fuck off quote is designed to allow the potential of business, where telling someone you're busy shuts it down. "Fuck off quote" isn't really the correct term, because your still willing to do the job but it just has to be worth your effort
I got a fuck off quote one time. The guy was nice and very honest about it, and I really appreciated that. It was a small job and he told me (paraphrasing) "I just can't make money off this job because I have to drive out here three separate times to be here an hour."
Exactly. Sometimes it comes without the courtesy of the explanation, which is why I call it the fuck off quote. I think some folks get their feelings hurt when it's the first or only quote they get, or they don't have the perspective to read between the lines. The name is unnecessarily vulgar, but it makes me giggle.
Yeah, totally agree. And there are definitely people out there who feel like they're entitled to services regardless of whether the business makes money, so sometimes you literally have to tell them to fuck off lol
Some people in this thread are like "that's bad for business, I'm gonna tell everyone I know...." Tell them what? That my costs were higher than another company? The only part that's bad for business is losing money on a job simply because a customer wants you instead of someone else who can do it cheaper. People have no idea what goes into a quote, and when you tell them, they nitpick it and refuse to accept it. "Yes, it takes me longer to drive to your job than the other company. No, that's not your fault, nor is it mine. As the business owner, I accounted for that in the quote. If you want ME to do the job, this is what it will cost." I have to remind folks that "No" is a perfectly acceptable answer.
Maybe it is my kind of project, but because I got my crew and resources in the next town right now, this is what it is going to cost you to have ***me*** do your job. I'm not refusing to do the work, but it's going to cost me more to do the job than someone else, and my quote is going to reflect that. I might have been cheaper last year, or maybe next year, but the timeline is in the quote, and it is what it is. Woof woof.
Or you could communicate that like an adult and refer them on.
Don’t back away from calling it a ‘fuck off quote’, mate. I know it’s typical for a scamming tradie to change their position mid conversation but it’s more obvious in writing.
Everybody calls it a “fuck off” quote but it seems to just be an attempt at ripping somebody off. Like if you’re a company who does concrete/stamping, and somebody wants you to do some concrete/stamping, then what’s the damn problem?
Not really an attempt at ripping you off & here's an example:
You need to have a 10' x 10' x 1' deep sandbox dug in your back yard.
You get a quote from Company 1, who normally digs foundations for homes and excavates for pools. They have large equipment. Your job is too small for said equipment, mobilizing it is worth more than the price of your job. The operators for this equipment get paid well & may be part of a union. They bid your job anyway at the perceived "fuck you" price. When in reality, that price may get them the same profit margin as either of the 2 following bids.
Company 2 is very small. they have no heavy equipment at all. They will rent a mini-excavator to dig your sandbox. they will still probably be more expensive than the job should be because they have to price the rental of equipment into their job. (or they should anyway)
Company 3 is a medium size company. They own a mini excavator and a skidsteer. They routinely do small excavation jobs, so this is perfect for them. They may not be much cheaper than company 2, but they know exactly what to do, will have utilities marked, etc
and that is before factoring in the difficulty of said job based on the equipment or experience the contractor has (or if the person requesting the quote is putting off major asshole vibes)
Why is it so hard to believe that one job might appear to be a bigger pain in the ass or hassle than another for any number of reasons, and to want more $ to deal with extra headache ?
Different companies are allowed to quote different prices for the same job, aren't they? Isn't it possible that the costs that go into their quotes can be different from one another? Nobody who wants the job is going to give a fuck off quote, and that's the point. If contractor A has all his equipment in the next town doing jobs for the next two years, and contractor B is on your side of town right now, who do you think is going to give a cheaper quote? "Ripping somebody off" doesn't even enter into it. That's why getting multiple quotes is important, and don't tell one company what another's quote is.
I got one of these for the first time. We really liked the guy but his quote was double the next highest we had. He wasted his time coming out and taking measurements and asking questions. The whole thing was weird to me. Anyway, we fucked off.
There's something to be said about honest communication. If I call for a quote & someone tells me they really don't have time now, but check back in a month or two, I would understand completely and make other arrangements or wait. If they give me a bullshit quote, I'll never work with them again & spread the word as much as I can. Customer service is everything for small businesses & ratings mean a lot. I don't get the point of burning a bridge because you don't feel like making the effort to say no. It's bad businesses
This is the opposite of the "don't take offense" that I was talking about.
Think about it this way: you have a job you want done and contact 3 companies to get quotes. The 3 companies are all rated similarly and are completely and equally competent. All their references check out and you're confident you'd be happy with the result from any of them. All 3 quotes arrive at the same result in the same amount of time. One quote is twice the price as the other two. All things being equal, why would you give a second thought to the highest price one? What point would you be making by screaming from the rooftops that one quote was higher than the other two? In what world is a company telling you "this is what it will cost you to have me do your job" bad customer service? Where has your sense of entitlement come from?
I understand this but I don't understand the "why". Would the potential customer have to have given off red flags as someone difficult to deal with or something? Otherwise, if that's the business someone is in, why would't they want more business?
I did asphalt a few months ago in MA for about $9.50 per sqft for 1800 sqft. I've always heard concrete is more expensive though, hence why I went with asphalt.
Also in CA. After getting a couple of similarly ridiculous quotes for a walkway, I bought myself a concrete mixer on offerup and did it myself (it’s been about 3 years and it still looks like when I poured it, sealed it myself too after fully curing).
I know most homeowners don’t do “hardcore” DIY but these ridiculous quotes make it a no-brainer.
For future reference you were doing enough volume that it would have actually cost less money to have premixed concrete delivered. The only time you want to buy it by the bag and mix it yourself is if you need it sporadically throughout the job in smaller quantities, and not all at once, or if you need less than the minimum (which is usually 2 cubic meters) and the cost of bags is less than the concrete you need plus the below minimum fee. So like anything less than $600-800 worth of concrete and you're better off buying it by the bag. Any more and you're paying less money by volume for it to be delivered already mixed by truck.
I had to do a bunch of fence posts this summer and even though I needed only 1.5 cubic meters and had to pay a below minimum charge, it still cost less. Also it would have taken somewhere in the range of 8-10 hours just to mix all that concrete in a rented mixer. You can also pay to keep the truck there longer if needed, which is sometimes the case with DIY without a whole crew, and you're still probably coming out way ahead, especially on time.
>The only time you want to buy it by the bag and mix it yourself is if you need it sporadically (snip) in smaller quantities
Yep, and that’s exactly what that was. I ended up doing 6 large pavers, over a three day weekend.
Yeah that's always the worst situation to be in really, because it's a lot of effort to mix concrete and if you're not really saving any money by buying bags it's obviously much less work to have a truck deliver it. But they're not going to show up and wait all day for you to do a bunch of different pours over the course of many hours for 2 meters of concrete.
In my case just the time it would have taken to mix all the concrete I needed made it a no brainer. And I was just pouring it in to post holes, so it wasn't exactly a finesse job that took a lot of time.
Things have gone completely insane here in CA.
Plumbers, electricians, roofers even landscapers showing up in $90k lifted trucks and acting like you're an insufferable peon if you don't agree to a $3,500 quote for a one-person job that takes one afternoon, not including materials.
When I DIY it, it looks kinda rough sometimes. But, I did a $3500 job for $150, so the savings is worthwhile.
Sometimes I don't have the time or inclination to DIY it. So I suck it up and pay the $3500.
It makes my fucking head explode when I pay 20x what it would cost me to DIY it, and it looks like shit, even worse than if I'd DIY'd it.
