On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:00:13 +0000 (UTC), "SteveBell"
wrote:

wrote:

On Aug 19, 8:39*am, "Bob" wrote:
"Bill Riley" wrote in message

...
so I'm wondering what

else he would do that results in $1,000 worth of work.

make a profit?

I'd suggest considering spraying the sealer on rather than using a
roller. They have small plastic pump sprayers similar to those used
to spray lawn chemicals. Since most pavers have a somewhat rough
surface, you'd need at least a med nap roller and that could pick up
some of the sand between the pavers.

In any case, certainly a job you can do yourself. Not unusual to see
contractors quote high prices like this. There are enough people that
just don't know any better and say yes, so he makes the same amount or
more by doing a lot less jobs.

Let's look at the contractor's cost for this job:

Initial visit:
gas - $10
time - $80
drive there - 30 minutes
talk to customer
job - 5 minutes
alternative solutions that won't be used - 10 minutes
small talk - 10 minutes
other possible jobs that won't pan out - 10 minutes
free advice - 15 minutes
drive home - 30 minutes

Get supplies:
gas - $5
time - $40 (first store out, drive to second store)
materials - $80

Installation:
gas - $10
time - $120
load truck - 10 minutes
drive there - 30 minutes
unload tools - 10 minutes
mask around patio - 10 minutes
clean patio - 15 minutes
prepare solution - 5 minutes
apply - 30 minutes
clean tools - 10 minutes
remove masking - 5 minutes
load tools - 10 minutes
talk to customer - 15 minutes
drive home - 30 minutes
unload truck - 10 minutes

Bookkeeping:
gas - $5
time - $40
record time, supplies - 5 minutes
print invoice - 5 minutes
mail invoice - 5 minutes
follow up on unpaid invoice - 10 minutes
receive and record payment - 5 minutes
take payment to bank - 30 minutes

Overhead:
insurance - $50
taxes - $50
tools - $50
truck depreciation - $50

Right there are more than $600 in costs (in SWAG numbers), and there
are lots more things that I didn't think of. Doing it yourself, you can
ignore the cost of your vehicle and insurance, and you can skip masking
around the patio. I can't do that, because I might get the sealer on
your siding, and there goes my profit.

Don't forget money saved you might spend with the time saved from the
job. It cuts many ways