[joasis]

The "texture thread" inspired this topic....and how a job may priced......and the bottom line will be what it costs you (or your company) to do business.

So...here is a point to consider: We were talking about hanging rock...and how cheap it is at .35 a sq/ft.

Lets look at what makes our overhead costs, or what we must make to live (cost of living, or COL)....

WC...cheaper or more expensive, across the country...cheap here, since it is a percentage of wages, and thus, less on me, since my guys do not get paid New Jersey wages.

Insurance....vehicles....much cheaper here then Los Angeles I am sure....

Liability/Risk....less here then in metro areas like Chicago...property values are less here, insurance is less.

COL....A nice home rents for $650 and up....apartments can be leased for $300 a month for a year....and this is not tenement housing.....the median price of a "typical" home in Oklahoma is less then 80k. New homes are averaging 155k. Property taxes on the above home would be $1100 a year.

My equipment lot, where I store my steel, scaffolding, tractors, lifts, and trucks....I paid $2000 for a piece of property 125 feet wide X 140 deep....and the taxes on it are a heart stopping $18 a year. Denick was telling me about a guy he bought a truck from in New York City (Long Island, if I remember correctly) that pays 36k a year in taxes on about the same size lot.

My guys start at $10 an hour, and rapidly get to $16. Typical wages here.....yeah, I know some of you will say how cheap we are, but that is the prevailing wage here in my area. Skilled guys get more.....plumbers charge $65, masons are $400 per k, sparkies wire for $4 a sq/ft....roofers lay new comps for $30 and up (depending on pitch)...and on and on. Is it insane to some of you? I suppose....but guess what? You list all the costs of doing business in your area compared to other areas...and you might see why nothing is constant.

[Chris Johnson]

I carry both a GC and Concrete license and since I don't GC work my insurance broker insured me under the Concrete portion, basically I am insured as a sub contractor

My buddies who have GC only licenses pay 10 fold what I pay for insurance and over three fold my comp rates. My truck runs me $ 1200. per year (08 3500 LTZ)

Believe me I am not complaining

I work from my house and with the exception of my mortgage and truck everything is paid for, I refuse to buy tools and equipment I can't pay for immediately (within 30 days).

COL here...starter homes upper 300's, average nice homes between $ 500 and 800, taxes about 1.25% of purchase price. Natural gas...1.45-1.69 per Therm, Electric .11-.22 per KWH, Diesel rolled over $ 5.00 per gallon

[mahlere]

and this is exactly why the "how much should i charge for...." posts are useless...

[Chris Johnson]

Originally Posted by mahlere

and this is exactly why the "how much should i charge for...." posts are useless...

Maybe they should get retitled to "What's the most I can get away with charging"

[joasis]

I started this due to the "suggestion" that some of us who pay low prices for sub contracted work are building "shoddy" projects.....and yes, mahlere, I am having less patience about these "what should I charge" threads......

My total debt load is way less then 100k, business, vehicles, equipment, and spec lots for homes we will build this summer....I pay for all tools in cash now and am not buying any major equipment until we get a feel on interest and the coming months.