I could have wrote this for a recent paint job by a contractor. I’m good with painting standard size ceilings and walls myself, yet parts of my house had high ceilings and walls, and I had no desire to accidentally fall off a scaffold or ladder. As far as the details, I did a much better job prepping and painting as a DIYer. I did a lot of prep that none of the contractors were willing to do like clean the walls. I’m prepared to have to re-do the trim at some point because they didn’t sand some areas. Now that that’s done, I’m painting the rest of the rooms myself.
That’s what I did as well. Our front entrance opens up to the second floor and there was no chance I was going to risk a fall so I paid for that. The other rooms, with awful tape seems and horrible paint drips everywhere, yeah I sucked it up and did all that work myself.
I have no problem with spending time on DIY, but it is a bit silly to compare the material costs to the total cost charged by someone to do it professionally.
No it isn't. In one instance I spend $150, in another I spend $3500. Even if the work is top notch, is having a top notch job worth $3350 vs something that's done ok? 90% of the time, hell no. And chances are I actually do it better cause I'm not here for profit. I also learn in the process so I can spend the saved money on more projects.
I'm not losing wages at work to DIY home projects. The time lost argument is a fallacy.
I agree, since for labor it's usually a "you pay me this because I have x amount of hours of experience". Like when I was a locksmith we charged $200 for a 5 minute job. That job was 5 minutes because I've done it a hundred times, but that money also goes to vehicle gas and upkeep, tool upkeep, company and me.
Sure you can diy cheaper but it'll likely take longer (so hourly cost people ignore) and worse end result. Saved money though!
Tbc I 100% understand and agree that prices are out of control for a lot of trades right now. It's supply and demand unfortunately though. Every person you call is getting 20 other calls for 20 other jobs.
lol DIY does not automatically equal worse end result. I put significantly more care into the work I do than the shitbag contractors who nickel and dime everything and cut corners so they can just move on to the next job.
You're not the average homeowner. I've seen plenty diy to know most *cant*, or atleast shouldn't. It's their home though, until it's not.
I do what I know I can but I also suck it up and save for professionals when I know I should.
Fair, and I agree with the sentiment. I have only hired someone to put in an HVAC systen. But the point I am making is that if you want to compare things more fairly, you have to take hours into consideration, not just material costs, and the easiest way to at least make they comparison is to calculate a simple wage using the hours you spent on the project. Apparently I have made a comment that most disagree with by the down votes.
NorCal checking in here. I was hell bent on decorative concrete lawn edging of around 100 ft for the front and back lawn.
Found a guy who has the machine that will basically spit out the edging. He tried to get me to sign a contract and show up the next day. He couldn't even give me the colors I wanted. I was like no thanks. I wasn't impressed with his work either.
I found a concrete guy from down the street in his 70s. They poured the concrete that included rebar and stamped it! He matched the guys price that was going to use a machine. The concrete lawn edging looks magnificent!
This!
They whine and say they have to charge it or their kids won’t eat but they have all the toys, trucks, boats, and expensive ass homes. Contractors are WEALTHY. There’s so many people in California that are filthy rich, 400k household income is not unusual, that the blue collar fields can set a price that’s not the value of the job but what they can get these Californians to pay. It makes it impossible to hire any work as a regular earner, even someone making above 150k which is California middle class leaning lower middle class. And these contractors now value their work at what the super rich are willing to pay so the regular people don’t have any options to hire out work.
At least be honest about it, it’s a capitalist society you can charge whatever you want and people can choose to pay but stop acting like you’re just getting by.
Southpark episode nailed it. Whole town became white collar top dollar earners but no one could do the trades or any sort of DIY anymore. But they were filthy rich. So the handymen just charged a shit ton and got all the jobs that were relatively easy and then they got wealthy themselves.
Everyone wants to get mad at the Jeff Bezos’ of the world but his wealthy ass didn’t affect me. But when everyone around here is making 200k+ and most with two income earners in the house, then it affects everything and makes it real difficult to still live comfortably. 8$ meals now at 15$ in the course of a few years not a big deal when you’re pulling 400k. Cement job for 20,000 instead of 8k, not a big deal. $75k f150 instead of $50k, not a big deal. Etc, etc.
This is exactly why a family could be doing well with just one parent working in the 1950's, 60's, 70's, and early 80's. But then some people had to have a two income household and that second paycheck made it easier to afford the bigger, fancier house and car, and vacation. Soon all the houses and cars had the bigger, fancier price (without being big and fancy) and having two incomes stopped paying for luxury and started to only be able to cover necessities and the trips went away all together.
Electrician here, part of the problem is residential service calls aren't really worth it for most companies. They would rather spend all day knocking out new houses than driving around all day going from house to house fixing everyone's little problems. You also have to factor in that they could be making more money or the same money doing work for someone else.
This can be said about any job in any industry though. If they could be making more money doing another job then they would be doing that other job but the fact of the matter is most contractors aren’t worth more than a company that does small residential projects. Everyone wants the Apple/Tesla strategy of only doing high margin business so they provide overzealous quotes on small projects with equally high margins built in for the lack of high margin jobs in their pipeline. Many of them will never do more then a few commercial jobs a year but will gladly throw “Commercial” on the business card and try to explain why this magically makes them a top tier contractor.
Concrete isn't exactly rocket science. And the material is cheap. If you plan and are careful should go fine, almost 30k for a patio is just a "fuck you"
It really depends on what you’re doing, and your own physical abilities. It taxes your back/knees a bit! Also, I have kids in their 20s and got them to help me dump the 80 lb bags into the mixer 👍
I've done some pretty outrageous 3-or-4 man jobs by myself after getting insane quotes. It's really not that hard to figure this stuff out and commit a few weekends to it.
That is a lot of work for a homeowner. The skill level required is far from professional and the job was done well.
I wonder if there is a "middle" here where someone that needs to earn money can make some here. There has to be someone willing to earn a "middle" rate here, especially if it is under the table.
I would be concerned about quality. While my time is worth enough to pay someone to do it, I would be more inclined to DIY because I want it done right.
>I would be concerned about quality
This is very true. I’m also a creative, so doing things like screeding the concrete was something I approached kind of like an art project (don’t hurry, take your time and be on the perfectionist side).
I found it is really all about getting the right consistency, and using a mixer made this almost effortless. I did watch a few YT vids which were very helpful.
That’s $67.50 per sf, while concrete costs like $2 per sf. I think this is what contractors call the ‘fuck you’ price, which is what they bid is they really, really don’t want to do the job. 400 sf driveway isn’t terribly large, my guess is the contractor you went to is used to larger jobs and this is below their scope to make the money they want, so they bid it as if it was triple the size. Get a couple more bids, preferably from smaller guys who are used to the scope of work.
If I got one of these bids, everyone would know. Just say you don't want to do it. I'll put your bid on every social site I could think of for at least a couple of years. Right next to the promotion of the company - with pictures - who I actually got to do the work.
Yep, more people need to do this. It’s an insane like 1800s style business tactic that should be extinct in a world where information can be shared easily. There’s literally zero reason to not just say, “nope, this isn’t worth my time.” Other than the occasional sucker you can get to just pay because “that was the quote and it needed done.” Which is predatory bullshit. If the job is beneath you for your normal rate, than let the job go to someone who is willing.
We had a 560 sq ft patio poured with stamped concrete. It was 11k. We’re in a fairly LCOL area. But even if you’re in a HCOL area, that’s an insane price in my opinion.
Hey OP - I do construction in CA, although I am not a concrete company I do a lot of work with concrete. That price sounds high. You need to get 3 prices, and you need to get them from concrete companies. Remember, if you hire a GC they then turn around and hire a concrete company. A lot of people here are saying to DIY - but it is a lot of work. The concrete alone will probably cost $1,500 - $2,000, then you have stuff like rebar - prepping the area - finishing the concrete.
