In for more project threads…Good luck Josh!
its such a small fraction of the cost of corian, simple concrete tops with whatever color and stone in it can be done for a few hundred dollars
the people here are the ones that spend $200K+ on kitchen cabinets…what’s $50K for a countertop? I’ve been hanging out with the owner of a fabrication shop that produces a bunch of the front gates, stair cases, balconies, etc for a lot of these high-end homes and he gave me an example of an entry driveway gate he recently fabbed that cost $5K in materials and labor, and he charged $40K for it. The people here who always buy the best, expect to to pay top dollar. He’s been doing this for 25+ years and says don’t even try charging a fair price, they won’t be interested in the product. Not that you don’t need a quality product though.
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you can definitely do them cheap, but most of the cost is in the labor. I’ve seen cheap concrete that looks cheap. Quality will always be in the details.
Price is often tied to perception of value, “the more I pay the better it must be”. Even if you were producing top quality, if you were to charging a low price wealthy people wouldn’t give you a 2nd glance. They WANT to pay alot because the items we’re talking about are all about prestige and status symbols. I love your biz sense and I’m sure you’ll make a killing!
You seem to have good business sense, so I won’t doubt you much in this sense…However, doesn’t breaking into something like this require an established reputation and references from general contractors and stuff? I don’t know, because I’m not a spoiled housewife, but if I were going to spend $50k on some handmade countertops, I would want that person to have some significantly lengthy experience in building countertops. That goes with anything really, though.
Not trying to hate/discourage, and I am sure it wouldn’t matter to you anyways… I’m just curious
This guy is a home flipper in Florida for crying out loud.
I like his chances of building a reputation given how awesome all his DIY came out on here and his ability to network with other people. With his current pics and another badass job or 2 down there I’d guess he will break in and do well.
That situation is completely different. 1, it’s pretty obvious that he has experience flipping houses. 2, When you buy a house to flip, you are the GC. He is the one hiring the sub-contractors (like countertop makers), not the other way around. I would be willing to bet that he wouldn’t hire someone who has ZERO experience to put countertops in any of those mansions that he remodels.
Like I said, I don’t doubt him…I am just curious how does one overcome the obstacles. Even networking could be dicey. Someone would REALLY have to trust the work in order to stick their neck out for you and land you those first bunch of jobs to prove yourself.
I was just joking about the Ice thing, I thought that would be obvious, sorry. I’m sure Vanilla Ice wouldn’t hire someone with no portfolio or contacts. I’m sure a breakthrough is just a few sweet jobs under the belt and a network of friends away.
oh ok LOL…sorry, internet sarcasm is rough
yeah, my guess is scoring some lower end 5k-10k jobs and building up the portfolio a bit
Just for reference, I paid about $100/sq ft 4 years ago in WNY. West Palm could probably bring in more money. How much more I don’t know.
well, to be clear here. I’m not quitting my day job. I don’t plan on breaking into it with high-end jobs with no reputation or no portfolio. Hell, i’m a noobie to the industry and have A LOT to learn. I have no problem with practicing on the middle class. I have 2 people lined up (friends) that i told i will do for free, they just need to cover the cost of supplies and some equipment. This way i can work on perfecting the art and experiment with new ideas all while aquiring startup tools and equipment. This will take time, and i would prefer to do it as a hobbie.
The next year will be about gaining experience and building a portfolio. The reputation and self branding will follow. Right now, very few people are doing concrete countertops.
I have been networking here and have a lot of people who are giving my info to GC’s. It all comes down to who you know.
It’s a great idea Josh, good luck. There’s certainly expendable income in that area…I could see you doing great with this…