Took a bathroom remodel bid vs hourly and almost lost my shirt

Had a homeowner in Austin ask me to bid a master bath gut and redo. I usually do time and materials but they wanted a flat number. Picked $12,500 based on 3 weeks of work. Ended up finding rotted subfloor behind the shower that took 4 extra days to fix. Also the tile they picked was 2x8 subway that took forever to lay straight. By the time I finished I was at 5 weeks and probably made $9 an hour after materials. Never again on fixed price for a full bath. Has anyone else done a flat bid that went sideways on hidden problems?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisat601mo ago

Flat bids are like wedding budgets, they always find a way to balloon on you.

henry_palmer241mo ago

@lisat60 nailed it, flat bids are a gamble with hidden rot and picky tile every time.