Hello, I remodel about two houses a year, doing most all the work myself putting my collection of tools and talents to work. I buy em, fix em, and sell em, and that’s how I put bread on the table. I invariably have friends, neighbors etc asking me to do various jobs, and I have no clue what would be a fair price to charge them. Now I have agreed to apply a popcorn ceiling or knock-down mud ceiling to a neighbors new 15×15 kitchen. I suppose I will prime the ceiling first. Any guidance as to what a fair price would be? BTW I own the gun and necessary tools, but would need to buy the product.
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dear rough:
what the heck does "fair " have to do with anything ?
Ok, so we gouge them. Still need to start somewhere
Decide how much your time is worth to you, multiply by the number of hours you'll spend on the project, and there's your price.
What's "fair" to you most likely isn't the same as what's "fair" to me, and isn't the same as what your neighbor may consider "fair". I know personally, if I'm going to take a side job that's going to cut into the limited time I already have available to spend with my wife and kids, it's not gonna meet the definition of "fair" in alot of people's minds- unless I was hurting for cash for whatever reason, nothing is intruding into my spare time unless it's netting me a minimum of $100/hour.
Of course, some people place a much lower value on their time, so it's entirely a personal choice.
Bob
I agree. I put a lot of time into my renovations and so my time between jobs is precious to me. Decompression time. Still, I don't want to offend my friends by charging them what I really should. Just someting like an industry standard.
You could say/writeup something like this:
"Well, for a stranger I would charge $800. But since we are friends I'll charge you $600". Just mak esure the $600 pays you enough for the time away from your other parts of Life.
Then again, some people will not do work for friends or family to avoid any hard feelings if there's not a consensus on the job outcome. Some people are just never satisfied customers. You don't want that problem while sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner every year. Makes it worse when you did the job for a deep discount.
What is wrong with saying, "The job is worth $800, so I'll charge you $800."?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Nothing.
Depends on what you want to accomplish. What I "read", is that the OP (original poster) wants to give his friend &/or family a break. It's not for everyone. Also you cannot do only jobs like that and make your normal profit.
That is where youi are wrong. They are offfending you if they expect you to work for less than you are worth. I keep friends and business relationshiops separate and I am still friends with most of my customers.The business relatiuonship is based on providintg best skills for value.
The freindship is based on respect and common interests and goals.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Still, I don't want to offend my friends by charging them what I really should
Charge them what you really should. If it offends them, they can take their business somewhere else and you two can sit on the couch, watch football and watch the work get done.
blue
you know, people that ask friends to do work for free, are really just too lazy to do it themselves. And if they can get somebody else to do it, why should they , themselve get off the coach. So if they have to pay somebody. Its their fault for being lazy to begin with. "No harm feeling buddy but you lazy."2+3=7
Most folks are rightly of the opinion that what others charge should have little basis on what you yourself charge, because any given person will have diff. skills, needs, and overhead costs.
You may not have that reference due to the fact that your business is buying and flipping.
It seems like if you are not charging between $45-60 per/hour for your time that you are really shortchanging yourself as well as undercutting the folks that work professionally.
Might not be a bad idea to tack on a bit for equipment rental as well (not sure how much $ the popcorn equipment is...)
I like to work with the philosophy that my added value is completing the job to a measure of (reasonable ) perfection along with a great sense of flow and design. That's what adds value to my clients.
The best referral would be : "He's kind of expensive, but does amazing work."
Julian
How much money do you make on your labor when you remodel your own house? If you don't know this, you should. Obviously this will vary from house to house depending on how sharp you are at buying low and selling high, but you should be tracking your labor for these jobs anyway. If nothing else it will give you an idea of what you should be profitably subbing out on your remodels.
If you are going to be doing these side jobs, you need to start to track your labor and overhead for this work. You cannot expect to have accurate estimates when you start out but you do have to know if you are making or losing money when the job is finished. This is something that many new contractors do not know. So charge whatever you want but count all your costs when you figure out if you made or lost money. Adjust for the next job. Do it all over again and again. Pretty soon you will know exactly what to charge.
$18377.14
Is that per foot?
I agree with Julian's statement of $45-60 per hour minimum.
probably cubic foot.Live by the sword, die by the sword....but choose your sword wisely.
a cubic foot of popcorn ceiling... an ugly thought.
Thanks for your words of inspiration. I went with the middle ground and tossed out $50/hr plus materials. She bit, so I am in the popcorn ceiling business for a day. I do appreciate your thoughts, thanks
are you insured ?
carpenter in transition
$50/hr plus materials.
For a project as well defined as this one, I think you should have given a fixed price. You could have used your $50/hr number, and estimated the number of hours needed, ansd then added the cost of materials.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Popcorn ceiling in a kitchen?
Some day you can be in the popcorn removal business too.
Joe H
I'll take two.
Stacy's mom has got it going on.
I only do small cheapie jobs for family/friends/neighbors when all of my projects are either done or at a standstill. I tell them that when they ask. "If you're willing to wait until I have a day free, I'll do the job for $25 an hour (or whatever you're bottom dollar is) plus materials. " If that offer isn't accepted immediately and enthusiastically, it's withdrawn, just that fast. The answer to, "when will you have a day free?" is always vague.
If they want a favor for cheap, they must understand that they go to the bottom of the list. They must also be ready for a call on short notice, like the night before. Also these jobs are only done for cash, on completion.
Ever been over the Bear Mt. Bridge?
Welcome to BT.
Been over and under the Bear Mtn Bridge, numerous times. Great view of the river. Thanks for the welcome.
"BTW I own the gun and necessary tools, but would need to buy the product."
Sounds like a rough neighborhood Roughcut.
Good one. Made me laugh!!