[Christien]

We're just starting a bathroom reno. We had 4 estimates from4 different contractors/companies, and went with what we felt was the most professional and reliable. We gave them each our budget, and we got quotes a full 6K either side, for a 12K spread. (25K budget) The one we chose was 6K over budget but showed us how we could get it down, including cutting their labour costs (everyone's hungry for work right now).

We told them all we wanted to start high and pare it down into budget from there, so we'd stick with high-quality furnishings. NO Home Depot cabinets. The only stuff that's coming from HD is drywall and screws. The contractor recommended some fixture/tile places, places they've used and trust, and that they get discounts with.

So far it's all working out really well - these guys have been very responsive to our questions and input, worked things down into our budget.

For something like this I would definitely avoid HD installers. Their cabinets may be ok, I don't know - the only cabinet we're getting is being custom built for the space we have - that ended up actually being cheaper, and it will be solid maple or birch, not MDF like HD cabinets will be.