Insurance company estimate for drywall - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Shoreguy · 01-12-2009, 01:35 PM

I looked at several of the threads in this forum regarding drywall pricing/estimating and am probaly more confussed than when I started. Apparently depending on what part of the country you are in is probably the biggest factor. Followed closely by if you are a drywaller, GC, sub etc... as to what your pricing is. That said, I was wondering if you guys can help me with a situation. Good customer of mine had a washing machine blow a hose on the second floor of her home (home has a finished basement as well) which left aprox. 700 sq foot of drywall damage throughout three floors of her home. The damaged rock was removed by the Insurance companys clean up people which also was the company who is doing the estimating for the damage. They did a decent job removing the wet drywall and drying the place out but, as you can imagine her house is left looking pretty rough. They are submitting to the insurance company that there is aprox. 700 sq foot of drywall repair and they are pricing it at $1400 ($2.00 sq'). Now that's hung, taped, finished and ready for painting. We are talking mostly cookie cutter pieces and butt joints everywhere. Sounds awfully cheap to me. Any input would be greatly appreciated in how to deal with the insurance company. I live in the New Jersey central shore area if that helps in determining a fair price.

platinumLLC · 01-12-2009, 03:16 PM

Are you asking how much to charge or how to deal with the insurance company? What would your normal price be for this job if you were giving the customer a bid?

MUDBUCKET · 01-12-2009, 04:25 PM

I did a repair like this 2 months ago ,replaced 6 sheets of rock in the main family room , the ceiling ran together with a kitchen dinning room and hallway ,so in order to do it right we scraped the rest of the rooms also. It wound up being about 900 sq ft and I charge $2100 .
Make sure the company is going to redo the entire room not just patches ,it will not match the rest of the room.

drywallr41 · 01-13-2009, 06:17 AM

For your part of the country, that sounds pretty cheap. they could get away with that here.I would ask about material costs,time frames etc.. try to get every dollar you can. Ins. companies are a pain in the a** to do work for. At least here they are.Good luck

okbye · 03-30-2009, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MUDBUCKET

I did a repair like this 2 months ago ,replaced 6 sheets of rock in the main family room , the ceiling ran together with a kitchen dinning room and hallway ,so in order to do it right we scraped the rest of the rooms also. It wound up being about 900 sq ft and I charge $2100 .
Make sure the company is going to redo the entire room not just patches ,it will not match the rest of the room.

Its typical for the 'cleanup contractor' to just cut out the wet rock and that leaves all these butt joints and if you have smooth wall or light orange peel, there is no way to perfectly hide the repair.
The insurance wont pay for the entire was to be replaced (that would be my question) so does the home owner just have to live with it?

drywallnflorida · 03-30-2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okbye

if you have smooth wall or light orange peel, there is no way to perfectly hide the repair.
so does the home owner just have to live with it?

doesn't matter what the texture if it is patched right you wouldn't be able to see the patch. a orange peel or smooth walls are alot easier to patch then a knockdown.

onenia · 04-03-2009, 02:49 PM

I dealt with several insurance companies inb Houston since Ike. Just call and talk to their adjuster and explain what how you will do the work and what your rate is for the work. It hasn't been a problem getting my rate as long as your pricing is realistic and your not gauging. Most companies I talked with had the pricing lower than the going rates because they wanted to talk with a contractor and make sure the work was going to be getting done.

Nia

BattleRidge · 04-03-2009, 05:49 PM

You should be able to talk to them and adjust, just dont go crazy. I do that on almost everyjob, but those guys quoted you a better price then they would me, they are always way low.

AARC Drywall · 04-04-2009, 09:35 AM

The problem with insurance companies, and restoration companies who GC for the insurance companies, is that they pay slow..
I work for several restoration companies, and i am fortunate in the fact that i dont have to wait very long for my money.. maybe a couple of weeks..but i negotiated that into the price.. i simply told them that we could do the job right away, and they are extremly happy about that first off, and then you tell them that once we submitt the invoice we want to be paid within 14 days. On your calculations for the job, add 3 to 5 % for payment incentives...if they pay on time...tell them to deduct 3% if not paid on time, you keep the 3 to 5 %...simple.
It is supprising who wants to save money....

I put it on my invoices as such

If payment is recieved on or before XXXXXX date, please deduct $XXX.00 from the final invoice price.

Very seldom do i have to chase these guys for money. If they pay late, you gain 3 to 5% for you troubles.

LadyFinisher · 04-14-2009, 09:32 PM

I agree with you; added the 3 to 5% does tend to make people pay on time. I use a similar method by stating if adding a "late fee" at 10 days. It really works well.

Frankawitz · 04-15-2009, 09:46 PM

For 24 years now I have done Insurance work and I always work for the Home Owner not the Insurance company, It's up to the HO who they hire, for 700 sqft I would be charging around $3.65 sqft, plus prime and paint they would be looking at $2,850.00 plus materials.

www.frankawitz.net

harris drywall · 04-21-2009, 11:54 AM

Isnt that kind of high $2850 to hang tape finish and prime for 22-4x8s for 700 sqft ,of that $3.65 frank, how much per sq ft to prime?