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Woodworking (rec.woodworking) Discussion forum covering all aspects of working with wood. All levels of expertise are encouraged to particiapte. |
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#1
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I got a prospective client who would like their maple lobby desk refinished.
I'm not really sure what to charge. The job involves refinishing the top surfaces of a maple lobby desk that has been worn from use. Approximately 30 sq feet of flat surface. Additionally the front entrance side is another 20 square feet of maple veneer. The customer wants this re-stained to match the existing finish and a satin protective finish. As a final touch the customer would like to have a brass kick plate installed at the base. this would probably be 3/16x4x12feet long. Any pricing guidelines I should follow? any help on what price range I should charge? |
#2
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First estimate how long it will take you, and how much the materials will
be. Then figure out what your time is worth and then put it all together. -Jack "William" wrote in message news:i8rFc.42708$Yu.10061@fed1read04... I got a prospective client who would like their maple lobby desk refinished. I'm not really sure what to charge. The job involves refinishing the top surfaces of a maple lobby desk that has been worn from use. Approximately 30 sq feet of flat surface. Additionally the front entrance side is another 20 square feet of maple veneer. The customer wants this re-stained to match the existing finish and a satin protective finish. As a final touch the customer would like to have a brass kick plate installed at the base. this would probably be 3/16x4x12feet long. Any pricing guidelines I should follow? any help on what price range I should charge? |
#3
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Then factor degree of PITA to come up with a price for which you would be
willing to do a similar job in the future. I hate refinishing. "Jack" wrote in message ... First estimate how long it will take you, and how much the materials will be. Then figure out what your time is worth and then put it all together. -Jack "William" wrote in message news:i8rFc.42708$Yu.10061@fed1read04... I got a prospective client who would like their maple lobby desk refinished. I'm not really sure what to charge. |
#4
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Here is a formula that I have arrived by using my experience and the experience of many other people who estimate work.
This formula was not derived for just woodworking, but just in general. ((first guess of time X 3) + 15%) + materials = cost Or for those who took some sort of engineering use PI (3.14) Remember use the first estimate of how long you think it wll take. The multiplier of 3 is how long it will probably take and then the 15% is for unknowns. JAW William wrote: I got a prospective client who would like their maple lobby desk refinished. I'm not really sure what to charge. The job involves refinishing the top surfaces of a maple lobby desk that has been worn from use. Approximately 30 sq feet of flat surface. Additionally the front entrance side is another 20 square feet of maple veneer. The customer wants this re-stained to match the existing finish and a satin protective finish. As a final touch the customer would like to have a brass kick plate installed at the base. this would probably be 3/16x4x12feet long. Any pricing guidelines I should follow? any help on what price range I should charge? |
#5
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If you live in an area where the cost of living
is high, like San Francisco, wouldn't you charge more than if you lived in, say, Arkansas? |
#6
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![]() "BUB 209" wrote in message ... If you live in an area where the cost of living is high, like San Francisco, wouldn't you charge more than if you lived in, say, Arkansas? In Arkansas you would probably get paid in terms of small live stock. |
#7
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JAW wrote:
Here is a formula that I have arrived by using my experience and the experience of many other people who estimate work. This formula was not derived for just woodworking, but just in general. ((first guess of time X 3) + 15%) + materials = cost Or for those who took some sort of engineering use PI (3.14) Remember use the first estimate of how long you think it wll take. The multiplier of 3 is how long it will probably take and then the 15% is for unknowns. Now why in the !#$%^&* didn't somebody point that out to me back when I was a project engineer? That 's a good formula. I like that. JAW William wrote: I got a prospective client who would like their maple lobby desk refinished. I'm not really sure what to charge. The job involves refinishing the top surfaces of a maple lobby desk that has been worn from use. Approximately 30 sq feet of flat surface. Additionally the front entrance side is another 20 square feet of maple veneer. The customer wants this re-stained to match the existing finish and a satin protective finish. As a final touch the customer would like to have a brass kick plate installed at the base. this would probably be 3/16x4x12feet long. Any pricing guidelines I should follow? any help on what price range I should charge? -- --John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net) |
#8
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Leon wrote:
"BUB 209" wrote in message ... If you live in an area where the cost of living is high, like San Francisco, wouldn't you charge more than if you lived in, say, Arkansas? In Arkansas you would probably get paid in terms of small live stock. There's gotta be a Clinton joke in there somewhere but dang if I can raise it. -- --John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net) |
#9
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![]() "Leon" wrote in message In Arkansas you would probably get paid in terms of small live stock. Or more wood ... -- www.e-woodshop.net Last update: 5/15/04 |
#10
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Don't forget the "difficult personality surcharge"... 5 to 50%
these types will make the job take longer & should get charged more just for dealing with them ![]() |
#11
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Bob K 207 wrote:
Don't forget the "difficult personality surcharge"... 5 to 50% these types will make the job take longer & should get charged more just for dealing with them ![]() 5 to 50% is pretty vague. This will help break it down: Service Charges: Labor Rate Per Hour $20. If you Wait $25. If you Watch $30. If you Help $40. If you Worked on it Yourself $50. If you Laugh $60. |
