Help Me With Pricing!

HKDecks

i need to build a deck with pt.
this is a double tier deck.
one deck 16x19 and the higher level 16x24.
on one corner of each deck will have octagons.
and two decks will be connected with 3steps.

can you guys give me a price on both horizontal style and diagonal style decking, please!

Cole

Huh?

Too many factors.

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RobertCDF

Figure out how long it will take to build. Then multiply that by your hourly rate. To figure your hourly rate add up all of your overhead costs. Then add how much you want to make (salary) add a percentage for company profit. Then add all this up and divde by how many hours you want to work each week.

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Travis77

I would charge about $4800 for labor on the horizontal and about $6000 for the diagonal just for labor.Probably between $11000 and around $12400 or so for labor and materials together. THats just what i'd charge though,, i agree with the other guys,,, ya just gotta figure how much YOU want for labor.

HKDecks

to be honest with you guys...
labor down here is really really cheap.
there's a guy who's building decks...i dunno if licensed or insured...
but he's charging $4000 for 14x20 deck! what the crap!
i would normally charge 4700.
charging over $10000?? where are you from?
down here....if you charge that much...you'll get shot!
i just wanted to know the pricing difference between horizontal and diagonal decking.

Stone Mountain

Up here in Canada, a 280 sq ft deck in pressure treated would be between $5500-6500, installed. In cedar we'd add about $1500.00
For any type of composite, we'd be up around $12,000 or so.
Just FYI
Steve

Glasshousebltr

Where ya at HK? I think your cheap area might just be in your head. It's one thing to ask for big money, it's another to ask and expect to get it.

Bob

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Bob

Woodcrafter74

HK,
I'm having trouble connecting the dots. You asked for pricing on a 16x19 and 16x24 decks, that's 688 sq/ft. Travis tells you he's at $11,000, that's $16 sq/ft. You said you'd charge $4,700 for a 14x20 deck, that's 16.79 sq/ft--seems like your price is higher.

So tell me again, who's getting shot and for what price?

Where are you?

fastg60

where are you from? down where?

DecksEtc

Also, HK, not telling us where you are from or more specifics on things like depth of cement piers, framing size (2x8's or 2x10,s), elevation(s), post sizes, material costs for you, railing types/style, skirting (yes or no), etc. makes it extremely difficult for anyone here to give you any concrete help.

I'm in Stone's area and our costs are likely very different than where you are. You need to provide a lot more detail in order to get any kind of help.

HKDecks

thanks for tyring to help.
people here don't charge by sqft.
the price is based on labor and materials. not hourly or sqft work.
i believe they have set the pricing on labor.
for example...14x20. materials would cost $3000.
these people will charge $1000 for labor.
they don't calculate by set price of $15 sqft.
it's more like $1000 for upto 300sqft. $1500 for up to 500sqft. and so on.
is this helping you guys what my problem is?
i thought i was suppose to charge by sqft of work.

bob the builder

Sq. ft. price is for someone who has the experience to know that they will make money on a job charging what they charge.

You need to know what your materials will cost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You need to know how long it will cost you in labor!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You need to know what % of overhead needs to get paid in that amount of time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You need to make some money on the job!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You also need to stay competitive with others in your area our if your not have a reason why you aren't.

Sq. ft. price.
right now I'm doing a deck that is only composite decking and cedar handrail and skirting. Well they want me to wrap the beam in cedar also, so I charge for that because it will take longer and be more in materials.
So sq. ft. price would be different for wrapping the beam, than without wrapping the beam...

Bob

DecksEtc

Again, and still trying to help you out, HK you haven't filled us in on where you are located so my pricing (& Stones) probably aren't any help to you but the examples you give are amounts that I wouldn't even get out of my truck to work for...

Your 14x20 deck example at $1000 for labour works out to $3.57/sq. ft. and your example of $1500 for a 500 sq.ft. deck is $3.00/sq. ft. - these are prices that wouldn't even come close to covering costs never mind any kind of profit for your company.

At the very least you should start out by setting your pricing to be a minimum of 2 times the cost of the materials. In a most cases that is still too low but at least it's a starting point for you. As to your statement "i thought i was suppose to charge by sq ft of work" - this kind of sums up your inexperience, and please don't take offence to me saying this, but you need to sit down and figure out your own personal costs of doing business, what you want to pay yourself, what you have to pay your employees and then add a percentage for profit. Those guys in your market that are charging $1000 for a 300 sq. ft. deck will be booked for the whole season in no time which will leave the market wide open for you. Also, you'll likely start getting calls from their customers after they have crappy decks built for them!

I can only speak from my experience but this kind of thing happens every spring for me. Lots of low ball builders undercutting the market and working their a$$e$ off all summer while I target the high end consumer that is more interested in quality over price. It's important to sell the quality of your work - you just have to be patient and wait out those lowballers.

Good Luck!

HKDecks

Thanks for kind words!
i really appreciate it!
i know my quality and i will wait!
I'm from Newark, Delaware.

Stone Mountain

HK, labour must be REALLY cheap in Delaware. Here in Toronto, a good carpenter expects to make upwards of $1000/wk, which works out to at least $25/hr. A fast subcontractor can make even more. Some of my guys have made as much as $3000 in one week.
At the risk of telling Decks ETC some of my trade secrets, I pay my men anywhere from $6 to $10 a square foot, with extra for really complicated work.

We do not generally sell by the square foot. I take my material, add to it the cost of labour, and then apply a formula consisting of a "pack" for administration and overhead, and then a percentage markup.

On the other hand, I've been in business for 27 years, and I can pretty much figure out a sale price based on averages. So, I know pretty much what to sell for when someone asks for a square foot price.

From your posts, it would seem you are brand new in business. did you do any research at all in how to run a business?
When you price a deck, do you take into account, for example, the cost of getting the job?
-advertising
-vehicle paments
-vehicle insurance
-business liability
-tools and maintenence
-printing and paperwork
-portfolio
-website
-good will
-repairs and customer service
-waste (you are always going to need extra material)

All this needs to be factored into your sale price. If you don't, then why work for yourself? You'd probably make just as much by working as a subcontractor for someone else. without the headaches.

bjg5240

HK Decks,

I'm only a stones throw from you in Pennsylvania (about 15min north) and we charge $18/sq ft or more for a basic PT deck with PT railing/ spindles on a concrete footer. Your not as far south a Lower Slower Delaware, so you need to raise your prices if you don't want to lose your shirt. You will ALWAYS find someone (a starter contractor) willing to work for peanuts, but this guy can only do so many before he's full, or he realizes he's too cheap. Good luck to you, but the old saying of "I can work for no money, or stay home with the family and make no money" seems to apply to your pricing!

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HKDecks

thankx to all those who are giving me motivation
i will keep my price...not the lower price, but the price i originally planned.
thankx again

A+Carpenter

I dont work for wages my guys do. These prices are absurd to say the least for a deck. NO PROFIT IS BAD BIZ

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mattp

Today I bid a 16'x28' composite deck with alumiunum spindles, two sets of stairs, the deck is about 2' off the ground. my bid was 7000 for labor she almost died. I live in missouri does that sound high to any body. By the way I figure it will take two guys 2 weeks

Stone Mountain

Labour Only? I would pay my men $3000 or so to build it. Material would be 4500 or so in P.T. so, I'd sell it for $11-12,000, $2500 more for cedar.

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