Hi There!
I’m a long time reader of Fine Homebuilding and I’ve always enjoyed the input and advice from ‘Break Time’ so I figured I mise well see if I can get some advice to help me with a problem I have been having…
I’ve been running a small interior renovations company for 5 years now, it’s myself and two other guys. One of my guys has been with me from the start and is a big part of the company, but I have always had some concerns with his productivity. I’m really not sure if this is justified or it is me just be overly critical. The way we typically devide up tasks is that I do most of the finishing work (drywall, tiling, painting) and he does most of the carpentry work (flooring, trim-work, doors etc.). We have both worked through the learning curves of becoming skilled at our respective ends of the business and now having worked through quite a few similar projects and encountered most tasks and situations at least a couple of times, I am wondering if we are working at an acceptable productivity level and if I am estimating properly.
Over the course of our last big project my guys and I kept a detailed log breaking down how we spent our time over each work day. I then summarized all that data to see how we were doing in actual time versus estimated time. I am now trying to compare that data with industry standards. I have been able to find some good local outlines of pricing expectations for most of the work we do www.ontariocontractors.com, but have had a tough time finding pricing on carpentry related work.
Can anyone give me an idea of pricing and/or how many man hours it shoud take to:
– Hang & Install hardware on an Interior Door
– Install Window & Door Casings and Baseboards & 1/4 Round on an 1800 sqft house
Any help would be really appreciated!
Jordan_Toronto
Replies
Jordan
Good luck getting a price on case/base and qtr rouind? (shoemold in my opinion has it all over the bulky qtr rnd-might be a canadian thing). How many doors, windows, rooms and turns in the base? Sort of makes a bit difference.
You do ask however on door hanging/ hardware install. Just finished one so the cost is fresh in my mind.
This was to fit new door slab to existing jambs, New hinges cut to orig. jamb locations (2 pr.). since new slabs, bore for new lockset and latch. (did have to patch jamb as new doors were 4 panel-old were flush-this was a separate price.).
So to fit, hinge, hang and bore/install new lockset-my bid price from experience was 120.00 to 135.00 ea. Actual came in at 118.00. I had both first and second floor-had to remove old, rough cut to height the new slabs, bring them in to guage final fit planing, take back out - plane to fit, set and mortise hinge to marks from old jambs, bore and install new locksets, apply shim backer to old hinge cuts on jamb to adjust for thinner hinge stock. Mortise and bore new location for strike. Had 19 new doors. Openings varied in being "off" but not bad.
There you go. Maybe I'm slow, maybe they'll fit beautiful forever with no bitching moaning or call back. Probably would have priced it higher if they were not being painted or were damn heavy expensive doors. Drops put down from entry to door location and picked up and vac'd at end of day. Not a ritzy neighborhood, but real nice can't buy it now trim.
Hey Calvin Thanks!
Yeah... we did actually use shoe mold, just a force of habit calling it 1/4 round...I'm a big fan too. Tried to upload some pics but was having a tough time for some reason.
That's a big help with door pricing! Does that equate to 3,4,5 hours per door? And is that $118 just straight labour? If not what is the material end of that for you? With the details about the rest of the job, we are looking at about 550 linear ft of baseboard 14 windows and 10 doors (3 of which were pockets).
Thanks Again!
Jordan
I figured it at 2 labour plus markup.
Included no material. Time to set up, time to do, time to clean up, time to pack up.
It's a remodel. There's no leaving XXX laying around at the end of the day.
With your information and never having seen the job (which I would never do)
Trim windows and doors 800.00 (sills, aprons,jamb extensions, Period trim?) (add to hang the pockets. add to hang the doors/ bore and set locksets.
1400.00 for the base and shoe-not knowing what kind or how big the rooms or if miraculously, there's no furniture of any kind, anywhere. In that case I would set up in the biggest room and drop it all, use dust containment as possible. Should be able to make some time not cutting outside and weaving around with long trim.
Once again, I would never bid anything I didn't walk through. So these figures are worthless to use in figuring your job. The above based on 50/hr-/20%markup
No doubt there's somebody who will give you a figure of one day for windows / doors and another day for base and shoe.
Take it.
I'm coming to this dance a bit late, but...
Your job was for 19 doors. It took you 2 hours average per door, so you installed 3-4 doors per day, including set-up, break-down and clean-up. I understand there would be a time savings benefit due to quantity at single site
I assume the locksets were straight bores (hole sawn) rather than mortise.
Door stops remained untouched - making jamb mortises (2 hinges + 1 strike) more difficult by router or done by hand.
$118/ 2 hours includes a 20% mark-up and set-up and clean-up time?
You're working solo.
And you think you're slow? Something is missing.
Is it possible to be that focused, that organized, that skilled and left that undisturbed - all at the same time - for 3-4 days?
Frankie
I'd have to go to my daybook to give you the exact production
rate for the job................
as I went ahead and filled old mortises v. the new ones for the strikes on the new doors (with wood dutchmans instead of filler), rehang the towel bars / robe hooks that were removed from some doors................
and putz with the flapper on the upstairs toilet for a better seal (spot turning on throughout the first day)..........
But yeah, no one home, I did let the dog out and made sure he came back in and was watered. Then the tree guys showed up and there was some van moving. Didn't have a tall enough step for 'em to borrow so they took the homowners 6'-er out to access the garage roof for some branch triimming....................which led to me straightening the last couple feet of gutter and redriving a few spikes. The usual other "emergencies and scheduling" via the cell phone. That and another trip to the hdwr supplier when the first revealed their distributor DID NOT send the locksets with sq. plates and strikes. So really no distractions.
I had to read your post twice to make sure you weren't calling me a turtle...............even tho at times I would feel that way. Probably only 118.00 when I figured it at whatever I wrote up top there, from prior experience. You know the drill, sometimes things go right, other times things go right-er.
shoe mould
shoe is a location not a profile. qtr rnd. can be used as shoe aswell as bed and scotia.qtr. rnd. is a profile. put it where you like.
Thank you Arthur
Here in NW Oh we don't have all the knowledge of nomenclature pertaining to mouldings and trims, so shoe is a profile (as well as a location) as is qtr rnd, which I personally think looks pretty bogus as "shoe" when placed against most basebd.
RS Means Remodeling cost guide
says a passage knob and striker take 0.667 hours or 40-minutes to install.
trim is 0.013-hours per lineal foot.
Hollow core panel doors, are 0.889-hours, or 55-minutes each to hang.
I think that realistically they are high by about 30% in most instances.
I also say shoe base shoe
it has a small flat on the face
1/4 round no flat
cove or scotia mold as shoe mmmm not a big fan .under risers looks good I always say cove high , round low