Do You Charge For Blades

katoman

Any sawzall or Fein blades that are damaged, broken, worn out on a job, I charge for. Also for hammer drill bits - recently broke 14 on one job. But I don't charge anything for chop saw blades. Consider that overhead.

Just wondering if you do the same?

Leo G

I can only see doing this on a T&M job. If you have a contract price, your price should have expendables built into it.

Unless you put a stipulation in the contract that all extra blades/bits used will be a change/add order.

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Tinstaafl

That would be on a case-by-case basis. Generally, my blades & bits last through several jobs at least, so it wouldn't be kosher to charge the last victim separately. But on a job that's an obvious tool-killer, yep, I charge for 'em.

katoman

Yes, I'm referring to T&M jobs. Thanks for the clarification.

Leo G

Of course, if it is a T&M, bits and blades come under material.

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willworkforbeer

I dont charge for them, but, I make a big deal with the HO if I'm eating blades and bits. Makes them feel better about the bill maybe???

Inner10

Typically I don't, I try to factor it into the overhead; if it involves cast iron drilling or other vile bit killers then I add in a hardware expense. I'll definitly have to start since its scary to think of the cost of all the 'disposables" I use up. I have a bad habit of not factoring in hardware expense on smaller jobs but it adds up fast.

Sawzall blades are crap after 3 cuts anyway, its like putting gas in your truck, chop saw blades last me a long time, i keep cutting with em until the strut begins to melt apart.

A big expense of mine is cobalt metal pin drills/twist drills; and small hammerdrill bits.

Tinstaafl

Yes, probably, unless you come off as a drooling whiner.

Bottom line, you DO charge for them sooner or later if you're going to stay in business. It's just a question of whether you incorporate it into your general overhead or bill it out specifically to individual customers.

genecarp

No matter how you want to phrase it. you should be charging for every blade , bit and screw tip. G

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willworkforbeer

I come across more as a self-centered egostistical a**hole, damn the concequences. I may eat stuff but I dont whine.

BobsLandscaping

The rental company charger per 1/32" of wear on a saw blade. Perhaps you could institute the same policy if you're concernecd about it.

Inner10

Maybe less effective on a sawzall blade.

"And thats 37 cents for the wear on this new 14TPI blade..."

Chris Johnson

I have a column on my spreadsheet when doing take offs...Shovels - $ 200.00

Gets priced into every job weather they get used, lost, stolen, doesn't matter, I call that part of my operating costs.

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BobsLandscaping

That's for the diamond blades for the gas cut off saw and chop saw for pavers. For the concrete chainsaw I believe they charge per sharpening and only sharpen each chain x number of times before replacement.

moorewarner

I wasn't, but I started. One of those nickle and dime things that started adding up.

We Fix Houses

I have a line item in my internal estimate for Shop Supplies that covers it.

On T & M or ballpark estimate smaller jobs I include the shop supplies again on each ticket usually $10 - $45. Covers disposables, sandpaper, gloves, blades. Its just a way of recovering the costs outside of the T & M that sometimes has the customer frowning for a minute. Most completely understand.

Pearce Services

I include a line item "comsummables" if the job is T&M, it's either a lump sum price reimbursed to me as an extra, or I just include the items into the purchase of materials. On fixed price, I figure a number based on the type of the project, and add in accordingly.

Not charging, or forgetting to charge for blades, bits, tips, fasteners, disposal, etc. is easy to do. If you do not include a line item for these things, you can loose money on a job real quick.

I also try to pad my consummables a little bit to cover for wear and tear of equipment.

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DrewD

Along the same lines, my last boss only provided the cheapest quality circular saw blades and recip. saw blades. He told us if we wanted a better blade we had to pay for them without reimbursment. It sucked but I bought my own, mostly Dewalt brand, a few Freuds for any finish cuts, I didn't mind buying my own miter saw blades as much, they got less use on his jobs. I was wondering what any of your guy's policy was, if an employee provides his own circular saw/recip saw do you supply quality blades or not?

mmike032

the boss should supply all the tools and quality blades if he wants a quality finished product.
Why would you use your power tools?
unless maybe your getting paid piece work?
IDK doesnt sound right to me.

Leo G

if you are an employee he should provide the power tools and accessories for them. Whether he wants to use high quality of crap is up to him. In most cases it is penny wise and dollar silly. If you are supplying power tools you should get medium quality, the employee will almost never treat them like their own. And get good quality blads/bits/tooling so they last a long time and give good results.

If you are a sub and you are using your "bosses" tooling on a regular basis, you might not actually be a sub.

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