[Cubevan]

This might be a little personal for some, but just curious what are some of the hourly rates you would normally charge in your specialty?

 

[Tom R]

This might be a little personal for some, but just curious what are some of the hourly rates you would normally charge in your specialty?

You mean I can actually get PAID for all this SEX?? :cheesygri

 

[mdshunk]

Residential, 65 to show, which includes the first hour. 45 each add'l hour.

Commercial, 85 to show up, which includes the first hour. 55 each add'l hour.

Trade, electrical service.

 

[Grumpy]

I have no problem telling you I am charging $75 per man hour for normal type work. If it is something where I might have to pay my guys more to do, like high rise repairs, then my hourly charge also goes up. BTW I charge the same for residential or commercial.

I'm actually considering lowering that rate to $65 because I am slowly being able to taper down my overhead costs. Startup costs are a biznatch.

Hey MD, I never understood why commercial work costs more... I mean when ever I get stuff repaired myself and people ask if it's commercial or residential I always ask why it matters. I have never been given a straight answer except that "we charge different for commercial than we do for residential". Then I always ask why that is and all I hear is "ummm duh ummm welll ummm".

I know you are an educated guy. Can you give me a reason why someone would charge more? The only possible answer I can think of is they specialize in residential and aren't really insterested in commercial so they ask for more. Is that true?

Actually I can think of one other possible answer, which comes down to "businesses have more so are willing to pay more." That's actually my thought.

 

[mdshunk]

It costs more for the PITA factor. Parking hundreds of feet away, elevators, working over desks and computers, people in your road, additional hazards involved with larger installations, etc. It almost takes a differently outfitted truck for commercial service calls with larger ladders, different personal safety equipment, different consumable truck stock, etc. Commercial accounts are also accustomed to paying a different rate, so I oblige. Whatever the market will bear....

 

[Cubevan]

Grumpy,...I'm just curious. About how much $$ does it take to start up a roofing Co. the size of yours?

 

[fez-head]

This might be a little personal for some, but just curious what are some of the hourly rates you would normally charge in your specialty?

Technician man-hours billed shall include all of the productive labor time normally associated with the customer’s project and any other time spent on behalf of the customer, including but not limited to ;

• Evaluation of project (at owners request) to provide Owner with an estimated cost for completion.
• Technician hourly rate of $60 per man-hour, with a minimum charge of one (1) man-hour. Time incurred over one hour will be billed at fifteen minute increments.
• Pick up and delivery of materials, plus standard 20% markup over cost for materials purchased by Contractor on behalf of the customer. (Owner can save money by having materials onsite, ready for installation)
• Small service fee of $30 applied to all individual invoices.


Jesse R. Kirchhoff
Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions LLC
“Making Your Life A Lot Less Complicated”

 

[donb1959]

My hourly base rate is $40.00 per hour. Matierials at cost plus 25% markup. If it's a very small job, say painting a door, my minimum charge is $150.00.

Tradeainter

 

[Rich Turley]

I charge by the work done, not by the hour. I often look at a job at completion and look at what the hourly came out to and it can vary quite a bit.

When someone posts they charge $45 per hour, doesn't really provide any info for me. I usually don't know where they are located and if I do, I don't have any kind of handle on their local economy is. Even whithin location, labor rates vary depending on your goals and quality. I lay a lot of tile. Per square foot rates vary widely in my area as does the quality of the job, not necessarily in perfect correlation.

Rich

 

[Cubevan]

Technician man-hours billed shall include all of the productive labor time normally associated with the customer’s project and any other time spent on behalf of the customer, including but not limited to ;

• Evaluation of project (at owners request) to provide Owner with an estimated cost for completion.
• Technician hourly rate of $60 per man-hour, with a minimum charge of one (1) man-hour. Time incurred over one hour will be billed at fifteen minute increments.
• Pick up and delivery of materials, plus standard 20% markup over cost for materials purchased by Contractor on behalf of the customer. (Owner can save money by having materials onsite, ready for installation)
• Small service fee of $30 applied to all individual invoices.


Jesse R. Kirchhoff
Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions LLC
“Making Your Life A Lot Less Complicated”

Thanks. Would the $30.00 service fee be charged even on a small1-2 hour job also?

 

[fez-head]

Thanks. Would the $30.00 service fee be charged even on a small1-2 hour job also?

For me the $30 service fee is especially necessary on the 1-2 hour jobs. I am always upfront with my pricing and satisfaction is guaranteed.

When asked about the high cost I refer to the other respectable tradesmen in the area which charge about the same or more for very small services. If you provide service beyond their expectations they will gladly call again. :Thumbs:

Jesse R. Kirchhoff
Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions LLC
“Making Your Life A Lot Less Complicated”

 

[Speedy Petey]

• Small service fee of $30 applied to all individual invoices.

