Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - being my own general contractor
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09-24-00, 08:56 AM
I want to renovate a laundry area/half bath. I don't want to do the work myself, but would like to consider jobbing it out myself, i.e. avoiding a general contractor. The job involves ripping up and replacing linoleum (replacing with ceramic tile), replacing vanity cabinet/sink/countertop, replacing toilet. Question: what is the proper order of business to accomplish this? Does tile go beneath vanity and toilet? etc.
09-24-00, 11:05 AM
Timkens@massed.net:
You can either install the vanity first, and then tile up to it or you can tile the floor first, then install the vanity over it.
I expect the floor will last longer than the vanity, so I'd tile the floor first, but either way is acceptable.
Flooring material, tile or linoleum or whatever, should always go under the toilet up to the floor flange under the toilet. Your contractor may suggest that you install up to the toilet to avoid the cost of removing and replacing the toilet. Don't go for this because this will require caulking the base of the toilet bowl to the floor to conceal the seam, and that means that any leak from the wax seal will probably go unnoticed until you see water dripping from the ceiling of the room below or the wood under the toilet rots to the point where the toilet isn't stable any more.
Your contractor won't do this, but once the toilet is off, clean the floor flange of wax as best you can with paint thinner and plug up all the unneccessary holes in the floor flange with plumber's putty. Then, when the flooring is installed, caulk between the floor flange and the new flooring. Now, if you have a leak from the wax seal, it'll show up on the floor of the bathroom before it ever gets any wood or ceiling wet under the toilet.
Welcome to "How to Hire a Contractor 101":
The guy that's going to give you the best job at the lowest cost is the guy who's just started his own company after working for someone else long enough to feel confident that he's not learning anything new and has honed his skills on the boss's customer's bathrooms to the point that he knows he can do the job as well as the boss and knows that the boss has already hired someone else to take his place. If you were that guy, then you'd realize that the safest way of making sure that your company was a success and you could be your own boss for a change would be to do the best job you could at the best price you could do it for for each of your customers. Might not be the most lucrative way, but it's the safest way to get what you want... independance.
Phone around to the ceramic tile wholesalers and retailers and find out if anyone they know has recently started their own company. Alternatively, open the yellow pages to tiling contractors and find out when each business name was registered at the business licence bureau of your local city hall.
The guy that's starting his own business is going to do the best job he can because he's doing it for the benefit of his own business. And, the guy is not going to leave the security of working for someone else until he's confident enough in his own work to know that he can sell his skills. If you hire that guy, and he does a good job, then you send him a letter with your cheque saying that if he has a list of satisfied customers to add your name to it for prospective customers to contact, then you and him will be friends for life.
You can either install the vanity first, and then tile up to it or you can tile the floor first, then install the vanity over it.
I expect the floor will last longer than the vanity, so I'd tile the floor first, but either way is acceptable.
Flooring material, tile or linoleum or whatever, should always go under the toilet up to the floor flange under the toilet. Your contractor may suggest that you install up to the toilet to avoid the cost of removing and replacing the toilet. Don't go for this because this will require caulking the base of the toilet bowl to the floor to conceal the seam, and that means that any leak from the wax seal will probably go unnoticed until you see water dripping from the ceiling of the room below or the wood under the toilet rots to the point where the toilet isn't stable any more.
Your contractor won't do this, but once the toilet is off, clean the floor flange of wax as best you can with paint thinner and plug up all the unneccessary holes in the floor flange with plumber's putty. Then, when the flooring is installed, caulk between the floor flange and the new flooring. Now, if you have a leak from the wax seal, it'll show up on the floor of the bathroom before it ever gets any wood or ceiling wet under the toilet.
Welcome to "How to Hire a Contractor 101":
The guy that's going to give you the best job at the lowest cost is the guy who's just started his own company after working for someone else long enough to feel confident that he's not learning anything new and has honed his skills on the boss's customer's bathrooms to the point that he knows he can do the job as well as the boss and knows that the boss has already hired someone else to take his place. If you were that guy, then you'd realize that the safest way of making sure that your company was a success and you could be your own boss for a change would be to do the best job you could at the best price you could do it for for each of your customers. Might not be the most lucrative way, but it's the safest way to get what you want... independance.
Phone around to the ceramic tile wholesalers and retailers and find out if anyone they know has recently started their own company. Alternatively, open the yellow pages to tiling contractors and find out when each business name was registered at the business licence bureau of your local city hall.
The guy that's starting his own business is going to do the best job he can because he's doing it for the benefit of his own business. And, the guy is not going to leave the security of working for someone else until he's confident enough in his own work to know that he can sell his skills. If you hire that guy, and he does a good job, then you send him a letter with your cheque saying that if he has a list of satisfied customers to add your name to it for prospective customers to contact, then you and him will be friends for life.
09-24-00, 11:19 AM
timkens@massed.net:
PS:
One thing most customers should realize is that the contractor they hire has forgotten more about his job than the customer will ever learn about it. MOST contractors want to do a good job for their customers, and MOST customers are willing to pay more for a job that is done better providing they can see or understand why they are paying more. Unfortunately, most customers look at only the cost when deciding who to hire, so it's the guy that does the job the fastest and cheapest that can afford to advertise the most. When you talk to each of your contractors, open the conversation with "I realize that you can compete on a cost basis with anyone else. I want you to give me a quote to do this job the same way you would do it in your own house. When I get all the quotes, I'll take you out for coffee some evening or phone you up and I'll ask you to explain why you would do the things the way you propose, and I intend to go with the guy that I think makes the most sense." Every contractor I know would much prefer to hear that then "How much is this going to cost?"
Seal your grout after the work is done and the grout has had a minimum of 10 days to dry. Go to Bostik's web site and follow the link to Ceramaseal's page and find out who sells their products in your area. Paying the contractor for his time to seal the grout will be the best money you ever spent.
PS:
One thing most customers should realize is that the contractor they hire has forgotten more about his job than the customer will ever learn about it. MOST contractors want to do a good job for their customers, and MOST customers are willing to pay more for a job that is done better providing they can see or understand why they are paying more. Unfortunately, most customers look at only the cost when deciding who to hire, so it's the guy that does the job the fastest and cheapest that can afford to advertise the most. When you talk to each of your contractors, open the conversation with "I realize that you can compete on a cost basis with anyone else. I want you to give me a quote to do this job the same way you would do it in your own house. When I get all the quotes, I'll take you out for coffee some evening or phone you up and I'll ask you to explain why you would do the things the way you propose, and I intend to go with the guy that I think makes the most sense." Every contractor I know would much prefer to hear that then "How much is this going to cost?"
Seal your grout after the work is done and the grout has had a minimum of 10 days to dry. Go to Bostik's web site and follow the link to Ceramaseal's page and find out who sells their products in your area. Paying the contractor for his time to seal the grout will be the best money you ever spent.