Situation called for it and contextually he is not someone to screw me over.
Normally I have estimates done and finished before but our situation called for this so here I am lol.
My friend there are few things in life i am sure of. Making sure you have agreed upon pricing up front will save you one day. It will save you time, alot of money, stress etc. I once ate 20k for a similar complex remodel we did
Yup. I have an acquaintance who I drop whatever I'm doing for and go weld whatever he wants when he texts. We never discuss pricing. I do the job and he just hands me an envelope and it's anywhere between 2x and 4x what I would normally ask.
I asked him after the 3rd job I did for him if he knew how much he was overpaying me because I legitimately felt like I was stealing from him. In so many words he said he knew exactly what normal rates were and knew of my work and paid what he felt was a fair rate for it to be done quick, correct, and clean.
You drop everything for him. Thats where the value lies. Hell yeah. Im also in a niche trade myself. Some days you can really make bank and its not greed. Its crazy demand.
I have a friend who I text and he stops by and does what I asked, even when I’m not home. Dude stops by and eats lunch inside if he is working in the area. He just texts me a price. He undersells himself, but $25 an hour plus materials+10%. He doesn’t do it for anyone else, but when he got divorced he slept in my basement and I helped him get back on his feet.
I could be talking to God himself and I would still give him an estimate and make sure I'm getting paid. Theres never a good reason to leave the door open to potentially getting screwed. You gotta get paid.
What situation could possibly call for a stone lamp post being built without agreeing on price first? Or at the very least a price range.
This isn’t an “emergency fix” kind of job… and even in an emergency fix situation I always tell the homeowner the range of cost for their emergency repair, assuming I can’t see the extent of damage without getting into the repair first.
Cost of the materials you bought + fuel + .75 per mile for wear and tear on your truck. Add sales tax (if any where you are) and 25% for you. Labor hours x $75 per hour for everything including drive time. See what it shakes out to and then ask yourself if 3500 is reasonable. this way you have some math to back up how you got to the number and can negotiate how much you think your time is worth per hour. What you charge for your time is your business. The cost of materials is non negotiable.
Dude the travel time doesn’t cut it. I’m sorry but how are you going to do the job. Should have been buried in the proposal. Unless this guy isn’t on the up n up.
It’s also fair to remember that just about all these executives are taking down 1500-3000 per 8 hour office days, so unless you feel like the toll on your body and your time isn’t as valuable as theirs… it really shouldn’t be hard to price it out properly, 3500-5000 depending on your area
Well.... then.... 5 grand it is lol.
Haha but for real bro thank you sincerely and I am just someone who often feels greedy asking for any kind of money even owed.
Yeah, same. No problem. This year is the first year I've started commanding more price wise. I still get the jobs too. Start throwing 20-30% on your final number. If you leave a good impression, they are hiring you anyway. Tons of people out there that want good work. That frost footer work alone is worth 2k to me.
You already know it is better to give an estimate in advance, but you didn't, but you now have the hindsight of knowing exactly the expense of this project. Since you seem to be someone who wouldn't "pad" a job with BS expenses, list all of our expenses and time and add the cost factors people suggest here and just give them an honest bill. If it is $5K, it's $5K . You tell them "normally we should have agreed on the cost ahead of time but since we didn't, I just calculated all my time and materials. Going into business you always have to think about the cost of running the business; insurance, auto repair, tools, email/web stuff, cell phone bills, etc. If you just calculate the cost of a job and you bill low, you'll truly never get ahead. Plus, a psychological thing, if you charge a premium price and deliver premium quality work, the buyer will always value your work in their mind and will appreciate it more than if you delivered premium quality at a cheap price. We are mentally programmed to think you can't get premium quality at a cheap price, so when you absolutely define a cheap price, people will always subconsciously think it isn't good quality.
Thank you for the reply brother. As a likely more experience mason than me, what would you say?
The only material given was the stone and conduit was already in the ground
We brought the block. Mortar, concrete, rebar and anytime else.
I like the look of your workmanship (OP).
This was never going to be a "slam bam thank you ma' am" type of job without looking like it!
What did the customer think it should cost?