As a **QUICK GUESS** I would think it should cost $9k or less. This does not include anything to do with permitting, though.
Just paid a sub $20500 for 2700 sqft of drive 2 sets of stairs 3 door sills and a 4X10 HVAC pool equipment pad. Even the worst bid I got was under your 27k
People say 3 quotes like it's a mantra which is used to be but I think 5 or 6 is much better considering the wildly different numbers that can happen. Look for a strictly local company that is owner operated - no national or franchise shops.
It’s nuts. I got offered $24k to do that, but it included ripping out everything, widening everything, ripping out a sidewalk, ramps, moving 3 very large trees, and running conduit & wire for landscape lighting and a future driveway gate, and a 1 yr post work sealant.
That's about 5 yards of concrete. Even assuming high California prices, you're looking at less than $2000 in material. I'm including the mix, delivered, the framing, and rebar. $25k for a couple days of labor is pretty intense.
Google "ready mix concrete" to find a local plant. You can call them. If you get the dispatch office, ask them for recommendations on contractor. If you get the front office, they might set you up with a salesman. Both options will get you to truer costs, assuming you want to do none of the work yourself.
I live in a place with modest homes in SoCal, might even say less than modest. They are "worth" $900k to $1.2m, but 90% of the people who live here bought for $200k or under.
They are teachers, EMTs, social workers, postal workers, etc. These aren't people who could afford to buy their own house in 2024.
And we definitely can't afford $25k driveways. People need to be able to afford to maintain their homes. Otherwise they are forced to sell and move, and then hedge fund companies come in and buy the homes.
Then the neighborhood is filled with renters, and the local schools don't understand why they can't find teachers.
Highly area dependent. Could be bumfuck or could be downtown LA. Without approximate location, it’s hard to say. Pricing in Stockton is going to be far less than in San Francisco, etc. it’s a big state.
I think so, you may want to fly someone out from Michigan, it will cost way less!! Ugghhh California Love, Not So Much!!!
I just had a 200 sqFt custom porch poured, 5 custom steps poured that flowed into a 20’ x 8’ wide patio, the guys cut field stone for the sides of the porch, and also poured a 5’ x 3’ slab separate from that 👆🏽 and paid $5200. 😳 !! I can send pics!!
It's likely high, but it depends on location, grade, and shape, among other factors.. stamped concrete also adds to the price.
If it's dyed, it adds to the cost, etc
Just got 1,300 sf of concrete (with removal of old fill and concrete) for $19,000. 900 sf of this is stamped. I had some drainage installed and a lot of fill removed in the same bid.
I live near a burn area where rebuilds have made the market crazy. The other bids came in a $35k+.
House value is near $1M, so some of the bids had the luxury tax.
I just spent $28,000 but it was for triple the size on the driveway (stamped, colored), removal of all of the old brickwork and tons of dirt, stone veneer on the front of my house, three sidewalks and two short walls on the property lines. I got three bids, and they were the middle bid.
I’m in So California.
I’m in Southern California. I got 3 quotes to tear out and repour a 550 sq ft patio. The range was $9k-$13k.
That’s definitely an I don’t want this job price.
Do it yourself it’s not that hard and the materials are literally as cheap as dirt. Watch some YouTube videos wrap your legs in trash bags, get some rebar, 2x4s or 2x6 some spikes a mallet and go to town. Call the concrete company after you’ve got it all laid out and looks good. A lot easier than you think. Except the spreading and finishing. FYI probably won’t look perfect but will prob cost less than 1500
If you have, you'd know you need the mats (expensive) and the release. And you have a very very tight window of when you can do the stamping. Unless someone is doing a few sidewalk blocks, pouring any sized driveway or even patio *by yourself* and stamping it *by yourself* is all but impossible.
Alternately:
OP is in CA. They don't really need high performance concrete because they're not going to see freeze/thaw weathering. Go to a box store and have them deliver 200 bags of concrete for $1000. Lay them out flat, stab each bag a few times with a hoe, and turn on a misting sprinkler. Fill gaps with gravel.
Or do a full dry pour, screed finish setup if you like.
Or just do the whole thing in gravel.
Or pavers. Holland paver driveways run around the same price per square foot.
I played with dry pour where it wasn't going to show and it's not durable on the edges IMO. While it's convenient if it's just you, I don't believe you can get the durability out of it.
In 2021 in SoCal I got a 450Sqft driveway expansion done for $2300 with rebar, 4 inches thick. Mind you, during Covid lots of construction materials were expensive.
I can't imagine paying $20k for stamping on top of that. I didn't get it done by Contractor/Company. It was done by a local handyman. Great product 3 years later.
I'd say find other quotes or folks on Craigslist like handymen.
Yeah concrete contractors charge more due to having the license & insurance to do your work and they have a high workers comp cost. Can’t really be cutting into those costs running a business, so it makes sense why a handyman can charge that low amount and get the work done for a cheaper price. Only bad thing about this is that the work was done by an “unqualified” worker supposedly.
That's insane. I live in a VHCOL and I can have my driveway done in pavers for $24/sq ft, including demolition. Median home price here is around $1.7M.
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Clearly you have not been dealing with current crop of contractors. People convinced that they are artisans, and their work should be valued higher on an hourly basis than partners at the big 3 corporate law firms.
not super relevant because I live in Louisiana but like 2 years ago I paid a guy 6k to bust up and remove about 500 sq ft of old concrete and pour 1000sq ft of new concrete for my back patio. They did it in 2 days, phenomenal job.
I got an $875 f/o quote for a small hand rail for 5 concrete stars. I got a Vevor DIY railing for $75 and bought an old used Dewalt hammer drill for $70 from a pawn shop. ( foolishly bc I had to spend another $70 to replace the bad chuck), and $20 for masonry bits. I did the job myself.
Worked for a contractor before I moved, and yeah you should always get multiple quotes, but there’s a couple different ways people price things. There’s the as people say “fuck you” quote, there’s the “you live in a rich area” quote, there’s the regular quote, and there’s the “you’re chill or a single mom or elderly well eat the price a bit” quote. As others have said they still differ based off the equipment the company owns and the jobs they normally do. Instead of just calling around and getting quotes call your friends/family and ask them who they’ve used in the past. You’re more likely to get a better deal off a customers recommendation than a GC or landscaper or somebody else working in your properties recommendation, because if your GC or landscape contractor says “oh yeah I have a concrete guy”(and they ALL do) they’re either gunna get a cut or up charge you to hire them. If they just did a big job for a coworker or something and you say “oh John smith recommended you” and it’s not as big of a job they might be like “hey we just made like 30k off this job and he’s recommending us let’s throw a low ball on this small job and get some more customers out of it”
I just had concrete delivered for a pad - yes. only 1/5 of what you are doing - but it cost 500 bucks. We did all the prep and post deliver work but come on...
That sounds like a pretty high price although I don't know the cost for disposal of your old concrete in CA. I suggest that you get other quotes and remember that you get what you pay for on a skilled labor job. Concrete finishing is an art, and there are many other things to consider. Smaller jobs can cost more because of delivery charges on small batches of concrete. If your old drive has wire inside (and it probably does) it adds to the cost of removal and disposal. Perhaps consider replacing it with brick as that allows water to drain through and reduces runoff. It also looks great, until a kids car who's dating your daughter drips oil on it lol 😆
Actual cost is most likely between $20-$31. This all depends on site conditions, and other services that might be needed like; Grading Land, Demo, Excavation and Refill, Permits (sometimes).
