Replies

1. 
   DanH | May 04, 2006 01:03pm | #1

   Forget it! You can't undercut the guy spraying motor oil.

   If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
2. 
   DonCanDo | May 04, 2006 03:01pm | #2

   I've done a few driveways for customers.  And yes, scheduling (since it's so weather dependent) is not easy, but scheduling is always an issue since so few jobs take exactly a whole number of days.  Plus, there are often surprises that increase the amount of time needed.

   I try to leave "holes" in my schedule to deal with the unexpected or the regular customer with a small job.  If I have outdoor work, I'll try and juggle these holes so they fall on a nice day.  sometimes it easy, sometimes not.

   As for pricing, I'll charge a half day or a full day depending on size.  I would probably turn down a driveway sealing job that would take more than 1 day.  On top of my labor charge, I charge for each bucket of sealer.  I give my customers an idea of how much I think I'll need, but coverage varies greatly depending on the driveway and I make sure that they understand that material needed is only an estimate.

   Since it's not the kind of work I'm targeting, I have no reservation about telling my customers that they could probably find casual laborers to do the job cheaper.  Heck, even the neighbor's kid can easily beat my price and still make a good buck.

   When I do these jobs, I powerwash a day or more ahead of time and bring a leaf blower on the day that I'm going to seal.  Powerwashing may seem like a little overkill, but it's actually much faster than just hosing it off.  If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it right and charge accordingly.

   -Don