Project dilema

[Lee Schierer]

I received a call this weekend from a lady who had seen some of my work. She has an old custom made vanity in her bathroom that she wanted some work done on. When I went to look at it, the cabinet was all made from plywood, including the doors. The face frame was water damaged and the doors were delaminating due to age and water exposure. Some of the drawer roller guides were in poor condition. She wanted to have me make new doors and new fronts for the drawers. The existing drawer fronts were integral to the drawer box and made by rabbeting plywood for the overlay fronts. She also wanted to have the face frame on the vanity refinished. There were also discussions about replacing the counter top on that vanity and the doors and counter top on another small vanity, linen closet and laundry chute.

The doors would be simple to make as they are just one layer of 3/4" birch plywood and the edges weren't even banded.

Here's my concerns. While money has not been discussed and may or not be a problem for her, it will take several trips to her house to do the stripping, cleanup and refinishing of the face frames. Replacing the counter tops also involves working with the plumbing (we all know what kind of problems can happen when you do that.) At least one sink will have to be purchased new.

This really isn't my kind of woodworking. When it is done she will still have a poorly built 20+ year old vanity with new drawers and doors. I'm concerned about quoting the countertop replacement due to the plumbing involment for two sinks basins. Refinishing on site will take as much time to do as it will to get back and forth.

My questions:

1. What sort of labor rate would you use to figure out the refinishing costs? What about the plumbing work?

2. Should I also quote her a new custom sized vanity that would be really nice compared to what she has?

3. Should I just walk away and tell her thanks, but no thanks?

Lee

[Don Baer]

I would opt for #2 if it were me. I think the time involved would be a lot less and the end results would be a lot better. If she says no then at least you gave here the chance and you can always resort back to option #3.

[Mark Pruitt]

When it is done she will still have a poorly built 20+ year old vanity with new drawers and doors.
Lee, I think I would (as diplomatically as possible) simply say to her what you said in this quote, and ask if she is interested in a total replacement. I think I might also try to explain why in the long run this is the better option if in fact it is the better option for her. (If she's an elderly lady who doesn't expect to be around many more years, she may be strapped for cash and wanting the cheapest possible solution. Then again, she may be rolling in dough and just wanting to be tight. I dunno.)
Mark

[Steve Beadle]

Lee, I agree with Don. This lady at least deserves your honest opinion about refurbishing/refinishing the old cabinet, which does not deserve the efforts of a craftsman such as yourself. And she also deserves something better!

[Mack Cameron]

So let me see here Lee; you are approaching ?? yrs of age (near retirement), you have a full time job and are looking to supplement your income. My assumptions only and of course are probably incorrect, but let me go on.

Myself, I'm retired on full pension, but my time for doing a job for someone other than family is worth a minimum $25/hr + materials, of course. Take it or leave it!

An old gentleman said to me once "if you undervalue yourself, people will undervalue you".

That's the way I would do it. Your #2 choice is also a good one if you are comfortable with it. As far as the plumbing goes, that's why there are plumbers in the world--to do plumbing!

[John Fry]

Lee,

I would be forced to walk away, because here in California that job would require a contractor's license which I don't have. Every state is different, but I would look into your state's laws on this type of work before doing anything else.

[Jim Becker]

Option two is the right choice, IMHO, but if she is not amiable to it, Option three it is. There is too much "wrong" with the existing vanity and it will be "not fun" work. Be frank about reality in a PC way. There is no harm in walking away from a job that just doesn't cut it...

[Mike Wilkins]

I would go with option #2. I do both restorations and build from scratch, purely on an amateur basis. Lately I have been doing more restos than new.
For an heirloom piece, restoration is the only choice. This is not heirloom.
Your customer will get a much better product in the end; tell her this.
And also explain the benefits in enhancing the value of the home with this new bathroom.

[Lars Thomas]

If option 2 doesn't fly. Option 3 is your only route. Unless it was for a friend, I wouldn't do the install.

[Barry Stratton]

I suggest a modified option 2......... give her an estimate to repair the old one and an estimate of a new one. Something tells me the "repair" will cost substantially more than new.....

[Jesse Cloud]

Hey Lee,
I think you owe it to her and to yourself to propose doing it right. If it turns out that money is a problem, then let your conscience be your guide. Personally, if there is no health or safety issue, I wouldn't have a problem saying that I can't afford the time away from family to come and strip and refinish your vanity - but that's easier to do in the abstract than it is in the real world.
My two cents...

[Steve Clardy]

I'd do the option #2
I could build, install a new one cheaper than redoing the old one.

[Lee Schierer]

Thanks for the input. After doing some more figuring, it looks like vanity replacement is going to cost about 25% more than refinishing unless I change my mind on how long the refinishing will take or the rate I used for calculating. Replacing the countertops is about the same either way I go. The up side is that for about $5-600 more she will have a nice looking set of cabinets that will function properly for a long time and look better than what she has and what she will end up with the plywood doors and "refinishing" route.

I'm going to pass on the plumbing work all together except maybe the work to disconnect things so the new stuff can be installed.

[Ben Grunow]

Dont put good on bad. It will come back to bite you later plus someone will see it and your name will be on it.

Get her to go for the new work and leave the plumbing to the pros. Any cabinet that looks like that will have pipes in the same shape. THe shutoff will break off in your hand on the first turn.

I make a point of not making other peoples problems into mine. Sounds rough but good work doesnt come free or even cheap. Labor rates are more like $35 to $50 here BTW. GO for it. When the new unit is in she will thank you.

[Matt Warfield]

I would ask her why she wants to refinish the cabinet as opposed to other alternatives. This gives her the opportunity to explain her reasoning without being up against your(and our) opinions that it's not worth doing. It could be that her late husband/high school sweetheart made it and it carries special meaning. Either way, I wouldn't taint the working relationship by possibly insulting her judgement without knowing the values on which her judgement is based.

Matt