I got a question about how much to include for labor cost. I work for my father just the two of us. He is an extremely skilled craftsman however he’s not much of a business man (not always a bad thing) and I my self have no cue what a decent price per day to charge is. We are located out side of Boston MA. I know the type of work depends greatly on price so lets say for example a farley straight deck or addition for the sake of examples If any of you guys could give me some incite on this it would be great. Also how about hourly wage for workers say for example my self I am a 20 year old college student my father is a teacher and does most of his work in the summers. I been working with him for the past 8 summer just the two of us, I was wondering what a decent hourly wage for my self should be. I don’t want to cheat him of myself. I have my own transportation, set of tools, work full time, have done some of my own jobs, and feel that I can hold my own ground when it come to carpentry skills. Again any incite would be great thanks a lot.
P.S. be nice this is my first post 🙂
Thanks Rob
~A Job worth doing is a job worth doing well~
Replies
Welcome Rob,
Does he pay you cash or check? Do you pay taxes on the income? Who's paying for college?
To really discourage you, I have been doing this full time for over 30yrs. I charge out my labor at just over a buck a yr in business. Even at 4 mos. of work a year, your total would be 32 months or 2 dollars and 66 cents/hr using my formula. But then again, I'm just a dumb carpenter. Oh yeah, went to college 4 years b/4 I dreamt up this career.
What are you studying?
__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Calvin's right...depends on if you still live at home, who's supporting you, etc. Assuming you're still on the old man's list of IRS dependents, then you could settle for less to get experience and help his business. But a better answer is...how much do you and/or dad need per day to pay the bills? Divide that by 8 hours and that should be your minimum rate. That's a very very crude explanation, but the idea is right.
Do it right, or do it twice.
Who knows in your area.
I can tell you this, alot guys here would tell you they undercharged for many years before they got it right. So I would say charge more than what you think.
I'm not so sure the type of work dictates the price. I wouldn't dig ditches for any less money than I would charge to install crown. I might even charge more.
There is a wealth of information on this site already if you search this topic. You could probably spend a week of evenings doing that and get a really good answer to your question.
As a businessman, you have to remove all thoughts concerning what you will work for, and how much people are willing to pay. Consider what the job is worth.
The world is littered with the used up husks of old carpenters who weren't businessman but tried to be.
Tom
Rob- I don't mean to be too rough on you (your first post), but how did you get into college with your spelling and English composition skills?
Rob
If you're a hard and conscientious worker I'd say $12-15 bucks an hour with incentives for more money.
But, You'd need to work really hard for that because you're an apprentice.
An apprentice means to me, that you "want to" learn. Thats payment within itself if you have a teacher/boss thats willing to, "not keep you stupid", and you do......your Dad.
From what I've gotten out of your post is that someday you plan to be totally on your own in the building trade and not just work for your Dad.
I've had guys work for me that I "knew" were going to eventually leave me and I was totally cool with that. I gave them what they gave me. I gave them all the information I had in me so they might not have to make the same mistakes I made. That was part of their pay.
I've had more guys calling me to thank me over the years then I can believe.
I've always encourged good guys to stick with it when I see em' getting down.
You have to weigh out all the aspects of learning and working.
Be fair
Namaste
andy
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Rob,
I noticed that your spelling and grammar stood out also. That may or may not be an impediment to your career. Many people will take it as a sign of a careless attitude especially when that is their first impression of you. It doesn't bother me personally but it is a hint you might want to keep in mind. I'm here to relax so i don't always get a perfect messafge typed out either.
I have known several men who had varying amounts of dyslexia who were geniuses in other areas of work and talent. Maybe that's you.
I'm not a hundred percent sure whether you are asking about wages he pays you or price to charge the customer. mine is a similar locale and situation. I work on an island in Maine where wealthy folk bid up the price of labor.
My stepson worked for me on and off for several years. He started at about fourteen YO being paid six bucks/hr.
When he got to the point he was as or a little more experienced and skilled as you describe yourself, I was paying him twelve as an employee with coverage. I gave him the option of 12/employee or 15/sub on 1099 but he'd have to provide his own tools. He chose the 12/emp. I charged him out at 26.
edit - He lived at home sometimes but paid his way there so that was separate from the business relationship.
.
Excellence is its own reward!
Edited 6/1/2003 1:07:50 PM ET by piffin
I have a couple of thoughts/questions related to the other comments: Is Dad paying workmen's comp insurance for you? Does he understand how much he needs to mark up his costs for you when estimating jobs? Whatever he pays you, he needs to get way more from his customers to cover what it costs him to employ you and to profit from your labor.
How about this: Apply for a few jobs on the local market to see what you can get there. That should provide a pretty good reality check and some good experience as well.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Thanks a lot guys for you quick and detailed responses. It’s all good information that I’ll keep in mind. I just want to answer a few of your questions back to me.
Calvin-My dad pays me cash. And so far he has been paying for most of college (I’m studying Civil Engineering at Northeastern University) but that will be changing soon since I’ll be paying my fair share and paying off loans, so I’m not getting a free ride.
Andybuildz – you make some good points there. I’ll definitely keep them in mind
Miles of trim- thanks for the warm welcome to the forum.
Piffin- I hear your point on the spelling and grammar, I actually am severely dyslexic but that’s a different story-thanks for not holding it against me. I usually am better at checking myself but I posted that one at 2 in the morning after a long night of studying for my upcoming finals. Also thanks for your insight on my post, I was talking about wage to pay me as opposed to price to charge a customer. Sorry if I didn’t make that more clear. I look forward to reading more posts from you around the forum. Thanks
Al – last summer my dad didn’t take out workman’s comp on me, but that may change this summer. He does make a profit off of my labor, good point though. I have thought about applying on the local market but I don’t want to waste someone’s time when I am not serious about the job.
Thanks a lot guys, you’ve been very helpful.