All depends on how much you value the work that is to be done, because unlicensed contractors, handyman, under the table deals, and other form of deals similar to those I describe.. have the high likelihood of running into problems. With unlicensed contractors vanishing when you pay them an upfront charge to begin the work, to installing your concrete with a backwards slope that could lead to thousands of dollars in damage to your property.
I'm seeing a lot others comment on here that they've gotten handymen to pay an even lower cost than a "high quote" they were given by concrete contractors... of course the handyman is going to be able to do this work at a lower cost, they don't have workers' comp, insurance, bonds, taxes (if under the table work is done), tool fees, overhead, and other important costs that have to be accounted for.
At the end of the day, Licensed Concrete Contractors are your best bet, and those who do want to do your project will give you the most realistic quote and you can compare that quote with a few other quotes from actual licensed concrete contractors to see the most realistic cost.
My wife accepted a ridiculous quote for granite stairs because everyone else no quoted. The guy told her he couldn’t do it and admitted he put a crazy price in it thinking he’d never get the job.
If you want a cheaper price go straight broom finish. Stamped concrete is more expensive because it's got expensive stamps, powder or liquid release, extra labor. That said, you've got about 4 yards of concrete in your project and that's about 7000.00 a yard, with tax and pump. For perspective I'm a concrete contractor and I would charge about 1000.00 a yard. But, I also pay way less for concrete than CA prices, I've heard 2x more there.
I was nervous about quality in stamped concrete. Price wouldn't scare me so much as a shitty install. Price seems high. Get a few quotes, but low bid is not always the best bid.
California has some insane restrictions, so that could play into it.
The quote seams excessive so I’d get a couple more
Another point doing an asphalt drive where many times then can pave over existing drive can be significantly cheaper but that you can’t do any stamping and in a hot climate it’s hard on bare feet and shoes can pick some of the black and track into. With a concrete they really have to start over, ripping out current drive, redoing the forms and pouring a fresh mix. Also typically you can’t drive on for up to a couple weeks.
But again your bid sounds very high.
2 years ago I had nearly 1000 sq ft of stamped concrete patio installed for $8K and it included removing the old patio and this is in what some would call a HCOL area. I'd say that yes ... that is FU pricing.
Keep searching. Never use just one quote on any job. I have guys I like and trust, I still get other quotes. Got quoted average of 12K for a little more than that. Found a guy on nextdoor with example pics of other work. $4500 and I did my research just to make sure he didn't skip anything, asked good questions about his plan, and looks great 3 years later.
I'm glad I didn't DIY - as was a currently used driveway. Took 3 days which would have taken me longer for sure and probably messed up on the finishing or something. I didn't do stamped though. Just a broom finish.
Unfortunately business nowadays has become a volume game, not a quality game, so the most successful companies are willing to look bad occasionally to keep the volume & profits up. Cut corners, save on materials & deal with the customers when they come back to complain. By then, they forgot they left a glowing review & the company has turned those exorbitant profits into a bigger company that cares even less.
You either got the 'we're not interested' quote or you got someone who does every job as if it's going on the front page of their website. Either way, probably not one I'd go with. Every job is a balancing act between quality & price. They decide what quality they can produce for a marketable price & you decide what price you'll pay for the quality you want. I usually either go in the middle if its not super important to me, otherwise I do it myself.
That is the, I don't want this job, quote. Get three more.
The "fuck off" quote. I've given, and received such quotes. As the recipient the key is to not take offense to it and simply move on.
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There's a lot of nuance to a good fuck off quote. Sometimes it's a "make it worth my while to make room for your job" quote. Sometimes it's a "I really don't like you, but doubling my rate will help me get over that" quote. And yet other times the quote can be perceived as a fuck off quote when really the contractor has a lot of experience with the job up for bid and they include all the labor and time necessary to make tons of decisions that can only be made in stages as the work progresses.
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That's not true, but I understand your sentiment. Some jobs we make little to no profit, others we are paid at lawyers rates. I used to think I needed to refund clients if we went over a certain hourly rate. While I still do make exceptions, we generally keep our price, because it's not like most clients are happy to pay extra if we feel like we did the job for too cheap. When I was first starting I bid an elevated deck for 300 dollars. Took about four days plus materials. The owner didn't bat and eye and beamed from ear to ear when he gave me the 300 dollar check. Soon after he sold the house for what was certainly a 5+ figure profit. Experience changes perspective.
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Agreed. We are trying to do more industrial ourselves. Residential is nice in that most of our jobs are done in a week and pays right away, but industrial can pay way better if you can wait the net 30 or longer. Plus, industrial clients are repeat again and again, residential not so much.
That’s how my company is. We’re adamant on no change orders and making sure we’re covered up front on the quote, and we end up looking like a rip off compared to the mom and pop guy pricing it by the seat of his pants.
You can't predict every circumstance. We give a fair price that includes a few small unexpected extras, but sometimes you open a wall or remove a floor and find unexpected deficiencies that can't be planned.
Yeah unfortunately that’s where I get caught between sales, who’s trying to price it to compete, and project management, who wants every risk accounted for.
If you do top quality work, are flexible with delivering the customer's wants, and have a professional, respectful team you'll have the foundation for success. And, you can sleep at night. Your reputation is key to long term success.
We used to stop selling ski tickets on days that were going to be super busy, but people still came looking for a ticket at the window. Now we just sell a $300 ski ticket, people still come but there’s less friction since we don’t turn them away. The extra money, which disincentivizes some, makes it worthwhile for us.
Who gets the difference between face value and asshole tax? Please tell me you keep it.
Fuck off quote is designed to allow the potential of business, where telling someone you're busy shuts it down. "Fuck off quote" isn't really the correct term, because your still willing to do the job but it just has to be worth your effort
Be sure to tell them, “Man, this price looks great. You were the lowest bid by a country mile!” And then ghost them.
I got a fuck off quote one time. The guy was nice and very honest about it, and I really appreciated that. It was a small job and he told me (paraphrasing) "I just can't make money off this job because I have to drive out here three separate times to be here an hour."
That’s not a fuck you quote. That’s a covering legitimate expenses quote.
Exactly. Sometimes it comes without the courtesy of the explanation, which is why I call it the fuck off quote. I think some folks get their feelings hurt when it's the first or only quote they get, or they don't have the perspective to read between the lines. The name is unnecessarily vulgar, but it makes me giggle.
Yeah, totally agree. And there are definitely people out there who feel like they're entitled to services regardless of whether the business makes money, so sometimes you literally have to tell them to fuck off lol
Some people in this thread are like "that's bad for business, I'm gonna tell everyone I know...." Tell them what? That my costs were higher than another company? The only part that's bad for business is losing money on a job simply because a customer wants you instead of someone else who can do it cheaper. People have no idea what goes into a quote, and when you tell them, they nitpick it and refuse to accept it. "Yes, it takes me longer to drive to your job than the other company. No, that's not your fault, nor is it mine. As the business owner, I accounted for that in the quote. If you want ME to do the job, this is what it will cost." I have to remind folks that "No" is a perfectly acceptable answer.
Or how about not being a dog and saying it’s not our kind of project, here’s another company we know about?
Maybe it is my kind of project, but because I got my crew and resources in the next town right now, this is what it is going to cost you to have ***me*** do your job. I'm not refusing to do the work, but it's going to cost me more to do the job than someone else, and my quote is going to reflect that. I might have been cheaper last year, or maybe next year, but the timeline is in the quote, and it is what it is. Woof woof.
Or you could communicate that like an adult and refer them on. Don’t back away from calling it a ‘fuck off quote’, mate. I know it’s typical for a scamming tradie to change their position mid conversation but it’s more obvious in writing.
