Earlier this year, I met and had a length conversation with one of the Eavestrough Company's they subcontract work out too. I discovered that Home Depot was very busy. I also discovered that Home Depot's prices were out of this world expensive! This man explained to me that Home Depot charged $9.00 per foot for a bungalow and about $10.00 for a two story.That's nearly double what most companies charge or at least 30-40% more. I also discovered that Home Depot paid him MUCH less than the going rate for eavestrough AND he did not get the extra money for the two story homes. Based on what he told me Home Depot paid him, I would be unable to run a business on that but the gentleman told me he counts on volume and always looks to charge for extras and makes his money there.
This year I have been working on a house to flip and I decided to play dumb and call in the Home Deopt to look at my house that was in need of 165 ft of Eavestroughing, 140 ft of fascia and soffit, and 900 sq ft of siding. The house is pictured below. It is a raised bungalow with old galvanised eavestrough and the fascia and soffit is the original wood so there was nothing to remove.
This house is as easy and straight forward as they come! So I called up the Home Deopt and out they came. I was told by the call taker that they were extremely busy and I waited two weeks before they came out. So Home Depot probably is super busy with eavestrough installation. The estimator drove up in a beater of an old red Ford Taurus wagon. I explained what I wanted and he set about measuring. He was a very nice individual. However, it was apparent to me that he had limited knowledge of eavestrough work.
1. Upon my questioning, he was not sure whether their corners were the pre-manufactured or hand mitred.
2. He made no recommendations about relocating the downpipes. Upon questioning, he thought the downpipes were fine where they were....going into the storm sewer.
3. He also made no recommendation that all the windows and doors should be recapped with the siding job.
When he gave me the quote here was Home Depot's pricing:
1. Eavestrough 165 ft. $1485.00 ($9 per foot)
2. Fascia and Soffit 140 ft. $2240 ($16 per foot)
3. Siding 900 sq ft. $7282.00 ($8.10 per sq ft)
4. Siding Removal $1571.00
Total estimate for my house: $12,578 plus HST
Let me start off by saying, THIS PRICE IS OUTRAGEOUS!!! After seeing these numbers, I can not figure out why Home Depot is so busy except that people blindly trust them and I guess they will allow you to defer your payments for a year.
Let me show you what this house should have cost:
1. Eavestrough $866.25
2. Fascia and Soffit $1400.00
3. Siding (with Removal) 4950.00
Total $7,216.25 plus HST
Based on the above quotes, you would pay $5,362 plus HST more for the Home Depot than hiring an independent Eavestrough Company to do the work.
By the way, my wife and I found that quote for siding removal by the Home Dept hilariously funny. My wife, Faye, has no construction experience. So just to prove a point, we decided to remove the siding.....just her and me. We ordered up a metal bin from Budget Bin Rental for $100. They dropped it in our driveway and we set about taking off the siding and depositing it into the bin. It took us 2 1/2 hours to take all the aluminium siding off the house and dump it in the bin. Based on that figure, Home Depot was going to charge us $315 per hour to take off the siding. Oh, and by the way, Budget paid us $400 for all the metal!
Here are some points to remember about Home Depot Eavestrough:
1. Home Depot ALWAYS subcontracts out their work to another company.
2. Home Depot charges WAY higher prices than the going rate.
3. Home Depot's estimators, although nice, are not that knowledgeable about eavestrough.
4. Home Depot will allow you to defer payments for a year but will charge you 30-40% more than another company for that privilege.
The Home Depot touts themselves as a name you can trust with quality you can trust. That might be true. But why would you, the homeowner want to pay a HUGE premium for it. Do your own due diligence and call in a few companies for estimates. For a name you can trust and quality you can trust, you can contact The Eavestrough Company at 905-966-2564 or visit our website at www.theeavestroughcompany.com We do it right the first time!
