Need a crude estimate

[John Kogel]

My clients have 3 days to close a deal. The sunroom needs 3 concrete footings poured and the 6X6 posts could be trimmed and reused. One of the 4 posts has a good footing under, 3 do not.

They are asking me if I can get a contractor out to estimate the job in the next 2 days, my answer is no.

I would like to give them a rough estimate to get the job done - one manday to excavate and build forms, one manday to mix and pour, one manday to set the new posts under. Is this reasonable?

I am open to suggestions yay or nay. No I don't usually involve myself at this level, but it is an unusual case.

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[David Meiland]

We did something just like that last summer, right next door to a job we were already on. They had 4x4 posts supporting a deck on precast pier blocks, that had been buried over time by landscapers and dirtmovers, and had rotted at the bottoms.

We tossed some screw jacks under the deck, pulled some nails and removed the posts, dug out the holes and removed the pier blocks, threw some sonotube in and braced it, mixed some concrete and placed it, stuck some chunks of threaded rod in, stripped and installed stand-off post bases, cut the posts shorter and reset them, added a few Simpson post caps. $800 total. Very easy access. About $100 in crete, tube, hardware, the rest in time (less than a day over a period of 2.5 days). We threw the dirt on a piece of plywood and the owner threw it in her garden.

Hard to see what the conditions are from your photos, but a guy could easily get stuck under there for 2 full days, and it could be more involved. Maybe you want 18 x 18 footings with wood forms and some rebar in them. Maybe the access is horrible. Maybe you need some cribbing. It could get closer to $2000. I would give them a range, and use the higher number in it somewhere.

[Jim Katen]

We did something just like that last summer, right next door to a job we were already on. They had 4x4 posts supporting a deck on precast pier blocks, that had been buried over time by landscapers and dirtmovers, and had rotted at the bottoms.

We tossed some screw jacks under the deck, pulled some nails and removed the posts, dug out the holes and removed the pier blocks, threw some sonotube in and braced it, mixed some concrete and placed it, stuck some chunks of threaded rod in, stripped and installed stand-off post bases, cut the posts shorter and reset them, added a few Simpson post caps. $800 total. Very easy access. About $100 in crete, tube, hardware, the rest in time (less than a day over a period of 2.5 days). We threw the dirt on a piece of plywood and the owner threw it in her garden.

Hard to see what the conditions are from your photos, but a guy could easily get stuck under there for 2 full days, and it could be more involved. Maybe you want 18 x 18 footings with wood forms and some rebar in them. Maybe the access is horrible. Maybe you need some cribbing. It could get closer to $2000. I would give them a range, and use the higher number in it somewhere.

It's sometimes astonishing how quickly and efficiently you can complete a job when you're already mobilized. In a case like this, I think that the time and cost could easily have doubled if you hadn't already been, basically, on site and ready to rumble.

[Tom Raymond]

Definitely. That $800 price tag was all about proximity. Drive out to evaluate it, prepare an estimate, assemble the necessary materials and fit the job into an already busy schedule and it could (and should) cost 50% more.

If you're unsure of going rates, pad it a little further. Based on what I see in the pics it could be as little as a grand, but I would tell my client $2-3000 to prepare them to shun the local yocal who'll fix it for beer money.

[Mike Lamb]

$3000.

$1000 each for 42"+ deep footings. You know if you get 3 to 5 estimates they will range between $500 and $5000.

[David Meiland]

My cost certainly would have been higher if I had to drive across the rock just to do this job, but on the other hand, I am already at the high end for work like that and it could possibly be done by a handyman at much lower rates. In fact, most of the time, in this market, that would be the case.

My secret is that the guy who works for me is very quick. If I set him on something I need to be ready for him to finish it sooner than I expected and need further instruction. He went under that deck, threw in the jacks, grabbed the posts, and dug the holes while I was trying to clear a couple of voicemails off my phone. Kind of like Mike's wife, inspecting the house and finding the problems while he naps in the truck.[]

John's in BC, very close to here. Doubt he has to go 42" deep... we go 12".

[Mike Lamb]

John's in BC, very close to here. Doubt he has to go 42" deep... we go 12".

So much for my geography. I thought it was cold everywhere in Canada. I would then bid $2950.

[David Meiland]

You're safe at $2950. You can always include a hidden conditions clause.

[Jim Baird]

Don't forget that haste makes waste. Hurry up usually costs more.

[kurt]

A crude estimate.....

"Hey sucka, that POS is gonna cost you 3 large if it's a dime; I don' care what no one sez 'bout it, take it or leave it."

[John Kogel]

Thanks, guys. I agree with all those opinions. []

I'm thinking in fact it should have a full foundation poured and a stud wall built, so the space below the addition can be closed in properly. I would actually like that better, and that could push the price to $5G.

[David Meiland]

At least.

[kurt]

I have no idea of pricing in Canada, but I'd be looking @ $10,000 for that job....at least. Tube footings are a lot different than foundation excavation.

[gtblum]

A crude estimate.....

"Hey sucka, that POS is gonna cost you 3 large if it's a dime; I don' care what no one sez 'bout it, take it or leave it."

I'm glad someone else went there. I started writing one of those the first day he posted it. []