Costs Range

11/12/2013 at 10:27:58 AM

Hi Robin, just a couple of observations about your post.

1) If you are complaining about how much a contractor is paying you to work, then ask for a raise because you are an employee.

2) If you truly are self employed, then you set your own rates for your work. The formula is fairly simple - material + labour + overheads + profit = cost (or rate). It can be quite a bit of work to get your rate as you have to know all of your overheads from fuel costs to insurances.

Once you have established your rate, then you apply it to the project you have been asked to do and give the contractor a quote.

Good Luck with it!

Jim Kuzma

Kettleby Handyman Services

11/15/2013 at 12:52:37 AM

Thank you.

11/17/2013 at 11:42:53 AM

Hi Robin,

I am a Drywall contractor in Ontario and out here I can tell you that most drywall and framing jobs are charged by the sq ft. For steel framing $4-5/ linear ft of wall is reasonable. (Assuming its 8 ft high). Drywall on top of that is roughly $1- 1.50 per sq foot of wall space for boarding and another $1 - 1.25 per sq foot for taping and finishing.

This method is good for estimating costs but before you quote on a job I would suggest making a material list and determining exactly what your material will cost. Then figure out how many days it will take to do the job and how much you want to make per day of labour.

Good Luck!

Adison - Kratos Contracting

11/25/2013 at 9:28:51 AM

I think Jim's response is solid. I am a firm believer that there is not such thing as "going rate", simply because of what Jim points out, everyone's costs are slightly different. Agreed that the market will only bare so much in price differential, but if you can work at a lower "price" (whatever that looks like, hourly, sq ft, flat rate) it simply means that you likely have less overhead. A simple example, if I have to calculate a lease payment (or vehicle capitol costs) into my price and you don't... you are going to be able to charge less then me.

After that it becomes an issue of what discounts you get at the supplier and what are you willing to pass on to the client.

Cheers

John

John Kuehnl-Cadwell

Master Electrician

Datawise Solutions Inc