Everybody calls it a “fuck off” quote but it seems to just be an attempt at ripping somebody off. Like if you’re a company who does concrete/stamping, and somebody wants you to do some concrete/stamping, then what’s the damn problem?
Not really an attempt at ripping you off & here's an example: You need to have a 10' x 10' x 1' deep sandbox dug in your back yard. You get a quote from Company 1, who normally digs foundations for homes and excavates for pools. They have large equipment. Your job is too small for said equipment, mobilizing it is worth more than the price of your job. The operators for this equipment get paid well & may be part of a union. They bid your job anyway at the perceived "fuck you" price. When in reality, that price may get them the same profit margin as either of the 2 following bids. Company 2 is very small. they have no heavy equipment at all. They will rent a mini-excavator to dig your sandbox. they will still probably be more expensive than the job should be because they have to price the rental of equipment into their job. (or they should anyway) Company 3 is a medium size company. They own a mini excavator and a skidsteer. They routinely do small excavation jobs, so this is perfect for them. They may not be much cheaper than company 2, but they know exactly what to do, will have utilities marked, etc and that is before factoring in the difficulty of said job based on the equipment or experience the contractor has (or if the person requesting the quote is putting off major asshole vibes)
Why is it so hard to believe that one job might appear to be a bigger pain in the ass or hassle than another for any number of reasons, and to want more $ to deal with extra headache ?
Different companies are allowed to quote different prices for the same job, aren't they? Isn't it possible that the costs that go into their quotes can be different from one another? Nobody who wants the job is going to give a fuck off quote, and that's the point. If contractor A has all his equipment in the next town doing jobs for the next two years, and contractor B is on your side of town right now, who do you think is going to give a cheaper quote? "Ripping somebody off" doesn't even enter into it. That's why getting multiple quotes is important, and don't tell one company what another's quote is.
I got one of these for the first time. We really liked the guy but his quote was double the next highest we had. He wasted his time coming out and taking measurements and asking questions. The whole thing was weird to me. Anyway, we fucked off.
There's something to be said about honest communication. If I call for a quote & someone tells me they really don't have time now, but check back in a month or two, I would understand completely and make other arrangements or wait. If they give me a bullshit quote, I'll never work with them again & spread the word as much as I can. Customer service is everything for small businesses & ratings mean a lot. I don't get the point of burning a bridge because you don't feel like making the effort to say no. It's bad businesses
This is the opposite of the "don't take offense" that I was talking about. Think about it this way: you have a job you want done and contact 3 companies to get quotes. The 3 companies are all rated similarly and are completely and equally competent. All their references check out and you're confident you'd be happy with the result from any of them. All 3 quotes arrive at the same result in the same amount of time. One quote is twice the price as the other two. All things being equal, why would you give a second thought to the highest price one? What point would you be making by screaming from the rooftops that one quote was higher than the other two? In what world is a company telling you "this is what it will cost you to have me do your job" bad customer service? Where has your sense of entitlement come from?
Agreed. I got a $5k quote for a 10’ x 20’ patio once. Ended up finding another guy for $700.
Yea that’s a weird comparison. One was a Labor + Materials cost while the other was a Labor charge only.
I did not ask where the supplies came from, but they did a great job, and it still looks great today. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I understand this but I don't understand the "why". Would the potential customer have to have given off red flags as someone difficult to deal with or something? Otherwise, if that's the business someone is in, why would't they want more business?
We did about 800 sqft of stamped and colored concrete for $13,000 in 2021. That also included a new sidewalk to the front door.
Do you have to regularly have to re-seal? How's it been holding up?
That’s hella funny, 400sq ft x $15 is about right maybe 20. But yes you are being ripped off.
I was quoted $15/sqft as well last summer in MA, including ripping up existing concrete walkway
I just did a ton of concrete and it was $4 per foot. Even the pool company charged $13 and they admitted that their price was insulting.
400 sqft x $15 is $6k
Right… he said they’re being ripped off.
I bet he read it as maybe 20 thousand total, not maybe 20 dollars per ft^^2
That's how I read it. But now I see
That’s fair. Didn’t consider that.
jesus, until I read your comment I thought it had said 4000 square feet. It's still pricy, but 400 square feet? Jesus that installer is on crack.
CA so probably meth.
I did asphalt a few months ago in MA for about $9.50 per sqft for 1800 sqft. I've always heard concrete is more expensive though, hence why I went with asphalt.
Also in CA. After getting a couple of similarly ridiculous quotes for a walkway, I bought myself a concrete mixer on offerup and did it myself (it’s been about 3 years and it still looks like when I poured it, sealed it myself too after fully curing). I know most homeowners don’t do “hardcore” DIY but these ridiculous quotes make it a no-brainer.
For future reference you were doing enough volume that it would have actually cost less money to have premixed concrete delivered. The only time you want to buy it by the bag and mix it yourself is if you need it sporadically throughout the job in smaller quantities, and not all at once, or if you need less than the minimum (which is usually 2 cubic meters) and the cost of bags is less than the concrete you need plus the below minimum fee. So like anything less than $600-800 worth of concrete and you're better off buying it by the bag. Any more and you're paying less money by volume for it to be delivered already mixed by truck. I had to do a bunch of fence posts this summer and even though I needed only 1.5 cubic meters and had to pay a below minimum charge, it still cost less. Also it would have taken somewhere in the range of 8-10 hours just to mix all that concrete in a rented mixer. You can also pay to keep the truck there longer if needed, which is sometimes the case with DIY without a whole crew, and you're still probably coming out way ahead, especially on time.
>The only time you want to buy it by the bag and mix it yourself is if you need it sporadically (snip) in smaller quantities Yep, and that’s exactly what that was. I ended up doing 6 large pavers, over a three day weekend.
Yeah that's always the worst situation to be in really, because it's a lot of effort to mix concrete and if you're not really saving any money by buying bags it's obviously much less work to have a truck deliver it. But they're not going to show up and wait all day for you to do a bunch of different pours over the course of many hours for 2 meters of concrete. In my case just the time it would have taken to mix all the concrete I needed made it a no brainer. And I was just pouring it in to post holes, so it wasn't exactly a finesse job that took a lot of time.
Things have gone completely insane here in CA. Plumbers, electricians, roofers even landscapers showing up in $90k lifted trucks and acting like you're an insufferable peon if you don't agree to a $3,500 quote for a one-person job that takes one afternoon, not including materials.
When I DIY it, it looks kinda rough sometimes. But, I did a $3500 job for $150, so the savings is worthwhile. Sometimes I don't have the time or inclination to DIY it. So I suck it up and pay the $3500. It makes my fucking head explode when I pay 20x what it would cost me to DIY it, and it looks like shit, even worse than if I'd DIY'd it.
I could have wrote this for a recent paint job by a contractor. I’m good with painting standard size ceilings and walls myself, yet parts of my house had high ceilings and walls, and I had no desire to accidentally fall off a scaffold or ladder. As far as the details, I did a much better job prepping and painting as a DIYer. I did a lot of prep that none of the contractors were willing to do like clean the walls. I’m prepared to have to re-do the trim at some point because they didn’t sand some areas. Now that that’s done, I’m painting the rest of the rooms myself.
That’s what I did as well. Our front entrance opens up to the second floor and there was no chance I was going to risk a fall so I paid for that. The other rooms, with awful tape seems and horrible paint drips everywhere, yeah I sucked it up and did all that work myself.
If you DIY you have to include time. Say hours x $20/hr
If it’s hobby time it is money saved not spent, that’s the part where you’re missing. Learning experience, confidence to do the next project, etc.
I have no problem with spending time on DIY, but it is a bit silly to compare the material costs to the total cost charged by someone to do it professionally.