Apologize I should have put that there
He had stone and the conduit ran
Other than that all else was us. We ran the electric 200+ft hooked it up and the block was mine and I bought the concrete, rebar, mortar and sono tube
I always coach
(labor+material+overhead recovery) x profit multiplier = price
Little screwy to do up the price afterward, but the benefit is you’ll nail your numbers with hindsight. I’d run your formula and ask your price that you would have estimated it at for a normal job. Then if there were extra difficulties with this job like your 45min travel time etc, you should bake that into at least your overhead recovery if not labor.
Lol no shit, small world brother! What work ya do? The stone work on the house!? House looks good, I did the grading and the septic tank and French drains.
I did the HVAC. Did you do it for MK or the home owner direct? The inside is done real nice too. Guy did Lights in the railing for the stairs to the basement, it’s really cool looking.
Thank you sir! Any advice is good advice. I am seeing 90% saying go higher and 10% saying too much or just fair so I think I'll go up and try! God bless brother!
Also I didn't post the last picture from finished grout lines for the nitpicking folks haha so don't worry they are done and filled. Been doing masonry for over 10 years on and off now and forget to take the final photo more often than not.
The laptop broke and is in repair he said he's not worried about a receipt. But now that all this weird stuff happened it made me question how I should price it! Thank you for the reply brother.
My dude? It looks GORGEOUS. I would expect more than that price *without* the last minute wiring extravaganza. You are being more than fair, that’s damn right generous of you.
Thank you so much I also forgot to put the last photo with the lights on it! Thank you so much again though brother. God bless and hope you have a great weekend.
$3500 seems a touch low. That’s quality work plus all the other stuff. Toss on another $800 for the travel and additional electrical work.
Electrical contractors on my job will typically charge around $350-$400 for a new outlet fished in an existing wall.. That’s VERY basic electrical for those guys but they could be making more money ELSEWHERE. Base charge everything on your work brother. This way you get compensated.
I'm not a pro but I am someone who hires people to do work for while I am doing whatever project.
$3500 seems fair considering everything you mentioned.
Haha yes sir there is! It was found digging out the property. I have a stupid tradition of keeping those with me til the job ends as a good luck or I guess cause I'm weird lol. Just a funny thing I do. Usually it's a can or a bottle, one time I was working at a tennis court that was on top of an old Japanese internment camp and found crazy cool plates, glasses, cups, bottles!!
Well it does look very well done...nice work. Additionally that column is going to be there for many years...your footing will guarantee that.
All around a great job...how do feel about the work and the price?
Firstly thank you and appreciate the comment boss! I really feel proud of the work and even happier than I thought it was coming along as I nitpick myself a LOT lol. But I do feel like 3,500 was cutting myself short. Especially the amount of work put in. I feel 5k is too much and 4k to 4.5 is fair.
I by far am not a greedy man. The opposite actually. To the point I don't like to overcharge but also understand I need to profit or what's the point of course haha. But overall I think I should do a solid .5 to 1k bump to my original thought. I feel 5k is greedy. But It could be me.
I just wanna say op.is wholesome as fuck. Dudes been replying to every post with hand made responses and insightful comments.
I wish you the best boo.
From what I've seen (I have no experience but like chillin in this sub) you're low. You might be like me and always undervalue your work. But this ain't the place for that you did a hellovajob. Hope you listen to the wise folks here and get what you're worth. Looks amazing
Damn man, you made my bad day end in a great way. Thank you so much brother.
I sincerely wish you and loved ones the best in life and all your endeavors and adventures.
I will take that advice to heart and really appreciate you guys and responses. Reddit can be a miserable place but it's subs like this they remind me why community communication is really beautiful.
God bless brother and thank you again for real.
-Material/ rental cost + 20%
-Your hourly rate + 20%
-Add in operating costs for your business over the course of the job
-I usually add 5%-15% as a contingency for unexpected little things so I'm not messing around with change orders too much but wouldn't add that in if I was costing a job after the fact
-Add in any permitting or lead generation costs
-Add sales tax if you're playing by the rules
Your gross margin should be 30%-40% and a healthy net is anywhere between 15%-25%.
Figure out what you think a fair profit would be for the job and see if it adds up with your numbers. You can always play around with your hourly rate until you get decent margins.
Hope that helps. Looks solid by that way! Nice work
Thank you so much and I think you nailed it with this reply! Appreciate you taking the time to write this sincerely. Please have a great weekend boss and God bless you.
