Starting to get back into doing some carpentry/painting and....

I am wondering what ys'll think is appropriate labor rates for home remodeling/painting, mostly exterior work.

One man?

Two men?

I was looking for an hourly rate for people who actually work hard/know what they are doing, do a very good job and get stuff done in a timely manner.

Thanks in advance.

I manage a high end construction and maintenance company specializing in water access only custom cottages. We charge $63.00/hr for Carpenters, and $48.00/hr for labourers. That is Canadian dollars of course. When I quote jobs I use those numbers also and base price on man hours per job plus material. And we are certainly not the highest charging around.

You should really consider bidding your jobs instead of by the hour. Figure out what it's going to cost you to work and add the profit you need on top of that. There's more to it but if you know what your doing you will know approximately how long it will take.

Here's an example:
You tell a customer it will take 24 hours to do a job at $50/ hr and it takes 30 hours to finish the job. Your quote was 1,200$ but you charge 1500$ by the hour. Customer is not pleased.

You bid the same job for 1800$ and it takes you 30 hours to finish,
You made $60/ hr and the customer is happy! Happy customers tell their friends and co-workers to call you

When you bid jobs they don't know how many hours it will take they just know the price and if the price is in line with what it should cost for the area they don't care about hourly rates just the cost of the project.

In order to bid jobs I need an hourly labor rate to start with. I have not done this stuff for a while and was wondering what people were charging.

Your not getting the point, you need to know how long it will take you to do a job first and then you add up all your expenses to do that specific job. Next add what you need to profit for the job to make sure you are making money and stay in business. Divide the total of that by how many hours you expect the job to take. Add 5-10% to that number and you have an hourly rate that keeps you in business and you know what your profits will be per job.

I can tell you to charge what I charge per hour but I have no idea how much you pay employees or what it costs you to do business. So do yourself a favor and figure profit per job instead of what everyone else charges.

I am a construction estimator and I agree you need a base labor rate. I would suggest you contact the local union hall for the appropriate trade and get a rate sheet....use the base rate plus FICA, FUTA, etc and leave out the fringes (since I assume you'll be non union) then get a quote from a local guy and ask for labor breakout..compare the w and make an assumption to determine your chargeout rate.

I appreciate your input but that's not an answer to the question that I asked.

I never asked how to bid a job for an expected profit, I asked what folks were charging for an hourly labor rate for a certain type of work.

Around here (RURAL NW MO) the going rate for skilled carpentry/painting is $25 per hour. Could be more or less. Those that charge more are known for gouging and less is poorer work/unreliable.

Depends on whether you are hiring a one Man Contractor , or some Company that has a lot of employees and equipment to pay for. Also the price will have to factor in the local earnings in a given area. By that, I mean that a Contractor can expect to charge more in a Rich area; but not as much in a Poor income area. The average Contractor charges around $35.00 an Hour in Town. Go 15 Minutes away, and the same work performed by a Different Contractor in a more well to do Town; charges $75.00 to $90.00 Per Hour. Why, because they have more overhead to pay for , and there are people making more money in the other Town, so they can afford to pay the higher price.

$40 here, but I do most of my jobs for a flat rate bid....sometimes you come out good, sometimes not so much

I was going to figure $37.50 for man 1 and $22.50 for man 2. But like I said we work hard and I am a very good rough carpenter/painter and have good tools.

I charge $50.00 for myself and $35.00 for laborers. That rate applies to all things in residential construction and remodeling except plumbing, electrical and HVAC which I sub out.

I should probably charge more, I am always too busy.

I bid most jobs but do some on a time and materials basis.

I bet you do good work and have been at it a while, Lugnut.

Thank you.

Consider what you have invested in tools, pickup, insurance, etc. I get $20/hr for simple handyman tasks and turn down jobs that are too demanding for one old fart.

A banker once said "if folks think youre reasonable, you arent charging enough.

Taxes and insurance alone will eat your lunch!

when I was younger, and complaining about another guy charging less than I was, my gramps said " he should know what his work is worth"....makes more sense now than 20 years for some reason

Marty up here union is 48.00 per hour, so most non union independents go at about the same rate for qualified carpenters.
Hope this helps.

Osky