#13
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William:
Congrats on getting this job. Your client must know you can do it. As to the pricing: I don't have a good idea for you. Here's a quick idea: they might have a budget for this (won't hurt to ask). Also, snope around other refinishers in your area. You might ask them what they charge for a smiliar item. This "competitive analysis" is done all the time and is perfectly legit. You can also do, what's your time worth x a rough guess of time. Also, if you're starting out, you might want to "low ball" this job to get and secure the business and the client reference. Tho, watch out for this, your client might have more work and they might get use to your "lowered prices". Good luck! MJ Wallace |
#14
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On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 12:44:24 -0700, Rick Nelson
calmly ranted: Bob K 207 wrote: Don't forget the "difficult personality surcharge"... 5 to 50% these types will make the job take longer & should get charged more just for dealing with them ![]() 5 to 50% is pretty vague. This will help break it down: Service Charges: Labor Rate Per Hour $20. If you Wait $25. If you Watch $30. If you Help $40. If you Worked on it Yourself $50. If you Laugh $60. I used to have one of those in my work area when I was wrenchin'. The only thing missing was the last line. Man, I'da been rich! When I moved into the computer repair arena, I got lots of nice Marines who had worked on their computers first. I probably made well over $1,000 just on replacing the autoexec.bat and config.sys files which the nice Marines had put through WordPerfect. I loved it! Now I produce real web pages from FrontPage-afflicted code. ![]() "Be the change you want to see in the world." --Mahatma Gandhi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://diversify.com Website Application Programming |
#15
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![]() "JAW" wrote in message .. . Here is a formula that I have arrived by using my experience and the experience of many other people who estimate work. This formula was not derived for just woodworking, but just in general. ((first guess of time X 3) + 15%) + materials = cost Or for those who took some sort of engineering use PI (3.14) Remember use the first estimate of how long you think it wll take. The multiplier of 3 is how long it will probably take and then the 15% is for unknowns. JAW I think you might be missing two critically important factors. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have an hourly cost in your formula? And your costs are no business of your client. Your price is. Say: ((first guess of time X 3 X $25 [or whatever]) + 15%) + materials = price [not cost - you're trying to quote a price, not a cost]. -- Conehead |
#16
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You are right, after I posted it and reread it, I noticed the same. Here is my revised formula.
(((first guess of time X 3) + 15%) x hourly rate) + materials = cost How to determine the hourly rate in your area ? Ask a plumber, electrician, car mechanic and finish contractor in your area what theirs are. Throw away the highest and lowest. Average the remaining 2 and use that for your hourly rate. JAW conehead wrote: "JAW" wrote in message .. . Here is a formula that I have arrived by using my experience and the experience of many other people who estimate work. This formula was not derived for just woodworking, but just in general. ((first guess of time X 3) + 15%) + materials = cost Or for those who took some sort of engineering use PI (3.14) Remember use the first estimate of how long you think it wll take. The multiplier of 3 is how long it will probably take and then the 15% is for unknowns. JAW I think you might be missing two critically important factors. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have an hourly cost in your formula? And your costs are no business of your client. Your price is. Say: ((first guess of time X 3 X $25 [or whatever]) + 15%) + materials = price [not cost - you're trying to quote a price, not a cost]. -- Conehead |
#17
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![]() "JAW" wrote in message How to determine the hourly rate in your area ? Ask a plumber, electrician, car mechanic and finish contractor in your area what theirs are. Throw away the highest and lowest. Average the remaining 2 and use that for your hourly rate. JAW That's a good start. Factor in your skill level and how much you want to earn. The right clientele will pay a higher rate for excellent craftsmanship. No one wants to pay for a hack. People that will pay $20,000+ for a Maloof chair, probably would barely cover the cost of wood for one of mine. Hourly rates can be misleading also. If you pay $20 an hour and the hack takes 10 hour to do a job, it is not as effective as paying $50 an hour for the pro that gets it done right in two hours. Ed |
#18
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Gentlemen, Thanks for all your informative responses. When I think a bout
all the time each of you pondered to reply to my question, thanks comes to mind! "William" wrote in message news:i8rFc.42708$Yu.10061@fed1read04... I got a prospective client who would like their maple lobby desk refinished. I'm not really sure what to charge. The job involves refinishing the top surfaces of a maple lobby desk that has been worn from use. Approximately 30 sq feet of flat surface. Additionally the front entrance side is another 20 square feet of maple veneer. The customer wants this re-stained to match the existing finish and a satin protective finish. As a final touch the customer would like to have a brass kick plate installed at the base. this would probably be 3/16x4x12feet long. Any pricing guidelines I should follow? any help on what price range I should charge? |
#19
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In article i8rFc.42708$Yu.10061@fed1read04, says...
I got a prospective client who would like their maple lobby desk refinished. I'm not really sure what to charge. The 'consulting' price I charge for professional work of any type is "What Sears Roebuck charges in your area to 'fix your washer'. " This is automatically adjusted for different areas of the country and inflation! And it's hard to argue with. Here is rural Vermont it's about $45 per hour. Just call Sears in your area and find out. I use this for Professional Photography, Music Mixing and Editing, CD artwork production, welding, repairing Broadcast Transmitters etc... -- Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont "The one who dies with the most parts LOSES! What do you need??" |
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