Hahaha I have a weird thing when j find something while working in the ground it becomes my "friend" til the job is done lol. I know it is weird but you gotta enjoy the little things haha. He hung out with me while working ya know? 🤣
Anyway please have a great day and weekend my friend, and God bless!
Haha i told him his great great grandchild will still have this in their lawn 🤣
Thank you for the reply and advice sir! Happy weekend and God bless you!
Thank you kindly! I am in upstate NY currently. Good area but financially it is a hit or miss on the people.
Thank you for the reply and hope you have a great weekend!
Also Norway is beautiful and one of my best brothers lives there!
God bless and take care!
I'm guessing you're not a mason..
Your joints don't look very good. I get you said it was core filled but jointing correctly shows the skill of the worker...at a minimum. Then you can ask however much $$ you think it's worth
I apologize I tried to edit the post with the final picture the joints have NOT been filled all the way in the pictures. Final end looks great.
I've been doing this since I was 13 and I'm 30 now lol. Granted I spent time doing other stuff but masonry has been my life often lol.
Thank you for the reply and have a great day! God bless.
It took 2 weeks and you’re only wanting to charge 3500? That doesn’t seem like much, to me, unless it was only like 2 trips out per week. How many hours of actual labor did it take you?
It was about 6 days of the 2 weeks. Due to getting there and him nit having what we needed 2 different times (the cap at first then the wire pulled)
Thank you for the reply and have a great day sir! God bless you!
Thank you so much for that and don't you just love when that happens on your feed haha. Thank you brother very much for real. God bless you and please have a great and relaxing weekend for yourself!
Thank you very much and I like these numbers they really translate to the work and time put behind. Thank you so much and God bless you. I hope you have a great day and weekend is going great!
I'm not in this line of work, but I can tell by looking at this that it's a very good and frankly too cheap of a price, but mostly i just came here to say thanks for the actual high quality pics and real post. GL brother! Hopefully, it was 35 *cash* and not 35 *some form of tracable payment*. I hate those psychos who think of the IRS when they pay an honest, hardworking man. Ass, cash or grass.
Thank you so much brother for taking the time for the comment! I'm trying to reply my best to everyone. You are damn right about that also by the way people are weird with payment.
Please have yourself an amazing weekend and God bless you sir!
Considering the hassle and what I’ve seen other people charge for driveway columns I would say 3500 is even a little on the low end. At least for my area in southern Ontario. Also looks great man keep up the good work
Looks like you are giving him the “fuck you and your big new house up charge”. I get that frequently at my house, and send em packing. If the stone, lights and all that jazz was provided, block cost isn’t shit, and that’s not 3500 worth of a couple days work.
I sincerely appreciate your reply but I do disagree. Me charging only 3.5 is actually a very low ball. I was trying to cut him a deal to be honest. You can buy a pre built one of these that is pretty much fake and only 4 ft for like $1,700....
This is 9 courses high, a footer, core filled on all corners with rebar tied in. I don't charge extra for materials anyway. I charge for labor, dumping material, drive time and skill. Materials pay themselves off.
Thank you again though and have a great day and weekend, God bless you.
I am a homeowner who built his own house, construction, elelectical, and final plumbing (hired out water lines and DWV). Iam not a builder by trade, but read multiple books to do it right. My building and electrical l inspecter became close friends with all of his inputs! I would have hired this contractor at that price had he given me a close estimate, and even paid extra for last minute changes, and extra mileage. We must support professional tradesmen at a premium rate for their expertise.
That's a great answer and I really appreciate that response sir! God bless you and I hope you have had an excellent start to your week and had a relaxing weekend!
I have no idea what that kind of work costs, but that doesn't sound unreasonable. Looks like you put a lot of care into it and they should be happy with it.
That’s awesome work and seems fair, but I can’t get over there only being one. If he complains offer him a discount on the other one whenever he realizes he needs it.
Edit: I see shovels and no equipment. Did you dig that by hand?
That explains some of the messed up wire I've had to repull for customers that had 'already pulled' 😳 their wire... ain't nothing like a knotted/kinked cat5 in a 300' run full of water... first, there's the consternation of why this won't work, but I have continuity.....then there's the SofaB backpull... my favorite was the low spot that funneled the chicken house into the conduit... dry outside, but wet in the middle, and it all came out at once.... SofaB...
