Your Billable Hourly Rate

WisePainter

I will vote this the best post of 2008!

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Wolfgang

Seriously, the ceiling fan post is true. He had a Journeyman electrician and a last year apprentence on that job. Two guys...amazing. That's how he was trying to justify his price to me. At that time I had a little over 16 years painting. I told him he could look at it one of two ways: With 16 years I considered myself a "Double Journeyman", therefore thats what he was charged for, or, he had a Journeyman paint each slab side of the door, but it was still $600.00 total. By the way, I understand I'm still referred to as " that SOBing painter that charged him 200 a door!".

WisePainter

LOL how long ago was this?


After reading Mahlere's posts I believe you, I think what he feels is "reasonable and or fair" is nothing more than highway robbery.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Wolfgang

Wise, raising your rates in the Midwest is tough to do. I had alot of doubts when I did it myself. Like I said I only do hourly on T&M jobs. Do you charge the same for wall paper removal as painting? I have a pricing list that has different hourly rates for different jobs, ie.; paper removal, painting, staining, lac, poly, etc.. I dont know if that would work for you or not. You know your market. You know where your bottom net needs to be. Oh yeah, I have special rates when I'm on jobs with other trades; I back charge them at THEIR hourly rate for stuff they caused that I had to redo. Seriously. That alone could take care of some of the self-esteem issues. Great thread guys! Guess I'll just stay in Omaha where the cost of living is affordable and the work is plentiful...so far anyway.

Wolfgang

10 years ago last spring Wise. Now I have 26 years doing this. Wait! I think I'm a Triple Journeyman now! Yep, time to raise the rates.

Celtic

I still don't get it....instead of simply answering a few questions, some would rather take a stroll down "Flame Lane".

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vandyandsons

seriously though,

it is fun to bash other trades and test each others wits.

as far as painters go, there is only so much that a property owner is willing to pay before they either do it themselves or pay an illegal for a lousy job.

@$45/ hr i am a bit low especially for Chicagoland, but hey, 6 years later I still haven't ever missed a day of work and by the time it's all said and done after work and side work, i'll be close to 100K this year. not a bad haul for a crap economy.

i'll keep charging my poultry $45 per man per hour and comfortably supporting my wife and 4 sons

what's funny is that all my sparky and plumber friends don't make any more (usually less) than I do at years end.

i wonder where that $150/ hr goes? easy, most "skilled" tradesman cant work more than 20-30 hrs per week. and most lie about what they actually charge too.

they are no better off than us burger flippin painters. they just have big imaginations.

2000 hrs/year @ $150/hr = $300,000 gross annually..... i just don't buy it.

you can charge what you want but can you stay busy and are you making money.

WisePainter

$35 for regular painting
Add $10~$15 extra an hour for specialty (lacquer, epoxy, concrete stain)
Another $10 extra an hour for faux
I am very fortunate that the midwest has a very low cost of living, so I am able to support my 3 kids and stay at home Wife far better than I did when we lived in s. Florida.
That was insane down there.


I think $2,000 an hour is reasonable...oh wait, you are only a painter and painters have no self esteem.
Bummer for you.

__________________
My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Bender

In Boise I would say between 35 and 45.00 an hour.

vandyandsons

seems like $35-45 is standard for a one man or small shop.

world llc

absolutely correct... well below standard.... however, we all find a way. i remember living with my parents and doing summer work ( as i have some summer kids help me out) and when i got my check at the end of the week for about 200 - 250 after tax... i was the richest kid in the neighborhood. then in my 18 to 22 year old phase i got an apartment and a raise every year up to 15 an hour.... i never had a problem paying rent, phone bills, car loans, buying random toys, or taking the woman out for some fun. and like anyone else who has the desire to make more money does... i got a new job that paid more money, and it happened to be me incorporating.

what i'm saying is minimum wage jobs don't hold us back, they are there for those who need it and for those who do not strive for more out of life. otherwise no one would work for mc. d's or the grocery store etc. what if those guys got 50/hr...

and with the price of homes... it takes the same amount of paint and man hours to paint a house here or there. the paint costs the same. the houses were probably built for the same amount of money! the difference is the land out here is worth something, not the structure! the subs all get the same per what ever it is they are charging for.

and also by the 4x price increase theory, i should charge 200/man/hour? that would never fly.... well ... unless i was painting an electricians doors

WisePainter

ZiNG!!!

__________________
My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

mahlere

are you boys still at this? having fun?

a recap for those who didn't follow along:

contractor say "Hey painters, you guys should charge more...you're worth it and it's only right"

painters respond "we're not worthy, we won't charge more and you can't make us...now go away while we make fun of you for charging too much money"

gentlemen, and painters, it's a sad state of the world when this is the case...

world llc

well spoken

Celtic

I was just reading an article by George Hedley titled:

Earn More, Work Less, Live Life!

The blurb at the top really struck me:
It is is in the January '09 edition of CBO mag...not yet in digital format, so no link to the story yet.

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Celtic

Clearly....you are missing the point.

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mahlere

Celtic, that ship has sailed....

change the religious parts and names to contracting and painters...and well, you get the picture...

Wise Old Jewish Man

A female CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long, long time.


So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was, walking slowly up to the holy site.


She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.


"Pardon me, sir, I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. What's your name?"


"Morris Fishbien," he replied.


"Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?"


"For about 60 years."


"60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"


"I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims. I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop. I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults, and to love their fellow man."


"How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?"


"Like I'm talking to a wall."

mahlere

do you feel better telling yourself you have no options? cause if you do, than that's all that matters....we don't want anyone to feel bad...

world llc

what then would you suggest?? even the more well put together paint businesses like certa-pro who is franchised has competitive rates. i cannot explain it, i can only report it.

what would your business plan be if you were here as a painter?

mahlere

i was on a project with these guys this summer...they weren't billing $25 or $35 an hour....

http://www.evergreene.com/decorativepainting.html