You charge $30 to write an invoice??
I would get a lot of flak over that. To me it's kind of insulting.
Why not just roll that $30 into your hourly rate?

 

[Speedy Petey]

When someone posts they charge $45 per hour, doesn't really provide any info for me. I usually don't know where they are located and if I do, I don't have any kind of handle on their local economy is. Even whithin location, labor rates vary depending on your goals and quality.

Exactly. A thread like this is good barometer for the rest of the country, but it will not help a guy looking for local information.
I find it interesting what others are charging but it won't affect me personally at all. Meaning I would NOT base any decisions on it.

 

[Cubevan]

It costs more for the PITA factor. Parking hundreds of feet away, elevators, working over desks and computers, people in your road, additional hazards involved with larger installations, etc. It almost takes a differently outfitted truck for commercial service calls with larger ladders, different personal safety equipment, different consumable truck stock, etc. Commercial accounts are also accustomed to paying a different rate, so I oblige. Whatever the market will bear....

MD...Do you get into things like wiring large shop machinery/motors etc or is the electrical work you do mainly for the building?

 

[Speedy Petey]

I won't hijack the question posed to Marc, but I know for me, and most in my area, the job is soup to nuts.
We will install the service, wire the building, hook up machinery (unless it is brand new and the factory sends someone out), even install the hand dryers in the bathrooms.
I have in the same day gone from installing the afore mentioned hand dryer, to hooking up a 20' ceiling fan, to feeding a $1m CNC machine.

 

[Cubevan]

I won't hijack the question posed to Marc, but I know for me, and most in my area, the job is soup to nuts.
We will install the service, wire the building, hook up machinery (unless it is brand new and the factory sends someone out), even install the hand dryers in the bathrooms.
I have in the same day gone from installing the afore mentioned hand dryer, to hooking up a 20' ceiling fan, to feeding a $1m CNC machine.

Thanks SP. I know of some electricians who don't diversify quite as much and don't really get into industrial wiring/service.

 

[Mike Finley]

It costs more for the PITA factor. Parking hundreds of feet away, elevators, working over desks and computers, people in your road, additional hazards involved with larger installations, etc. It almost takes a differently outfitted truck for commercial service calls with larger ladders, different personal safety equipment, different consumable truck stock, etc. Commercial accounts are also accustomed to paying a different rate, so I oblige. Whatever the market will bear....

You forgot to mention that you also have to finance the job for them with them paying at a minimum of 30 days from invoicing.

 

[fez-head]

You charge $30 to write an invoice??
I would get a lot of flak over that. To me it's kind of insulting.
Why not just roll that $30 into your hourly rate?

I give this out with a list of services to every client:

By getting organized before you call Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions, you will save money, and also reduce the stress factor. It takes the same amount of drive time and set up time for one small job as it does for a several small jobs at the same location or even one larger project. It makes good sense to have multiple jobs completed per visit. Begin by walking through the entire property room by room. Then go outside and walk around the property looking at both the building and the grounds. Make a list of everything that needs attention. It sometimes helps to get someone else to help because he/she can offer an outsider's perspective….. or this is just another service that we can provide for you.

Organize your list into logical groupings. Sections might include wall repairs, door repairs, weather stripping, window caulking and so on. It makes good sense to be organized and get everything done at once so you only have to pay the extra service fee once.

You should choose small Handyman firms the same way you choose a larger firm for major work. The key to getting small repairs done efficiently with minimum hassle is to get organized up front and to make sure you are using a carefully screened contractor with General Liability Insurance and Workman’s Compensation.


This encourages my clients to make a list and get a bunch of stuff done at once and on one invoice. I see no need to make several trips when all of the projects could have been completed in one.

No one has been insulted that I know of …..and in turn I am not insulted when the HVAC or appliance repairman charges a service fee to come to my home for an hour.

I believe in my situation a higher hourly rate would punish the customer with a larger to-do list. I love the 1-2 hour jobs but the extra expense must be compensated for in order to cover overhead and make a proffit.

Last week I drove 56 miles to replace a single doorknob for a certain fast food chain. It cost them $60 labor and $30 service fee for a 5 minute job. Some residential customers will do the same thing. You can lead a horse to water..........



Jesse R. Kirchhoff
Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions LLC
“Making Your Life A Lot Less Complicated”

 

[Grumpy]

Grumpy,...I'm just curious. About how much $$ does it take to start up a roofing Co. the size of yours?

PM or e-mail me and we can chat. I don't mind sharing this knowledge with regulars but don't want the general public knowing what my underwear looks like

 

[Grumpy]

You forgot to mention that you also have to finance the job for them with them paying at a minimum of 30 days from invoicing.

I don't do a job with a 30 day payout, and if I do I demand a downpayment for sure.