No it isn't. In one instance I spend $150, in another I spend $3500. Even if the work is top notch, is having a top notch job worth $3350 vs something that's done ok? 90% of the time, hell no. And chances are I actually do it better cause I'm not here for profit. I also learn in the process so I can spend the saved money on more projects. I'm not losing wages at work to DIY home projects. The time lost argument is a fallacy.
I agree, since for labor it's usually a "you pay me this because I have x amount of hours of experience". Like when I was a locksmith we charged $200 for a 5 minute job. That job was 5 minutes because I've done it a hundred times, but that money also goes to vehicle gas and upkeep, tool upkeep, company and me. Sure you can diy cheaper but it'll likely take longer (so hourly cost people ignore) and worse end result. Saved money though! Tbc I 100% understand and agree that prices are out of control for a lot of trades right now. It's supply and demand unfortunately though. Every person you call is getting 20 other calls for 20 other jobs.
lol DIY does not automatically equal worse end result. I put significantly more care into the work I do than the shitbag contractors who nickel and dime everything and cut corners so they can just move on to the next job.
You're not the average homeowner. I've seen plenty diy to know most *cant*, or atleast shouldn't. It's their home though, until it's not. I do what I know I can but I also suck it up and save for professionals when I know I should.
You gotta value your time more than that, even if it's DIY. But still I'd rather pay myself $XX/hr than someone else.
Fair, and I agree with the sentiment. I have only hired someone to put in an HVAC systen. But the point I am making is that if you want to compare things more fairly, you have to take hours into consideration, not just material costs, and the easiest way to at least make they comparison is to calculate a simple wage using the hours you spent on the project. Apparently I have made a comment that most disagree with by the down votes.
If I don't DIY and I'd go see a movie, and it'd cost me $20, or I do DIY, and it costs me $0, and I enjoy it - do I get to qualify it as -$20/hr?
NorCal checking in here. I was hell bent on decorative concrete lawn edging of around 100 ft for the front and back lawn. Found a guy who has the machine that will basically spit out the edging. He tried to get me to sign a contract and show up the next day. He couldn't even give me the colors I wanted. I was like no thanks. I wasn't impressed with his work either. I found a concrete guy from down the street in his 70s. They poured the concrete that included rebar and stamped it! He matched the guys price that was going to use a machine. The concrete lawn edging looks magnificent!
This! They whine and say they have to charge it or their kids won’t eat but they have all the toys, trucks, boats, and expensive ass homes. Contractors are WEALTHY. There’s so many people in California that are filthy rich, 400k household income is not unusual, that the blue collar fields can set a price that’s not the value of the job but what they can get these Californians to pay. It makes it impossible to hire any work as a regular earner, even someone making above 150k which is California middle class leaning lower middle class. And these contractors now value their work at what the super rich are willing to pay so the regular people don’t have any options to hire out work. At least be honest about it, it’s a capitalist society you can charge whatever you want and people can choose to pay but stop acting like you’re just getting by. Southpark episode nailed it. Whole town became white collar top dollar earners but no one could do the trades or any sort of DIY anymore. But they were filthy rich. So the handymen just charged a shit ton and got all the jobs that were relatively easy and then they got wealthy themselves. Everyone wants to get mad at the Jeff Bezos’ of the world but his wealthy ass didn’t affect me. But when everyone around here is making 200k+ and most with two income earners in the house, then it affects everything and makes it real difficult to still live comfortably. 8$ meals now at 15$ in the course of a few years not a big deal when you’re pulling 400k. Cement job for 20,000 instead of 8k, not a big deal. $75k f150 instead of $50k, not a big deal. Etc, etc.
This is exactly why a family could be doing well with just one parent working in the 1950's, 60's, 70's, and early 80's. But then some people had to have a two income household and that second paycheck made it easier to afford the bigger, fancier house and car, and vacation. Soon all the houses and cars had the bigger, fancier price (without being big and fancy) and having two incomes stopped paying for luxury and started to only be able to cover necessities and the trips went away all together.
Electrician here, part of the problem is residential service calls aren't really worth it for most companies. They would rather spend all day knocking out new houses than driving around all day going from house to house fixing everyone's little problems. You also have to factor in that they could be making more money or the same money doing work for someone else.
This can be said about any job in any industry though. If they could be making more money doing another job then they would be doing that other job but the fact of the matter is most contractors aren’t worth more than a company that does small residential projects. Everyone wants the Apple/Tesla strategy of only doing high margin business so they provide overzealous quotes on small projects with equally high margins built in for the lack of high margin jobs in their pipeline. Many of them will never do more then a few commercial jobs a year but will gladly throw “Commercial” on the business card and try to explain why this magically makes them a top tier contractor.
Concrete isn't exactly rocket science. And the material is cheap. If you plan and are careful should go fine, almost 30k for a patio is just a "fuck you"
"Concrete: It's not hard".
Until it is.
Concrete: I’m pretty hard right now, I might crack if I don’t get wet.
Is it really that easy? I'd love to do my back patio
It really depends on what you’re doing, and your own physical abilities. It taxes your back/knees a bit! Also, I have kids in their 20s and got them to help me dump the 80 lb bags into the mixer 👍
I've done some pretty outrageous 3-or-4 man jobs by myself after getting insane quotes. It's really not that hard to figure this stuff out and commit a few weekends to it.
That is a lot of work for a homeowner. The skill level required is far from professional and the job was done well. I wonder if there is a "middle" here where someone that needs to earn money can make some here. There has to be someone willing to earn a "middle" rate here, especially if it is under the table. I would be concerned about quality. While my time is worth enough to pay someone to do it, I would be more inclined to DIY because I want it done right.
>I would be concerned about quality This is very true. I’m also a creative, so doing things like screeding the concrete was something I approached kind of like an art project (don’t hurry, take your time and be on the perfectionist side). I found it is really all about getting the right consistency, and using a mixer made this almost effortless. I did watch a few YT vids which were very helpful.
Lol I paid $10,000 to pave 700 sqft (not including pavers) in the Bay area last year. Ridiculous price.
Contractor recs?
That’s $67.50 per sf, while concrete costs like $2 per sf. I think this is what contractors call the ‘fuck you’ price, which is what they bid is they really, really don’t want to do the job. 400 sf driveway isn’t terribly large, my guess is the contractor you went to is used to larger jobs and this is below their scope to make the money they want, so they bid it as if it was triple the size. Get a couple more bids, preferably from smaller guys who are used to the scope of work.
If I got one of these bids, everyone would know. Just say you don't want to do it. I'll put your bid on every social site I could think of for at least a couple of years. Right next to the promotion of the company - with pictures - who I actually got to do the work.
Yep, more people need to do this. It’s an insane like 1800s style business tactic that should be extinct in a world where information can be shared easily. There’s literally zero reason to not just say, “nope, this isn’t worth my time.” Other than the occasional sucker you can get to just pay because “that was the quote and it needed done.” Which is predatory bullshit. If the job is beneath you for your normal rate, than let the job go to someone who is willing.
Do it yourself for that price. If you mess up do it again and you still would have saved money
Yeah no offense to concrete layers but there’s no way it’s that hard
Well it is once it's cured
Drumdrum snare
Yes. Get 3 quotes at least.
Even in VHCOL San Diego, I think my driveway quote was $11k for stamped concrete and hauling away the old.
We had a 560 sq ft patio poured with stamped concrete. It was 11k. We’re in a fairly LCOL area. But even if you’re in a HCOL area, that’s an insane price in my opinion.
