Replies

1. 
   user-2409187 | Oct 23, 2017 01:19pm | #1

   Cost should be based on NET square footage+ waste (very small in this particular case). Then I add "difficulty factors", such as height (second floor). In the photo you see a bare exterior wall. My price, $4,000 comes to $286/square. It  includes all of the following: shingle removal and hauling,  top grade WRC shingles, priming on all sides/edges, first coat stain application, installation, and final stain application was. The scaffolding is mine. My price was low (I did it for a dear friend). The quote you received should cover materials AND labor.

   
2. 
   florida | Oct 24, 2017 09:43am | #2

   Ignore the doors and windows. Any gained time will be lost right back in time spent cutting and fitting.

1. 
   user-2409187 | Oct 26, 2017 02:57pm | #3

   Ignore the openings?

   If you ignore the openings then you end up ordering far more materials than needed and, ofcourse, the customer pays. Would that not be wasteful and unfair to the customer? Just thinking out loud...not criticizing you.

   Fitting cedar shingles around an opening is, in my experience, much faster than the labor spent shingling the opening. I use a guilotine-style cutter and a mini chop saw. My per-sq.foot-labor price includes working around openings. Do you estimate differently? 

1. 
   florida | Oct 30, 2017 02:16pm | #4

   Yes, I do as every estimating book I've ever read says to do and ignored the openings. Rarely have much left over material.