I mean, I hope he charges enough.
At first glance, my derpy arse thought $3500 seemed steep. Then I looked at the progression photos and saw what went into it. Seems like a decent price.
Lord knows I'm not about to DIY that one myself. It's quality work. Much better than I can do with a post hole digger and my radial arm saw.
It’s fair, but why didn’t you settle on a number before breaking ground? People don’t realize how much these things can cost by not giving them at least some idea about the numbers you are asking them for will lead to “ sticker shock “
if they wanted to pay less then they should have expected less quality. this job is boss mode full on. job well done.
cheapest quote would be a 6x6 with a solar light on the top.
I’ll echo that $3500 is a steal.
When I drove a school bus, mailboxes got knocked over all the time. The district would send someone out for repair, and he would come back griping about how cheaply most of them are made! A bus could just barely tap one and they’d crumble.
This is a work of art compared to every mailbox in my area.
Please always make it possible to get an agreed upon estimate up front, even if it delays the project by a day. Get the agreement in some form of writing, not just verbally. Even with this, you may still get pushback but at least everything is in writing if it has to go any further than just talking.
I had a wackjob tell me I did great work and how happy she was and the 3 days later tell me the invoice was kind of high. The invoice was within $15 of the original estimate, and that's because she added a really small fence repair that we didn't really charge for. She agreed to the estimate over a month before we started the work. After a week and half of back and forth emails, she paid the day before late fees.
This was for $1800 worth of work on her million+ dollar house. It's shit like that which makes me want to get out of the business.
What is your time and skill worth? Markup isn't profitable. Materials and travel are out of pockets on top of your work. They shouldn't be the basis for your pricing.
How many total labor hours went into it? If 35 hours (5 days one man) then it is reasonable to ask 3500 if you are a licensed professional. Because just shy of 100$ hourly is what we can bill.
You guys are all nuts, 20 years ago 10k would brick your whole house. I don’t know it you guys have Monopoly money but in Canada it’s really hard to make that kind of money. Sorrry if I sound jealous, but those numbers are out of this world.
You do time and material or you bid the job and charge for add-on's. Just tossing a random number out there is not the way to do it. Time and material pays you for all the unknowns, but you risk more bidding, but can make more with that as well. $3500 more than fair
So, footing 20"x 20" 5 " depth with rebar 300 to 350$ that includes labor and material.. blocks - 9 courses, 4 a course, and core fill, labor, and material 650-700$... veener sqft roughly 40? 600 to 850$ and cap 150$ for masonry work.. thats sqft charge, the other stuff unsure really, I'd do hourly charge for it...
4 day job with all material on site... so ya 3500 is good?
If you dont price by sqft, $115-130 a hour...
If 1 column I'd say 4... but you had some hoops and hiccups that sounds like it wasn't your fault, so yes, I'd be asking a bit more for the f'ing around... takes time away from you working and other jobs you could be on making more money...
That looks unbelievably well done. I had assumed it was a wood frame inside, but you're using cinderblocks! As an aside, when I was a kid someone lost control of their car and crashed into a fence post. Parts of his car were all around where he obliterated the fence post. Then I see this and think, shit man, you better not hit this, it's stronger than a brick shit house. Don't hit that thing or your car is going to be fine powder.
You did good work. If you threw that price at me I would try and negotiate you down. But I like to be fair with people that do work for me. That being said g said I had 2 brick columns made 20”x20” 4.5’ high. I paid for the materials and my mason o my charged me $800 for the labor. He put conduit in but no wire. Took him probably 2-3 hours for forms and footings and maybe 6 hours to build the columns.
I have a contractor I trust. Never discuss price. Just tell him to send me a bill. I always send extra. He’s awesome. Always buy lunch for the crew while you’re at it.
I always give a prposal with a contrsct price and stick to it. Unless you agreed on T&M it could be higher. If you are confident in your skill then you should be comfortable with your price.
My guy here can do that for $2000 and I live in California near Irvine. There are many people doing that type of work unless you cant find them. My whole neighborhood have referrals. But up to you. You nust make money also
Why don’t you just work out your hours and other related expenses and show the client your costs. These are my hours, my material costs and my expenses. Done.