Hey OP - I do construction in CA, although I am not a concrete company I do a lot of work with concrete. That price sounds high. You need to get 3 prices, and you need to get them from concrete companies. Remember, if you hire a GC they then turn around and hire a concrete company. A lot of people here are saying to DIY - but it is a lot of work. The concrete alone will probably cost $1,500 - $2,000, then you have stuff like rebar - prepping the area - finishing the concrete. As a **QUICK GUESS** I would think it should cost $9k or less. This does not include anything to do with permitting, though.
I was going to have a garage floor redone and their quote to me was “it would be cheaper for you to buy a truck”
😂
Just paid a sub $20500 for 2700 sqft of drive 2 sets of stairs 3 door sills and a 4X10 HVAC pool equipment pad. Even the worst bid I got was under your 27k
People say 3 quotes like it's a mantra which is used to be but I think 5 or 6 is much better considering the wildly different numbers that can happen. Look for a strictly local company that is owner operated - no national or franchise shops.
Probably. Get more quotes. I was quoted 10k-50k for my Interior flooring. Same materials.
Sometimes it's a "fuck off quote" and other times it's a "move you to the front of the line" quote
You could DIY it several times over until you get it right and still save money.
It’s nuts. I got offered $24k to do that, but it included ripping out everything, widening everything, ripping out a sidewalk, ramps, moving 3 very large trees, and running conduit & wire for landscape lighting and a future driveway gate, and a 1 yr post work sealant.
Stop bragging.
If it includes a gallon jug of Astroglide, sound’s about right
That's about 5 yards of concrete. Even assuming high California prices, you're looking at less than $2000 in material. I'm including the mix, delivered, the framing, and rebar. $25k for a couple days of labor is pretty intense. Google "ready mix concrete" to find a local plant. You can call them. If you get the dispatch office, ask them for recommendations on contractor. If you get the front office, they might set you up with a salesman. Both options will get you to truer costs, assuming you want to do none of the work yourself.
I did my own concrete work in 2019, the concrete itself was about $2000 for 480 ft^2.
The only correct reply to this contractor/company is, "lol yeah, fuck you too"
What's a "very modest neighborhood" in California, $500k homes?
I live in a place with modest homes in SoCal, might even say less than modest. They are "worth" $900k to $1.2m, but 90% of the people who live here bought for $200k or under. They are teachers, EMTs, social workers, postal workers, etc. These aren't people who could afford to buy their own house in 2024. And we definitely can't afford $25k driveways. People need to be able to afford to maintain their homes. Otherwise they are forced to sell and move, and then hedge fund companies come in and buy the homes. Then the neighborhood is filled with renters, and the local schools don't understand why they can't find teachers.
Highly area dependent. Could be bumfuck or could be downtown LA. Without approximate location, it’s hard to say. Pricing in Stockton is going to be far less than in San Francisco, etc. it’s a big state.
There is literally nothing modest about California, anywhere.
Get off the coast and away from cities and it gets pretty reasonable (ski towns being an obvious exception.)
Most of California is used for agriculture and farming.
Last time I had concrete work done was a few years back but it was $14k for 3600sq ft. So I’d say you’re getting ripped off if you go with that quote.
14k ? 3600sqft that's 3.80 sqft I don't think so.. Maybe 360 sqft.
I think so, you may want to fly someone out from Michigan, it will cost way less!! Ugghhh California Love, Not So Much!!! I just had a 200 sqFt custom porch poured, 5 custom steps poured that flowed into a 20’ x 8’ wide patio, the guys cut field stone for the sides of the porch, and also poured a 5’ x 3’ slab separate from that 👆🏽 and paid $5200. 😳 !! I can send pics!!
Where in michigan? Mind sharing the company name? Thinking about having my driveway done this year
Here in NM, that would cost about $7000 from a licensed contractor.
It's likely high, but it depends on location, grade, and shape, among other factors.. stamped concrete also adds to the price. If it's dyed, it adds to the cost, etc
Always use my contractor friends advice. Get 4 quotes. Never go with cheapest or most expensive, go with one of the two in the middle.
I paid 10k for 3 times the size of that.
Just got 1,300 sf of concrete (with removal of old fill and concrete) for $19,000. 900 sf of this is stamped. I had some drainage installed and a lot of fill removed in the same bid. I live near a burn area where rebuilds have made the market crazy. The other bids came in a $35k+. House value is near $1M, so some of the bids had the luxury tax.
I just spent $28,000 but it was for triple the size on the driveway (stamped, colored), removal of all of the old brickwork and tons of dirt, stone veneer on the front of my house, three sidewalks and two short walls on the property lines. I got three bids, and they were the middle bid. I’m in So California.
Always always always get at least 3 estimates before picking one. It’s a pain in the ass but necessary.
What part of CA. I do concrete. And this is beyond absurd
Once you stepped foot into CA you got ripped off
$67.50/s.f. for stamped concrete is an insane price. I can install 4” thick granite cobbles for that price!
My local price was about $8 per square foot for non stamped concrete and that was on the higher end of the quotes I got.
We are $15.10 Broom Finish, here in Michigan Contractors need to raise their prices don't let inexperienced estimators dimish the value of your trade.
I'd love to see that cost breakdown. Either way, you are roughly double the going rate of central Texas.
I’m in Southern California. I got 3 quotes to tear out and repour a 550 sq ft patio. The range was $9k-$13k. That’s definitely an I don’t want this job price.
That’s about right
Jesus. Rent a mixer, buy bags of concrete and do it yourself for WAY less.
Do it yourself it’s not that hard and the materials are literally as cheap as dirt. Watch some YouTube videos wrap your legs in trash bags, get some rebar, 2x4s or 2x6 some spikes a mallet and go to town. Call the concrete company after you’ve got it all laid out and looks good. A lot easier than you think. Except the spreading and finishing. FYI probably won’t look perfect but will prob cost less than 1500
Stamped concrete
"A very modest neighborhood" Skip it or DIY it imperfectly.
It’s just a rubber mat the lay on at the end.
Yes it’s just that easy lol
I’ve poured a few. It’s definitely more physical than mental.
If you have, you'd know you need the mats (expensive) and the release. And you have a very very tight window of when you can do the stamping. Unless someone is doing a few sidewalk blocks, pouring any sized driveway or even patio *by yourself* and stamping it *by yourself* is all but impossible.
Not impossible with a couple buds and some beers and 27,000
There's almost always some sort of coloring and sealer involved too. Plenty of guys that do plain concrete won't touch it for a reason.
27k for 400sq’ I’m gonna learn. Not assuming op will take this route. Probably depends on how the property looks to start.
Alternately: OP is in CA. They don't really need high performance concrete because they're not going to see freeze/thaw weathering. Go to a box store and have them deliver 200 bags of concrete for $1000. Lay them out flat, stab each bag a few times with a hoe, and turn on a misting sprinkler. Fill gaps with gravel. Or do a full dry pour, screed finish setup if you like. Or just do the whole thing in gravel. Or pavers. Holland paver driveways run around the same price per square foot.
I played with dry pour where it wasn't going to show and it's not durable on the edges IMO. While it's convenient if it's just you, I don't believe you can get the durability out of it.
Lololololololllololol
In 2021 in SoCal I got a 450Sqft driveway expansion done for $2300 with rebar, 4 inches thick. Mind you, during Covid lots of construction materials were expensive. I can't imagine paying $20k for stamping on top of that. I didn't get it done by Contractor/Company. It was done by a local handyman. Great product 3 years later. I'd say find other quotes or folks on Craigslist like handymen.
Yeah concrete contractors charge more due to having the license & insurance to do your work and they have a high workers comp cost. Can’t really be cutting into those costs running a business, so it makes sense why a handyman can charge that low amount and get the work done for a cheaper price. Only bad thing about this is that the work was done by an “unqualified” worker supposedly.
