I did a large job on a nice condo in Fremont a few years ago. New kitchen cabinets, sink, dishwasher, new toilets, some minor repairs.

The owner is out of country. He called me a few days ago - the unit next to his had some sort of leak and somehow damaged the ceiling drywall in the Mst. bed. Beats me how but I saw it and there it is. He's getting some kind of insurance payout from the neighbor's policy.

I'd hate to bid this at $400 to $500 if he's getting $800 to $1K in insurance funds. But I'm a fool on bidding. I almost always go too low. Here are the pics, the inside dimensions of the blue tape rectangle are 30" x 18", this put in by the other guy's plumber.





Not a huge job but it's in their bedroom, have to stay very clean. Need to cut it out, put in new piece, mud - tape - texture - paint. At first I was thinking $500 but now I'm leaning towards 6.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Tell him you don't want to overcharge and ask what the insurance is paying.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

With my DIY eye I'd say that would take me about a morning to get fixed and flat - the time I'd take to get the same textured finish would probably be the bugger of that job. I know that would be more than a morning for me...

You must have a pretty good idea of the time it would take you to do the job if you've done something like it before. Quote for your hourly rate plus a bit more and leave it at that - trying the squeeze as much as possible out of the stone routine probably won't work out well in the long run. So OK the owner might make some money out of the insurance company - big deal - what goes around comes around.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

This looks like about a 4 hour job to me if you use the 20 minute mud so I'd say multiply your normal hourly labor rate times 4.

However, when dealing with insurance, somehow the price seems to double. I had a similar piece of damage in my house where an insulation contractor fell through the ceiling. The bid was close to $1000. I should have told the insurance company I would do it for $800 and just be done with it but I didn't have time to fool with it.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Don't worry about leaving money on the table. Bid a reasonable price on the job, do a good job WHEN you tell them that you will do it. Treat them with courtesy and respect. Do this on every job and you will probably never be without work.

Let someone else play the "squeeze as much out of the insurance company as possible" game. An honest, customer oriented attitude will serve you well in all aspects of your life.

x2

Put in your min time (don't cut him any favors unless it's a friend) and that's that. Same as any job-doesn't matter if the money came from his 9-5, the lottery, or an insurance payout.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Takes a lot of skill to match the texture in a repair like that. That skill is not cheap. I'd say $600 if you think you can do an invisible patch.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

This.

That's slimy and deceptive. With no intention to overcharge you would be/are lying so you can get more money. If you did that to me you'd lose me as a customer and friend if you were one, as well as any recommendations I would have given.

My houses have had water "flood" problems a couple of times, not unlike this.

I suggest you tell the customer as you’ve done with us, that you aren’t good at bidding but will do it for time plus 15% on material and tool rental or whatever is your typical markkup on materials and tools. At this point you are well known to them and they will probably trust you not to take advantage. Plus, unless they are idiots, they will bill the insurance company for your work anyway.

The only way to get the spot right will be to fix the problem area and anything nearby, then redo the entire ceiling and walls, and you’ll have to rent a device to spray texture on the repaired areas, unless you have said tool. In addition, since the damaged area is right next to 2 walls, you will probably need to pull out the wall to inspect and dry. That means that the entire ceiling and entire walls will need work.

In the past the insurance company told me they pay to repair and repaint the entire ceiling to the walls. In addition they stated that that if their initial bid was off, that they’d pay the difference.

FWIW more recently, one of my houses (i have 2) had some water damage due to a moron who tried to fix a washing machine, which then flooded. The folks who fixed it pulled out the damage area plus everything nearby underneath that may have had water infiltration. That included the ceiling under the flooded area and nearby walls that showed any sign of even minor water infiltration; then they ran heaters and dryers for several days to completely remove the moisture, and then they rebuilt and painted. They were hired by the insurance company directly and they said that mold/mildew is a huge and mostly hidden problem that ends up costing insurance companies vast $$$$$$$$ due to the effects of allergies and that leads to major redos of previously finished work plus law suits. The insurance company knows this; the owner may or may not....

Disclose the reasonable extent of the damage to the customer. If you don't do it right, you open the door to a suit, again, fwiw.

Sounds like some really solid advice that is more specifically related to the nature of the situatiion. Maintains your integrity and reputation while protecting both you and the homeowner. An added benefit is that it makes it clear to your customer that you're not playing the "take the insurance company for all they're worth" game.

I like it.

Look I am not a total novice about these things nor am I an expert. No way you are going to match the original texture. The whole ceiling will need retextured unless you are a magician.

Discuss this with the owner. Masking the whole room for spraying the texture coat and trowling it off is needed. You may or may not have to bring someone else in for that portion. Depending on your skill level.

If he will settle for spray texture alone overall would simplify it a little but even for that the current texture might need filled or the patch panel textured close to what is on the remainder of the ceiling now before retexture is done. This is no four hour job. A simple patch may be but there will be issues arrive with that I suspect.



I see there is a hole there so any form of restoration will not be practical. If even a trace of mould is found and it may not be opens another scenario. Some posters are right that without a specific descriptive work order you could be liable. Might be better to drop all the ceiling and re gyprock it to deal with the texture problem. I have seen good old tradesman match texture and then paint a ceiling satisfactory. Today those guys are hard to find. Maybe you are more skilled than me though is a real possibility.

You people are downright unamerican. Double the highest price and add ten percent. Hire an illegal alien to do the work for cash under the table.

Most small jobs I turned down in my lifetime simply because the customer has no real ideal of what is involved. Putting a patch in that ceiling is almost nothing. Getting a good texture match might be another. The whole ceiling would have to be painted anyways.

If the customer was not happy with it then the whole ceiling could become involved. Some people are very demanding and some have reasonable expectations. I know of no way to sort them out unless they state some allowances.

Part of my problem is I am very critical when I do work for others. I have a hard time accepting the current bad building and methods used that seem all too prevelant now. So I infrequently build and sell instead usually. At my age this is also ending.

A professional insurance adjuster well-acquainted with the cost of home repairs has reviewed the damage and determined the value of the claim based on his experience with the costs of repairing such damage. As insurance companies don't typically make a practice of providing excessive claim repayments, can you explain how you know that accepting the insurance check as full payment for the labor and materials for the job would represent an overcharge?