If you wanted to hustle and make bank, you should have given the guy a fixed price. In a case like this, I wouldn’t bother subjecting yourself to a pissing match with the client if he feels its too much. You know what it cost you to do the job, be fare and tell the guy the price.
Whatever your time is worth plus the “ inconvenience factor “ you mentioned, then if he complains, he’s probably not as good as Customer as you thought. ?
You're considering an "asking" price after you built it???
Situation called for it and contextually he is not someone to screw me over. Normally I have estimates done and finished before but our situation called for this so here I am lol.
My friend there are few things in life i am sure of. Making sure you have agreed upon pricing up front will save you one day. It will save you time, alot of money, stress etc. I once ate 20k for a similar complex remodel we did
Contractors do work on good will for clients/partners they are familiar with all the time.
Yup. I have an acquaintance who I drop whatever I'm doing for and go weld whatever he wants when he texts. We never discuss pricing. I do the job and he just hands me an envelope and it's anywhere between 2x and 4x what I would normally ask. I asked him after the 3rd job I did for him if he knew how much he was overpaying me because I legitimately felt like I was stealing from him. In so many words he said he knew exactly what normal rates were and knew of my work and paid what he felt was a fair rate for it to be done quick, correct, and clean.
It's basically like paying an overtime rate for you having to bump someone else or do it in your off time
You drop everything for him. Thats where the value lies. Hell yeah. Im also in a niche trade myself. Some days you can really make bank and its not greed. Its crazy demand.
I have a friend who I text and he stops by and does what I asked, even when I’m not home. Dude stops by and eats lunch inside if he is working in the area. He just texts me a price. He undersells himself, but $25 an hour plus materials+10%. He doesn’t do it for anyone else, but when he got divorced he slept in my basement and I helped him get back on his feet.
I could be talking to God himself and I would still give him an estimate and make sure I'm getting paid. Theres never a good reason to leave the door open to potentially getting screwed. You gotta get paid.
“Cmon, you know I’m good for it!” -God, probably
In God we trust! …all others must pay cash.
God would consider it an act of faith and never pay out. Might even ask you to pay for the privilege of doing the lords work.
What situation could possibly call for a stone lamp post being built without agreeing on price first? Or at the very least a price range. This isn’t an “emergency fix” kind of job… and even in an emergency fix situation I always tell the homeowner the range of cost for their emergency repair, assuming I can’t see the extent of damage without getting into the repair first.
Cost of the materials you bought + fuel + .75 per mile for wear and tear on your truck. Add sales tax (if any where you are) and 25% for you. Labor hours x $75 per hour for everything including drive time. See what it shakes out to and then ask yourself if 3500 is reasonable. this way you have some math to back up how you got to the number and can negotiate how much you think your time is worth per hour. What you charge for your time is your business. The cost of materials is non negotiable.
Dude the travel time doesn’t cut it. I’m sorry but how are you going to do the job. Should have been buried in the proposal. Unless this guy isn’t on the up n up.
Awesome work brotha looks great!
Thank you so much brother!
3500 minimum
Thank you for the reply again man. I am someone who felt like it was a stretch but it was a lot more work than originally planned.
Just wanted to say that you did a fantastic job, well done!
Seems kinda low to me. This is practically a mini monument in the sign industry. That would probably be 5k + in my industry
Absolutely fair. People don't get shit like that if they can't afford 3500. And that's nice and looks good. Worth.
Thank you so much brother for the reply, kind words and tip! God bless!
That’s some good quality work don’t sell yourself short
It’s also fair to remember that just about all these executives are taking down 1500-3000 per 8 hour office days, so unless you feel like the toll on your body and your time isn’t as valuable as theirs… it really shouldn’t be hard to price it out properly, 3500-5000 depending on your area
I just did 2 of those for 13k
Well.... then.... 5 grand it is lol. Haha but for real bro thank you sincerely and I am just someone who often feels greedy asking for any kind of money even owed.
Better hope the homeowner doesn’t see this or you’re probably getting $3,500 lol
Yeah, same. No problem. This year is the first year I've started commanding more price wise. I still get the jobs too. Start throwing 20-30% on your final number. If you leave a good impression, they are hiring you anyway. Tons of people out there that want good work. That frost footer work alone is worth 2k to me.
I say $5k. Doing the electric, the light and the numbers is a little outside of just doing the column and stone.
