Funny Crown Pricing

cabinet runner

Finished up a 2 piece crown job , paint grade material..... 1x6 backer board with 4 5/8 crown and also replacing the clamshell base with 5 1/4 base .
96 feet of crown and 1x6 , 112 ft of base and 6- 2x4s rippped in half on an angle for a top backer . Had to rip off the 3 1/4 clamshell base , no existing crown . The job is 1 hour away for me in a condo .

I give the guy a price of right around $8.50 per foot for a total price of $2,600 for supply and install , no caulk or paint .

I usually do new contruction and get $2.00 per linear ft per piece for crown and base is included in the sq ft price I give but ends up getting me about .80 per linear ft .
So I have to buy material for this job which ran me right at $275.00 .
I figure I am still way ahead of new work pricing at $7.50 a ft for labor .

The unit had metal studs , no big deal , glue and trim head screws but dam it took me 2 whole days with a helper to do it between checking into the building , using the freight elevator , and finding parking . Woulda been 1/2 a day on new construction tops .
In the end I found out I made a buck but that figure I "thought" was way high ended up being just average .
Not complaining at all as right now any work is good work .

Read enough threads on this subject but in the end these kinds of jobs are always so different there is no Linear ft number you can throw out there and know you will make decent money .

I stilll learn something new everyday .

Gus Dering

You did all this from a phone call?
No visit prior?
Did you ask about the parking or access issues?
Where the saw was gonna be?

Sounds like that may be the lesson on this one.

KMac

I screwed myself a few times before I figured out how much I had to add for condo work and make money. Every building is different and you need to know everything possible about access or else. Nothing like showing up at a building ready to go only to be told that a new resident is moving in and you can not have access to the loading dock or elevator. That sucked.

katoman

yes, in reno work there is no fixed linear pricing. Every job is different and has it's own difficulties. I for one will not work condos. Can't take all the BS of getting loaded into elevators you have to pre-book, etc.

Glad this one worked out for you, recently did two piece crown job. Ended up at $ 6.00/lf. for labour, plus materials. This was finished ready for paint.

WarnerConstInc.

I am sorry, why is it reno or renovation?

I need to know the meaning behind my favorite Canadian word.

cabinet runner

Actually Gus I did a kitchen demo / install in the same building about a month ago . Thats how I picked up this job .

Apparently that 1 month made a BIG difference in terms of freight elevator availability and parking spots .

Last time the building was pretty quiet in terms of other contractors .This time it was packed and it made a BIG difference regarding the issues I listed . I guess summertime for the high rise dwellers means time to get work done .

Good news is I stayed calm and went with the flow and I learned something I already knew. There are no certainties in construction and that goes double for the remodel end of it . Perhaps I woulda been better off if I had asked in here 1st about what I shoulda charged .<g>

Gus Dering

In that case you did what any of us would have, grin and bear it.

The good thing is that you made wage anyway.

OW! My thumb

I think that would be favourite, in Canadian-ese.

Danz

I've done a few, and all I can say is they are definately challenging. Specially when trying to get 16' sticks of fj crown up to the 3rd floor. We got lucky the first 2days and were able to set up on the roof top of a restaurant that is part of the building which is called The river terrace. that went like a turd in a punchbowl. Of course there was complaints, but my customer was determined to get his custom trim job. By that time we only had the shorter pieces to carry up. Long story short, I was the 14th contractor he had spoken to. Did i mention the restaurant staff was gay? Good thing money was not an issue...