How Much Do Contractors Make An Hour
I know there is no concrete answer for this but my friend has offered to do the remodeling on homes that I buy. He said that as long as he can pay his bills he is happy. I want to make sure I am being fair with him. Can anyone help me out with an hourly wage?
Thanks
I am curious to any answers as well.
Well, I guess the easiest answer is how much per hour does it take for him to just pay his bills?
Wages are dependent on skill levels and type of work performed. Someone moving construction debris all day might make $6 an hour, but someone running a new electrical service into your house might make $30 an hour.
I charge $20 to $25 per hour and can do almost anything. I live in Austin and am currently remodeling a commercial building in El Campo. That price per hour would be good plus some type of an incentive if he or she stays within budget or gets it done faster. Also some split of the profit may be in line if the entire job is handled well and you make money. Share the wealth and more will come to you. You can do 3 or 4 times as many deals if you have good contractor. I did it all myself and should have spent my time finding and financing the deals and not the labor part.
Hope this helps some
Ted Jr
My guy charges me $15 and hour and I buy the materials. He can do most anyhting but electrical and he has great connections for sheetrockers, tile layers and such. Generally, I cna get great help here for no more than $20 and hour plus materials.
C-
Thanks to everyone that posted a reply!
As usual it was extremely helpful.
Hi MK,
Your question was contractor...not painter, drywaller, carpenter etc......therfore my price is $50.00 p/h minimum.
If you want a handy man then you can find them all day long $15.00 p/h.
If you want the wealth of information which can save your a wealth of heartache, headache and a few bucks along the way then $50.00 p/h isnt so bad. lol.
With that said.....I dont know of too many GC that work by the hour. Good luck.
I would never pay anyone by the hour thats just counter intuitive. Let them bid the job.
Amen! If you are going to pay a laborer have them bid the job or pay $15 - $20/hr. Contractors don't work by the hour because they get cheap labor to do the easy stuff and give you a fair price for the job. A good general could hardly ever set foot on the job site and still make as much as the laborers. When I do free lance work I get $15/hr (Utah). On the other hand one guy charging $25/hr might get twice as much done in an hour as a guy charging $15 or vice versa. Screen your guys. Evaluate their work and if they don't perform get someone else.
Good luck
Josh
After rereading all the posts here, while you got some good information noone really answered your question including myself.
You really want to know what is fair to pay your friend for his time and you were going about it by trying to figure out what is the "norm".
I would say that there is not going to be a norm, because we don't know what skill level your friend is at. Is he an art student or a general contractor or somewhere inbetween? What are you going to get for the money you pay him? Fine work from a true craftsman, adequate, sloppy, or end up having to hire someone else to fix what he messes up?
You said he just wants earn enough to pay his bills. I would start with that.
Just ask him how much that is divided by the amount of hours he is going to be working. Is it $50 an hour or $2 an hour?
Say he comes up with working 60 hours a week at $10 an hour.
That could be a good place to start. You could always go up or down later after you get into it and have a better idea of what you are getting.
Obviously if you are paying him $20 an hour and the work is horrible or very slow, you could pay a stranger maybe $20 an hour and get the house done in half the time.
Only time is going to tell since you have nothing to go by at this time. Turn it around on him and let him tell you what you will need to do.[ Edited by The-Rehabinator on Date 11/26/2003 ]
Here is my .02
I would figure out what work is needed. Then figure out about how long it will take. Pay based on your friend doing the work and some help. If it is a big project figure some help for a couple of days, otherwise 1 day. Usually bringing in someone to do the grunt work will help the project move quickly(cutting grass, breaking out sheetrock, hauling debris to the dumpster, etc.).
In dollar terms: $15/hr plus help for a day or two at $8/hr plus materials.
Let's face it....we get what we pay for. Would you go to a doctor and and ask him to work by the hour or on the cheep??
I am a GC and what it cost to keep my lights on is more in likely different than the next guy. No, I do not work out of my truck and I do leave my dog at home. This is a major financial deal for you and making the wrong decision could cost you a lot of $. If we all look for the Cheep guy/person to do the rehab.....you will get what you pay for.
It sometimes amazes me to see the posts on this site about contractors. A lot of people are going to learn the hard way. Find a person you feel compatible with and check his reference's. If it looks good and the numbers work, get a GOOD contract and go to work.
Start Date, Finish Date, How do you deal with unforeseen problems (and there will be some), dollar amount, change orders and so on. Remember you are in charge and the contractor works for YOU. He who holds the money is the is the Ruler.
PS: If the contractor needs money to start your project, put up a RED FLAG. If they don't trust you I would be cautious about trusting them.
There you have it....30 years of doing business as a GC in one short post. Maybe I should start doing seminars and give up this REI stuff.
Best of luck.
In my area handyman companys charge $50.00 hour and pay thier help 15.00 to 25.00 hour.
When I do rehabs I pay by the job--not the hour. Your expenses can run way up by the hour. Subcontractors will ride you hard if you let them. You also have to make sure you inspect the work. Only once the job is complete and to my satisfaction is when I pay, unless we setup up some sort of draw schedule. Good Luck!
I would say that $35 an hour is good in the west. I do work by the hour, (or my crew does) at time that is the best way. I do not charge profit and overhead on this type of work which saves 15-25%
As to your friend, how competent is he? does he have real experience? pay according to experience.
That said I would shy away from the friend deals, so business first and be friends later.
Glad to see that Im not the only one that feels that way, dlynn.
You would think that some of these cheap "contractors" willing to work for $10 - $20.00 per hour would figure it out that they are not getting ahead because they fail to see the difference between profit (for the business), wages (for your self) and overhead (business expenses).
I have a contractor friend that has been working cheap by the hour for almost 20 years and still is not making any money.
His phone gets cut off about every 6 months and he cant afford W.C. or GL insurance..........no wonder.
Sad thing is he is awesome in all fields of construction....he just prices himself way to low. He could work half the time and make more money than he is now........some people just never get it.
NC.
Quote:
On 2003-11-26 12:26, dlynn wrote:
Let's face it....we get what we pay for. Would you go to a doctor and and ask him to work by the hour or on the cheep??
I am a GC and what it cost to keep my lights on is more in likely different than the next guy. No, I do not work out of my truck and I do leave my dog at home. This is a major financial deal for you and making the wrong decision could cost you a lot of $. If we all look for the Cheep guy/person to do the rehab.....you will get what you pay for.
It sometimes amazes me to see the posts on this site about contractors. A lot of people are going to learn the hard way. Find a person you feel compatible with and check his reference's. If it looks good and the numbers work, get a GOOD contract and go to work.
Start Date, Finish Date, How do you deal with unforeseen problems (and there will be some), dollar amount, change orders and so on. Remember you are in charge and the contractor works for YOU. He who holds the money is the is the Ruler.
PS: If the contractor needs money to start your project, put up a RED FLAG. If they don't trust you I would be cautious about trusting them.
There you have it....30 years of doing business as a GC in one short post. Maybe I should start doing seminars and give up this REI stuff.
Best of luck. <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_wink.gif">
[ Edited by NC_Yank on Date 12/02/2003 ]
My "handyman" is a retired GC. He gives an estimate for the job - price and time it will take. He then bills me $18/hr plus materials plus 10%. The 10 % is a modest profit...basically allows him to replace the tools he trashes on the job. He charges others more. So...for Florida, this is a modst rate for an extremely conscientious professional. Good luck.[ Edited by BethE on Date 12/02/2003 ]
The contractor rate where I invest is typically around $40/hr.