[Shawn Naranjo]

I am bidding a job that will be both new cabinets and new SS tops. I am just adding cabinets to my sales and was wondering how to charge for the removal and disposal of the old cabinets. I know what to charge to take out the tops as I have been doing this since I started. Do I charge $XX.XX dollars a running foot, or just use a round number based on how long I think it will take such a $250 or $400.

Thanks for the help

Shawn

[Lesley Thomason]

I am not an expert, but when we do a demo job we charge based on what we think it will cost us in labor and dump fees and padded with a percentage for overhead, profit and extra time figured in in case it is slower going than we thought. (But we have a construction company and our construction guys do our demo and plumbing and that kind of thing. Our countertop guys only do countertops.)

Lesley

[Andy Graves]

Always have a minimum. ALWAYS

Then try to determine the time on each of the first few jobs you do. Compare that to the amount of cabinets you take out and then do a little math to make sure you are charging enough. Now you will have some fairly accurate numbers to price the next jobs. Maybe you can charge by the square foot of lineal feet of cabinets.

My 2 cents

[KCWOOD]

Shawn,

Your first and only answer to the homeowner should be, “I only install new cabinets and countertops. When you start tearing out old, you are setting yourself up to a whole bunch of potential problems. I have seen this , time and time again. First of all, I have never seen anyone that wants new cabinets, laid out exactly like their old ones. Move a fridge here, range there, you are talking electrical delays. My job I am working on now, the homeowner decided to tear out his old cabinets, because he knew he could do it without drywall damage ect. I’ll post a picture later. To make a long story short, they decided to do a total tear out, of the whole room and start from scratch. This has delayed me setting cabinets for about 5 weeks and added about$3000 to their job.

If you tear out, they will expect you to replace baseboard, crown, fix any damage. You might have to wait on the painter that doesn’t show.There is no money in all that, “compared” to “just” setting cabinets, counters, getting paid, going to the next job.

Tear outs always opens up a can of worms, just don’t get involved with it. Start from when the room is freshly painted and all you have to do is spend two days or so, and you are done.

Kelsey

[Norm Walters]

I agree with Kelsey that cabinet tear outs are a pain, but that is what I do more so than countertops. Most of my customers want granite tops that I sub out, I do try to sell them solid surface though, so I can do the cabinets and the tops.

There is quite a bit of money to be made doing the tear outs, but it does open up a can of worms. You need to write the contract to include the following: ” Unforeseen problems will result in additional charges based on time and material”.

Any house that is over 20 years old will need electrical upgrades, i.e. separate circuits for the disposal, dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator and two circuits for the receptacles and they must be GFI’s.

Also in most every case the shut-off’s for the water supply will need to be replaced which will require a plumber because your insurance won’t cover the possible flood.

In most localities just changing the cabinets doesn’t require a building permit, but as soon as you touch the electrical and plumbing it needs to be permitted.

The choice is yours, but it is not a smooth operation, and homeowners hate change orders, just waiting for them to approve the change order will cost you money, govern and price yourself accordingly.

[KCWOOD]

It did not sound like you are as qualified at this point as Norm to tackle such a job. I’m sure Norm’s experience has aligned him up with all the trades to do the whole package, whether electrical, plumbing, drywall, tile. ect.

Just try to focus on what you enjoy, and don’t be afraid to say no. Seek out a good referral for your customers to have the extras done. Not only will you gain respect from your customers, but a business alliance with another trade will result in referrals too.

The plumber that follows me hooking sinks back up, has referred several people to me. He gets to mention countertops and types of sinks during the plumbing bidding stage of a new house.

KC

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