3rd eye wrote:
On Sun, 01 May 2005 20:52:27 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
wrote:


Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"patga" wrote in message
...


We hired a handyman to help my husband install a new screen door. He was
here 2 and a half hours and charged $150. Does that seem fair to you?



No, it is not fair. He should have charge you at least $200 for that much
time. That 2 1/2 hours is at least 3 hours when you factor in travel time.
Skilled labor is about $75 to $100 an hour, less skilled around $50 to $65.



My first question would he, who takes 2-1/2 to
hang a screen door. $150 should have included the
screen door cost and the installation.


There are way too many variables for you to make a blanket statement
like that.


As for labor costs, realize that $75 and hour
translates into $150,000 per year working full
time (if he doesn't work full time it is his
problem not the customers).


I average $50/hour. That's time while on the job for the day.

That doesn't count the time spent bidding, billing, drive time,
picking up materials, lost time due to problems, scheduling
errors.........
It also doesn't account for the cost of my vehicle maintenance, fuel,
tools, insurance..........

By your calculations I should be making $100K.
It's never happened. Not even close.

Might be common where

some people live, but not where I live or ever
have lived. Few people make $150,000 per year and
certainly no labor, skilled or not makes that
much. $10-15 hour is common for labor, skilled
laborers (not counting electricians and plumbers)
get $20-30. Electricians and plumbers get $50-60
and much of their work is hardly skilled.


These prices you quote are close to what employees earn.
Where's the overhead & profit for the company that mans the phones,
organizes the office, handles the advertising, does the accounting,
inventory control.......?

Obviously you're not a contractor.
You should give it a try, there's BIG money in it.
AND it's EASY.



Obviously? And what do you base that on?

Yeah it was probably an exaggeration but could
also be true, but he/she did say a screen door.
Lots of screen doors are way less than $100, but
then some are probably in the $500 range. And
yep, there are too many variable to say that I am
wrong also!

Actually the dollar numbers I gave are what people
pay for a job. If an employee of a company does
the work, what he gets paid, is highly variable.
But for reference, major auto shops charge about
$80 an hour and the mechanics make less than $20.
I think you have fallen into that old trap of
thinking that your experience is universal.