Remodeling plan III: the estimates

I received Cub Man's estimate and I'm glad I sat down before reading it.

$300 for painting a bunch of cubes?!?!?!? Is he Rembrandt or what? Maybe he's painting them with his toes.

That's just the cosmetic part of the quote. There's also the actual construction and, of course, the materials. His estimate was more than my mortgage payment plus assessments!

I thought he stopped screwing me years ago! Is he such a jerk that he's going to let his financial situation get in the way of our friendship? (At least I THOUGHT we were friends!)

My disappointment in his character weighed heavy on me, but at the same time, it didn't ring true. I shook my head, knowing there was something missing here. It would be out of character for him to try to cheat me (or anyone, for that matter).

But I know enough to know what I don't know, so like any good consumer, I got a second opinion.

With fortuitous timing, my contractor (Polish Boy) called and we talked about the proposed storage unit. I gave him the specifics that Cub Man had offered (materials used, type of joints, etc.) and asked him for a ballpark figure.

I breathed a sigh of relief that my faith in mankind hadn't been misplaced. PB would charge me more than Cub Man to manufacture the same cabinet.

PB's estimate for the floor installation, closet replacement, electrical work and wall painting arrived the following day.

Sometimes I think there's a special demon that periodically steps in and fucks up my seemingly simple plans. My condo complex was designed in the mid 40s by an architect who had apparently gone off his medications. His insanity was going to cost me money. No doubt about it.

Examples of his eccentricities:

• The opening for my bedroom closet is not standard height nor is it standard width (resulting in my need for CUSTOM-MADE closet doors). If it were the contents of my closet that needed to be custom made, I could handle that.
• My closet had no lighting when I moved in (yep, no lights in the closet), so I had an electrician do a shitty makeshift job. PB will fix this so it no longer looks like Section 8 housing.
• My bathroom door is only 26 inches wide so another custom job will be required when I scrape together enough cash to remodel my bathroom.
• Another bathroom gem that surprised even PB: there is a heat vent under the sink, inside the wood vanity cabinet. I must say that it's an unexpected bonus to reach under the cabinet for body lotion only to receive a hot oil treatment.
  

Anyway, back to the estimate. It's do-able, especially because it includes materials. Yay!!

Although the estimate came in under my worst-case scenario, I think I'll hold off on the celebration as I anticipate hiccups in the remodeling process.

I'll sign the contracts with PB next week and hand over a fistful of $$ so we can get started.
Cub Man, however, has not responded to my offer to take him up on his estimate provided it includes delivery. We'll see where that goes.