Vin,
It ain't the money so much, it's the time. Doing something like a bathroom or kitchen, which is a frequent rehab job, is a MAJOR lifestyle displacement for the whole family. My personal view is I would rather pay a contractor 110% of his bid if he would be willing to guarantee that he would be finished, and I don't mean having a 100 item punch list, I mean FINISHED, on the day he promises. Here in the City it's not uncommon to have a contractor be fined $10,000 per week pursuant to the agreement if the job takes longer, I suppose with a carveout for things like inspections, etc.
Good luck: the day you put on a toolbelt the average integrity of the profession will skyrocket and that's coming from a guy who has the letters J.D. after his name. . .
