On Fri, 26 Apr 2019 00:01:52 -0500, -MIKE-
wrote:

On 4/25/19 10:15 PM, wrote:
On Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 9:25:59 PM UTC-5, -MIKE- wrote:

I recently got a Makita cordless track saw.
To day, I used it to cut down some bi-fold doors for a client who had
hardwood flooring installed that raised the level of the floor.

On one hand, I wish I didn't charge by the hour for this one. :-)
On the other hand, this thing is going to pay for itself 10-fold in
times saved on jobs priced per job.

I am surprised to read that you would charge by the hour for something like that. Probably 25 (more?) years ago I decided to have develop schedules for different things I do, and it falls in line with other tradesmen like plumbers, electricians, etc.

I have a trip charge that includes one hour including material pickup. I will do all I can in an hour for the trip charge if I don't have to pick up material for a project, say door lock replacement, threshold installation, etc. where the customer has the hardware.

Otherwise, I charge by the unit. So for doors, I charge $25 a door to cut a hollow core to fit carpet. Minimum trip charge to drive out, set up the horses and remove the doors, cut them and reinstall them is $125. But with set up, I can only get two doors done, so a minimum trip charge would only get two doors. But if it is a house full, then with all the tools out and me on site, I can usually cut 3 an hour, working out to $75 an hour.

Different trades have different minimum trip charges, and as a repair/remodel/maintenance contractor I have all of them and charge them as well. Roofing around here has a minimum charge from a reputable company of $250 on an asphalt shingle roof and can include roof jack replacement, sealing a chimney, etc. Cement tile has a minimum of $375 and can include reseating tiles, sealing them, or caulking cracked tiles.

I have a plumber that works for me a lot and I charge just a bit less than a full time plumber does.

Using that method, when I price things out or develop an estimate, I can more easily plug numbers in or remove them as needed. I have found that the best thing for me is to convert anything I can to units (structured pricing that shows no favoritism between my clients that know each other) and then I know what I am going to charge if I get a quick phone call from a client or prospective client.

At any rate, it costs a certain amount of money to have a truck on site, keep the quarterly reports filed, buy/maintain/replace tools and consumables, keep all the paperwork straight and the bills paid, and on and on. The way I figure it, I am on the clock when the computer comes on, or the key turns in the ignition. I keep in mind I don't get all we estimate, but the expenses are ongoing.

Not reflecting on anything said or written here but only on my personal experience, as a cub contractor back in the mid 70s, I didn't understand the cost of staying in business and continued overhead that has to be spread over all the business you get while staying competitive. Overhead is the only thing in business that is constant (and taxes). That was a hard lesson. You can't pound extra money into a job because you haven't had much work lately, and it can't give away too much if the job is lucrative. It all has to work out over the year.

Ahhhh…. to know then what I do know. MIKE... seriously... go to minimum charges!

Robert


I'm learning more and more and more, the more I do this stuff, about
what to charge.
And the more I learn about what to charge, the more I learn that I need
to charge more and more and more. :-)

I am, in fact, developing a set of charges for tasks, or unit prices, as
it were. I have minimum charges. For general handyman tasks, I have a
minimum home service visit fee of $75 which covers the 1st hour (that's
for local). After that, it's $50/hr.

This is for jobs where the client has a hodge-podge of things they want
done. Some of these things may be $70/hr jobs like electrical work.
Some may be $20/hr jobs like hanging pictures. Some may be $90/hr work
like plumbing. Some may, again, be $20/hr work like replacing outdoor
light bulbs.

When I have clients like that, instead of racking up a bunch of per/item
charges that might give them sticker-shock, I will usually tell them
I'll charge by the hour and remind them that I don't mess around and
waste time.

When I have specialty jobs or large, single project jobs like big trim
work or deck rehabs, door replacements, porch columns, storm doors,
appliance installations/swaps, etc., I do have set prices per job that
take into account my expertise and experience in doing these things, as
well as consumables and other factors involved.

For example, I recently charged and collected a fee of $750 to remove
and dispose of 2 toilets and install 2 new toilets in their place. I
may have had $25 in materials invested. Including travel time, I had
not more than 6 hours invested in the project. I made $120/hr on that
job, not including time spent chasing the lead and communicating with
the client.
I'll take it because as the saying goes.... it's a ****ty job. :-)

I had a deck job recently, where me and a partner ended up making about
$550 per day on the job (-8hr days). We had the expertise, the ability,
the efficiency, and came in around the market value for the job. Good
for us.

I routinely make over $150 to install (swap) ceiling fans. $65/per
light fixture swap. $175 min for dishwasher installation. $175-200/
mounted microwave installations, $300-400 shower door installations,
$150-200 for storm door installations, etc., etc., etc., all of which I
am getting more and more efficient at, which rewards me for my expertise.

So the reason I brought up the time factor with the bi-fold door project
was that I didn't realize how freakin fast that track-saw tool was and
how much quicker it was than the method(s) I would have previously used
to do that task.

I know, now, and will adjust my fees to reflect that.
It's always been a motto of mine that I shouldn't be penalized for
becoming efficient at doing something, nor should the client be
penalized for my brain-farts or learning on the job. So when I know
that I'm good at something and I know the fair market value for it, I
will charge a premium for my skill, knowledge, expertise and the value
of my work.

It just so happens, to my benefit, that in today's environment of
"skilled" labor... that my charge keeps going up and up and up.
As a mentor once told me... "If nobody's telling you you're too
expensive, you're not charging enough."

I just had someone replace the corner boards on my house (replacing
wood with PVC) and about 750 ft^2 of Hardi-plank siding on one side
(original moron didn't use house-wrap). Some of the corner boards
required some pretty high work (and from the roof, where they found
the Hardi wasn't even nailed around the chimney). The guy did a
really nice job but wasn't cheap. It took he and a helper four days
and me, $3400 labor. I thought it a little high but he has a life to
live too and as you folks point out, he has to make the government
happy too.

While he was working on my house, two neighbors came over and wanted
his number to do similar work (and their homes are only three to five
years old). A friend at work wants his number, too. Seems it's hard
to find people who will do small jobs like this, and do them well.