Contractor or Handyman in Vancouver WA – Which One Do You Need?
On the subject home repair there are some blurred lines when it comes to the difference between a handyman and a general contractor. In the commercial world, general contractors with mid to large sized companies and employees on payroll run the show. On the residential home repair side of things, one man shows who go by the term “handyman” are a dime a dozen. So what is the difference between a handyman and a contractor? Often times handymen have the same license and insurance that a small general contracting company would have. However, the main difference boils down to the size of the jobs that one performs.
In the world of residential construction, contractors take much larger sized jobs compared to handymen. A contractor could be at the same job site for a week to multiple months while a handyman arrives to a job, completes it and leaves in just a couple of hours. An example of a typical job that a contractor would accept is replacing the doors in someones home. On the other hand, a job a handyman may accept would be to fix a sticky door knob on one of the doors that the contractor installed.
Verify Their License
Before hiring a contractor or a handyman in Vancouver WA be to check the city licencing regulations. Different business structures have different license and insurance requirements. Licensed contractors in Vancouver WA can legally do everything a handyman can do, but that is not true for the reverse. Before letting a handyman or contractor into your home, verify that the are licensed . Not surprisingly, it is quite easy for unlicensed people to rip off customers. If someone is not licensed and bonded, you have less leverage against them if they wrong you. You cannot put a lien on their business or file a claim against their state bond. It may not seem like a big deal but in the construction industry, people get ripped off left and right so do your diligence before letting someone do work in/on your home!
With that said, if you are thinking about remodeling your home or at least part of it, you will need a licensed contractor. Keep reading to find out what to expect about home remodeling in Vancouver, WA.
Remodeling Contractors Vancouver WA – Choosing the Right Company
There are a host of remodeling contractors in Vancouver WA, choosing the right company can be tricky. If you are serious about remodeling your home and you want to save some back and forward with contractors then you should have a clear idea of what you want. Write it down. Contractors are in the business of construction, not mind reading. The more thorough you are with your plans, the easier it will be to hire a contracting company. If you have no clue what you want done to your home and need design consultation, many contracting companies offer help, but it is not free.
Large Remodels
The size of your project is an important factor when choosing a contractor in Vancouver WA. If your project is large, you will benefit from hiring a company on the larger size to complete it. A medium to large remodeling contractor will have the experience, and labor force needed to complete your remodel in a timely fashion. Large companies come at a cost though. Large remodeling contractors are more expensive in order to cover their overhead costs to operate. Larger companies also tend to be more rigid to work work with, which can soil the feel of working with a “small business”.
Small Remodels
If your remodel is on the smaller side, for example, a kitchen, bath or bedroom remodel then you may befit from hiring a a company on the smaller side. Small remodeling contractors lack the in house labor to finish projects as quickly as the bigger guys. However, small companies have smaller overhead costs and those savings will be passed on to you, which is great if you are remodeling your home on a budget. By working with a smaller company you will notice more of a “small business” feel in your interactions, which some people appreciate.
Home Remodeling Vancouver WA – How Much Does It Cost To Remodel Your Home?
You may be asking, how much does home remodeling in Vancouver WA really cost? That is a complicated question, but the easiest way to ballpark it is to assess the difficulty level of the project. If you are looking for custom fabrication, timber framing, extensive tile work, then your remodel is going to be expensive. All the bells and whistles can easily cost six figures and up. Updating/renovating a middle class home in a middle class neighbor hood is going to be much less expensive. Remodeling a home to the extent of replacing flooring, refinishing walls, painting, installing new mill work, you will be looking at $5-25/square foot (depending on job scope, materials and difficulty level). The more trades you add in, like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, the higher the price will be.
Bathroom Remodel Vancouver WA – How Expensive Is It?
There have been some crazy bathroom remodel stories coming out of the Portland metro area these past couple years. We have heard astronomical costs for relatively small, easy bathroom remolding in Vancouver WA and Portland OR. We have heard numbers like $20,000-30,000 to remodel a standard size bathroom. What is more mind blowing than these insane costs, is the fact that we hear about them often. We have done quite a few bathroom remodels ourselves and just can’t seem to make sense of the math. This most likely means that some contracting companies are taking homeowners for a ride.
What’s a Reasonable Bathroom Remodel in Vancouver, WA Price?
The fact is, a bathroom remodel is a relatively easy and simple project. The idea of remodeling your bathroom as a homeowner may seem expensive and daunting. However bathrooms, themselves are small in size and really quite simple structures. As long as you are not re-plumbing and covering your shower and walls in custom tile then a standard sized bathroom in a middle class American home should never cost $30,000 to renovate. It really is bonkers, what some companies are able to get away with. This is why vetting and doing your diligence ahead of time is so important. Get an estimated total bathroom remodel price in writing before signing a contract.
Our bathroom remodels, typically range between $1000-7000. The costs vary, depending on the scope of work. If the bathroom remodel consists of, installing vinyl plank flooring, some drywall work, painting and installing a new vanity, the cost will sit on the lower end of the range. Take that scope of work and add in a custom tile shower then cost jump to the upper range.
In the bathroom remodel before/after picture above, the remodel consisted of:
- Demolition.
- Skim coating of walls and ceiling.
- Texture and paint.
- luxury vinyl plank installation.
- Installation of new vanity and storage cabinets.
- Quarts counter tops!
- new toilet and light fixture.
- installation of towel racks and tp holder.
- cast iron tub refinishing.
- installation of three-piece shower surround.
- Restoration and painting of old storage closet door.
The price of this bathroom remodel was about $3,000. Unfortunately, the before/after pic does not capture the transformation very well but we do have more pictures of this bathroom in our projects gallery if you would like to see more.
Kitchen Remodel Vancouver WA – What Are The Costs?
Kitchen remodels are the most expensive remodeling projects on average, in our experience. A kitchen remodel in Vancouver, WA could easily cost $10,000-15,000. Unlike bathrooms, kitchens are larger on average and have more components. Kitchens also have much more of something than bathrooms have and that’s cabinets. Kitchen cabinets and counter tops are always the most expensive aspect of a kitchen remodel in our experience. To give you an idea, the cabinets/counter top in the picture above this paragraph cost $7000, not including the knobs and handles. Although this price included materials and installation, the kitchen is only 120 square feet and we still spent that amount. Scope of work for the kitchen remodel in the picture above was quite large. You can see from the before/after shot that it was quite a transformation.
The kitchen remodel in the picture above consisted of:
- Demolition of old kitchen.
- New electrical.
- Moving and replacing plumbing
- Skim coating walls.
- Replacing and installing new floor.
- Installing new mill-work.
- Painting.
- New appliances.
- Mosaic back-splash.
- New cabinets and hardware
- Granite counter-tops
- Undermount sink.
- New shower kit
- New faucet set
- Mill-work (baseboard/trim)
The total cost came out to around $15,000.
Conclusion
Looking for contractors in Vancouver, WA can be tricky but hopefully this article helped clarify some do’s and dont’s. Figure out what kind of company you need to hire (handyman/contractor). Contemplate and establish your vision in a way that your contractor can understand and build upon. Make your timeline clear to your contractor and be sure it is written into the contract. Lastly, pull the trigger and hire a company to complete your project!