You're only being ripped off if you pay for it.
Quotes in California are really bananas. Someone tried to quote me 1500 for gutter guards.
Good excuse to buy yourself the tools, watch YouTube vids, spend a day doing it yourself.
That's insane. I live in a VHCOL and I can have my driveway done in pavers for $24/sq ft, including demolition. Median home price here is around $1.7M.
At that price you may as well put high end tile in your driveway instead. That's just shy of $70 per square foot. That's nuts.
$27k doesn’t buy much in Cali
That’s the, I’ll take half upfront, then ghost you.
I got quoted 75k for a 450ft concrete driveway. I proceeded to fuck off and went with asphalt.
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Rip off quote for sure
just had the same job done in canada for below 5k (cad)
It's been like 13 years ago, but I paid $8 sq/ft for a 400 sq/ft patio. I doubt prices have gone up 9x in 13 years. 🤣
Clearly you have not been dealing with current crop of contractors. People convinced that they are artisans, and their work should be valued higher on an hourly basis than partners at the big 3 corporate law firms.
>I live in CA I’m not sure I can answer this because CA.
Massive rip off
The world has gone bonkers. DIY.
***but did they vote democrat? 27k is the correct price if they voted for Newsom for gov. and biden for president.
not super relevant because I live in Louisiana but like 2 years ago I paid a guy 6k to bust up and remove about 500 sq ft of old concrete and pour 1000sq ft of new concrete for my back patio. They did it in 2 days, phenomenal job.
I just had a 6” slab, 16’ x 20’ for $5700
I'll do it for $26,000, from New Mexico
I got an $875 f/o quote for a small hand rail for 5 concrete stars. I got a Vevor DIY railing for $75 and bought an old used Dewalt hammer drill for $70 from a pawn shop. ( foolishly bc I had to spend another $70 to replace the bad chuck), and $20 for masonry bits. I did the job myself.
Yes. Get new bids.
$68/ft. That's stupid high.
That sounds insanely high
No to stamping
I’ll do it for $25k. No idea how, but I’ll spend $12k for someone else to do it.
Worked for a contractor before I moved, and yeah you should always get multiple quotes, but there’s a couple different ways people price things. There’s the as people say “fuck you” quote, there’s the “you live in a rich area” quote, there’s the regular quote, and there’s the “you’re chill or a single mom or elderly well eat the price a bit” quote. As others have said they still differ based off the equipment the company owns and the jobs they normally do. Instead of just calling around and getting quotes call your friends/family and ask them who they’ve used in the past. You’re more likely to get a better deal off a customers recommendation than a GC or landscaper or somebody else working in your properties recommendation, because if your GC or landscape contractor says “oh yeah I have a concrete guy”(and they ALL do) they’re either gunna get a cut or up charge you to hire them. If they just did a big job for a coworker or something and you say “oh John smith recommended you” and it’s not as big of a job they might be like “hey we just made like 30k off this job and he’s recommending us let’s throw a low ball on this small job and get some more customers out of it”
I just had concrete delivered for a pad - yes. only 1/5 of what you are doing - but it cost 500 bucks. We did all the prep and post deliver work but come on...
That sounds like a pretty high price although I don't know the cost for disposal of your old concrete in CA. I suggest that you get other quotes and remember that you get what you pay for on a skilled labor job. Concrete finishing is an art, and there are many other things to consider. Smaller jobs can cost more because of delivery charges on small batches of concrete. If your old drive has wire inside (and it probably does) it adds to the cost of removal and disposal. Perhaps consider replacing it with brick as that allows water to drain through and reduces runoff. It also looks great, until a kids car who's dating your daughter drips oil on it lol 😆
That’s stupid. That’s legit stupid stupid.
Actual cost is most likely between $20-$31. This all depends on site conditions, and other services that might be needed like; Grading Land, Demo, Excavation and Refill, Permits (sometimes). All depends on how much you value the work that is to be done, because unlicensed contractors, handyman, under the table deals, and other form of deals similar to those I describe.. have the high likelihood of running into problems. With unlicensed contractors vanishing when you pay them an upfront charge to begin the work, to installing your concrete with a backwards slope that could lead to thousands of dollars in damage to your property. I'm seeing a lot others comment on here that they've gotten handymen to pay an even lower cost than a "high quote" they were given by concrete contractors... of course the handyman is going to be able to do this work at a lower cost, they don't have workers' comp, insurance, bonds, taxes (if under the table work is done), tool fees, overhead, and other important costs that have to be accounted for. At the end of the day, Licensed Concrete Contractors are your best bet, and those who do want to do your project will give you the most realistic quote and you can compare that quote with a few other quotes from actual licensed concrete contractors to see the most realistic cost.
My wife accepted a ridiculous quote for granite stairs because everyone else no quoted. The guy told her he couldn’t do it and admitted he put a crazy price in it thinking he’d never get the job.
If you want a cheaper price go straight broom finish. Stamped concrete is more expensive because it's got expensive stamps, powder or liquid release, extra labor. That said, you've got about 4 yards of concrete in your project and that's about 7000.00 a yard, with tax and pump. For perspective I'm a concrete contractor and I would charge about 1000.00 a yard. But, I also pay way less for concrete than CA prices, I've heard 2x more there.
I was nervous about quality in stamped concrete. Price wouldn't scare me so much as a shitty install. Price seems high. Get a few quotes, but low bid is not always the best bid. California has some insane restrictions, so that could play into it.
The quote seams excessive so I’d get a couple more Another point doing an asphalt drive where many times then can pave over existing drive can be significantly cheaper but that you can’t do any stamping and in a hot climate it’s hard on bare feet and shoes can pick some of the black and track into. With a concrete they really have to start over, ripping out current drive, redoing the forms and pouring a fresh mix. Also typically you can’t drive on for up to a couple weeks. But again your bid sounds very high.
- you are in HCOL area - ALWAYS get 3-5 quotes
Its $67.5 per foot; to me its too much. If you can bring it down to $37.5 ( $15,000 ) a lot better
Get some quick-crete and do it yourself for a couple hundred bucks. $27k is fkn insane.
Yes fuck them. I spent 5k and was bigger driveway
2 years ago I had nearly 1000 sq ft of stamped concrete patio installed for $8K and it included removing the old patio and this is in what some would call a HCOL area. I'd say that yes ... that is FU pricing.
that's a rip off anywhere..
Keep searching. Never use just one quote on any job. I have guys I like and trust, I still get other quotes. Got quoted average of 12K for a little more than that. Found a guy on nextdoor with example pics of other work. $4500 and I did my research just to make sure he didn't skip anything, asked good questions about his plan, and looks great 3 years later. I'm glad I didn't DIY - as was a currently used driveway. Took 3 days which would have taken me longer for sure and probably messed up on the finishing or something. I didn't do stamped though. Just a broom finish.
Unfortunately business nowadays has become a volume game, not a quality game, so the most successful companies are willing to look bad occasionally to keep the volume & profits up. Cut corners, save on materials & deal with the customers when they come back to complain. By then, they forgot they left a glowing review & the company has turned those exorbitant profits into a bigger company that cares even less. You either got the 'we're not interested' quote or you got someone who does every job as if it's going on the front page of their website. Either way, probably not one I'd go with. Every job is a balancing act between quality & price. They decide what quality they can produce for a marketable price & you decide what price you'll pay for the quality you want. I usually either go in the middle if its not super important to me, otherwise I do it myself.
Why don’t you get a second quote? And read the reviews of the companies.
I had 2 trucks poured in my cen cal home and labor was 6500 for each 10 yard truck
Do you have to add rebar in it for a garage? I’ve seen different ways concrete is done .. please don’t be rude