As you all know remodel jobs can “mix it up” and – it’s a guess, say, how many pounds (or #) of screws I used on a job. Is there a easy organized way to know? One answer I have heard is “guess high”. Even a guess can get pretty intuitive. I carry the screws in a bag (with all sizes in individual tagged zip locks). I have a scale for this, but then there are exceptions that have to come from a bigger box – should we know how many screws per size per pound – then charge per pound?
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My guess is that it you're weighing the number of screws you use, you're bidding too tight. Depending on the size of the job, just allow for a 50# box of screws and go from there.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
On stock items I bill for misc fasteners etc. On billing I review the notes of the daily log on those things I supply out of the van/shop. List them and assign a total cost for the lot. I don't figure close to the actual cost. I would guess I short myself a couple pennies once in a blue moon, usually coming out high which in itself saves money for the customer because it's on site, doesn't need a road trip to get. There has never been a question about this bulk material billing. If you want to list items singly, watch an electrician at the end of the day.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
If you want to list items singly, watch an electrician at the end of the day.
No kiddin. The last electrician I hired showed up with a clipboard with custom forms for itemizing everything he uses on the job, right down to the wirenuts. He refers to his van as "the warehouse". On the other hand, I have never seen him go to the electrical wholesaler during the course of the day for ANYTHING. It's either on the van or he doesn't need it. Plumber is the same way - although he won't charge for 6" of teflon tape or a half-ounce of solder. ...
Jon, you must know the same electrodes that I do. Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
odds and ends - the bucket of screws that ends up in fifteen different places, is overhead. It's stuff you buy and have around and use up here and there. The job that takes 5 boxes of stainless screws - thats just part of the materials delivery. Keeping them separate is pretty easy for me. I've got cabinets in the trailer that hold misc fasteners. If it goes in there, it's overhead. If it's a half pound of leftovers from the 5 boxes, it goes in there and becomes part of the stock. Tracking it on paper it got billed to the job.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Take a que from any decent auto repair shop.
ad a small percentage (1%-5%) for misc. shop supplies and fasteners.
adjust the percent to fit your situation.
We always get it right!!!
the third time....
"Almost certain death, small chance of success.... What are we waiting for???"
if its a T&M job you bet it gets added to the bill. If its a contract price I add it to the estimate spreadsheet
These days I use a lot of hardened deck screws in all sizes and at $7 a pound they add up. Most of the time someone already paid for a full box so why nit-pic?
Same goes for glue, adhesive, caulk, sealant, sandpaper, sawblades, etc. There is always something left over from a job. I might take home the extras and maybe bill the customer a little too much but at the same time I'm using materials left over from a previous job.
Mav's talking about what i call the "materials continueum" I bring in stuff that is not specifically paid for by the client all the time, conversely i buy items in a quanity where there is a bulk discount and the leftovers go back into the continueum, I think my bigger resto's are the only ones that suffer from this as these jobs tend to totally clean out my stock so I need to purchase extra to refill stock... ie they miss out on the "free" screws/nails/caulk/plaster... well you get the idea.
the only thing stressing about a screw count will give you is an ulcer.
james
This is another good reason not to work T&M.... but if you're going to, just buy what you need for the job, charge the owner for it, and leave the leftovers. Or, buy what you need, supply a few things from your own stock, keep the leftovers, and call it an even trade. Figuring out pennies on an invoice is way too time consuming and it gives suspicious owners something to nag you about.
Micro-managing your screw stockpile will give you a headache.
For now make an edjucated guess.
In future, order screws, nails etc. with every job. Allow for them in your bid. Screws and nails used to be cheap but not anymore.
I do it two ways, depending on the type but mostly on the quantity.
For high-cost fasteners such as stainless, coloured screws, or Tapcons, I buy boxes of 100 or 500 depending on need and bill the boxes used like any other material. Air nails get billed by the box, or by the rack on smaller jobs. All my carps know to make a tally mark on the box when they replenish their pouches. I add them up at the end of the day and mark it on my own time sheet, then block out that day's marks on the box.
But on any job over a thousand bucks, the last line item on the bill is a hardware charge to cover all the miscellaneous stuff I have to keep on hand. I carry a milk crate with 8 assortment boxes in it that always contains thirty or forty of pretty much any reasonable size screw, specialty nail, anchor, nut, washer, etc. This stuff is billed under that hardware charge, and is figured at 1% of total invoice, materials & labour, with a minimum of $25.
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.