Help Pricing A Basic Ep Henry Walk Way...

IlldeckU

36" wide old towne cobble or similar stone and about 18 feet to gate.
so 54 sq feet?
Any clues as to a good price?
Thanks!

trialbyfire

We can get a rounded arch that sinks about 6 inches into the path, need lots of sand but installed is about 20 sq ft. Probably not the same stone you are looking for, but this is good to work with. Just heavy. Also offer kerbing, at about 11 per linear, depending on slope and finish

XXL Hardscaper

It always amazes me how many people ask the stupid question.
how do I price this or that?
If you dont know how to estimate it , you shouldnt build it
wouldnt common sense tell you , hmmmmmmm
I know what my labor cost is per day or hour
I know what my labor burden is per day or hour
I know what my over head is per day or hour
I know what my material cost is ( assuming you know how to quantify how much pavers,edge,mirafi500x,gravel,conc. sand,spikes,pollysand,top soil,seed,straw,and so on)
I know how much profit I want to make.
Holly cow ..................I just produced an estimate
imagine that.

Always Greener

Wow...that is not how we act around here...He had a question and you have the right to answer it or not.. All you did is put him down.. Not a good thing to do on this site...

__________________
www.alwaysgreenerlawn.com

noc_night

hi every one i am a newbe to the site. i also am new to Running a landscape business. been reading up on good contractor methods and am comprehending it well. but i am worried about making my first quote since i dont know my overhead yet. i know my varable costs and am adding for unexpected circumstances. yet without the complete knowlledge of my overhead cost's how can i insure i dont underbid? how did you experts overcome this obstacle when you were still "green" (lol) ? is their a list anywere of our industries standard rate for services&materials?

well sory for the rant but i appreciate any input

thanks alot everyone~Justin H.S.V. AR

NasConst_land

To figure overhead, you need to sit down and figure out just your cost to have the business.. if you just started you will have start up fees and stuff like that. But add your insurance, payroll, insurance, fuel budget, start up fees. from there you can figure out what it cost you per day to operate. You then have to take in account any equipment. Say you have a bobcat that you plan on having for 3000 hours before you replace. You can then figure out your hourly rate just for that piece of equipment.

Once you figure out all your costs for the job, material, rough overhead, equipment. you have a number say... $3000.00 you then decide what that project is worth to you. You have a certain mark up for your profit. If its brick it will be more then mulch. you just do it according to the job type. Then you times your 3000.00 by say 30% or 1.3 and you have your total bid price.

There are many many ways to do this.. this is pretty simple for when you are starting out. Just remember do it for your price... alot of customers will say well i have someone that will do it for 500 dollars less can you do it for that. If you arnt making money doing your work.. its not worth it. Dont get in the game. Your time and knowledge is worth something there will be plenty of other jobs. When guys say ya sure ill do it for less. One it makes you look bad, like maybe you were trying to rip them off and two.. if you get half way threw the job and realize its more then you thought.. and you just lost 500 bucks of it. Your not going to do a good job, and you will never get return work or referals.

Stick to your prices, if you are loosing jobs cause you are to high, adjust, and try to get one at a lower price, but dont drop just because your competition is doing it for less.

I am the head estimator of my company, so if there is ever anything with that end of it I can help with please just ask. I didnt wake up knowing how to bid projects, it took time, I still bid things wrong.

NasConst_land

Ohh and dont forget to mark your materials up.. say your buying plants and you are getting a huge break on cost because you are a contractor. You the contractor are getting the break not the customer, if they were to buy them they would be at cost. So dont forget to mark materials up, this is where you make your money on large projects, not in the labor or anything else.

Always Greener

^^^^ Very well said.

__________________
www.alwaysgreenerlawn.com

chardscapes

any good books or software on estimating ?

Always Greener

What are you looking for in a program??

__________________
www.alwaysgreenerlawn.com

ArmstrongBldrs

Yay An Internet Tough Guy

ArmstrongBldrs

pavers usually a threesy

InterlockPavers

Hi:

First off whats your location? For this job you will need about 1.6 tons of base (crush n run) material @ 4 inch in heighth. Also you will need about a half a ton of concrete sand. Ep Henry usually sells pavers by the pallet so you might need a whole one of those if you cant buy these pavers by the band. Find how many linear feet of edge restraint you will need. If you use a fabric you need to calculate your costs. Other than that its all about time and overhead.

Good luck

dirt diggler

I agree --- I don't know why anyone ever asks that question

for one, being a national website --- someone in Iowa will prolly pay less than someone in California (btw, picked states hypothetically)

taking it further ... someone in southern Iowa may carry a larger cost than someone in Northern Iowa.

AND taking it even further, two competitors based a mile apart in a small town in Northern Iowa might have different overhead costs.

and even asking someone "how much would you charge per sq. ft" is a waste of air (unless of course you are seeking their service) because ... because ....

ugh --- i don't even have time to be writing this. back to work

maj

Didn't sound very hypothetical to me

Jeez, why don't we just narrow it down Northeast Iowa somewhere between the third & fourth row of corn!!!

__________________
The views expressed in this post are merely opinions of named poster and in no way shall be deemed meaningful by members of the herd. By no means does anything posted by named poster mean a damn thing for anyone else partaking in this thread.

InterlockPavers

Hes gotta be on the EAst coast I dont think EP Henry is big outwest

IlldeckU

I have an idea! Since it's such a bad question and so beneath you... How about skipping it by and NOT taking a half hour to write miserable crud on the net. Wouldn't that be easier.
I sold the job for 1600 in PA. I figured my overhead, what I want, labor and such! How much labor didi it take for you to type all that negative crap? Too long probably!