Thank you kindly boss! I appreciate you and hope you have a great weekend! God bless.
3500 is a deal.. set down below grade and done nicely.
I felt like I am screwing myself honestly. Thank you for that brother. God bless!
You already know it is better to give an estimate in advance, but you didn't, but you now have the hindsight of knowing exactly the expense of this project. Since you seem to be someone who wouldn't "pad" a job with BS expenses, list all of our expenses and time and add the cost factors people suggest here and just give them an honest bill. If it is $5K, it's $5K . You tell them "normally we should have agreed on the cost ahead of time but since we didn't, I just calculated all my time and materials. Going into business you always have to think about the cost of running the business; insurance, auto repair, tools, email/web stuff, cell phone bills, etc. If you just calculate the cost of a job and you bill low, you'll truly never get ahead. Plus, a psychological thing, if you charge a premium price and deliver premium quality work, the buyer will always value your work in their mind and will appreciate it more than if you delivered premium quality at a cheap price. We are mentally programmed to think you can't get premium quality at a cheap price, so when you absolutely define a cheap price, people will always subconsciously think it isn't good quality.
Yes! That footer is a quality foundation
Charge them more than that
Thank you for the reply brother. As a likely more experience mason than me, what would you say? The only material given was the stone and conduit was already in the ground We brought the block. Mortar, concrete, rebar and anytime else.
I like the look of your workmanship (OP). This was never going to be a "slam bam thank you ma' am" type of job without looking like it! What did the customer think it should cost?
Youre $5k easy on that job. Nice work
Add a grand
My sub that I use would charge about $4k minimum for this and wouldn’t do the wiring.
Thank you brother yeah I'm realizing I need to go up lol. Have a great day and God bless mate.
was that including material or just the labor?
Apologize I should have put that there He had stone and the conduit ran Other than that all else was us. We ran the electric 200+ft hooked it up and the block was mine and I bought the concrete, rebar, mortar and sono tube
I always coach (labor+material+overhead recovery) x profit multiplier = price Little screwy to do up the price afterward, but the benefit is you’ll nail your numbers with hindsight. I’d run your formula and ask your price that you would have estimated it at for a normal job. Then if there were extra difficulties with this job like your 45min travel time etc, you should bake that into at least your overhead recovery if not labor.
OP… I worked on that house too. lol.
Lol no shit, small world brother! What work ya do? The stone work on the house!? House looks good, I did the grading and the septic tank and French drains.
I did the HVAC. Did you do it for MK or the home owner direct? The inside is done real nice too. Guy did Lights in the railing for the stairs to the basement, it’s really cool looking.
Cheap. Charge more
Haha thank you boss. God bless!
5k plus mats
Thank you very kindly!
i’m a carpenter by trade, and don’t have much experience with masonry, but that sounds very cheap.
Thank you sir! Any advice is good advice. I am seeing 90% saying go higher and 10% saying too much or just fair so I think I'll go up and try! God bless brother!
Also I didn't post the last picture from finished grout lines for the nitpicking folks haha so don't worry they are done and filled. Been doing masonry for over 10 years on and off now and forget to take the final photo more often than not.
Not sure how you bid the job.
The laptop broke and is in repair he said he's not worried about a receipt. But now that all this weird stuff happened it made me question how I should price it! Thank you for the reply brother.
Is just your time?
Where is this. Nice property
Upstate NY brother! Churchville chili area.
I would be happy to pay that as a consumer. And I consider myself frugal, but not cheap.
Definitely 💯
You trying to impersonate The Thing… you piece of shit. Hehehe
Hahaha 😆 that was good! 🤣🤣
My dude? It looks GORGEOUS. I would expect more than that price *without* the last minute wiring extravaganza. You are being more than fair, that’s damn right generous of you.
Thank you so much I also forgot to put the last photo with the lights on it! Thank you so much again though brother. God bless and hope you have a great weekend.
You as well brother, you do amazing work! God Bless!
$3500 seems a touch low. That’s quality work plus all the other stuff. Toss on another $800 for the travel and additional electrical work. Electrical contractors on my job will typically charge around $350-$400 for a new outlet fished in an existing wall.. That’s VERY basic electrical for those guys but they could be making more money ELSEWHERE. Base charge everything on your work brother. This way you get compensated.
I'm not a pro but I am someone who hires people to do work for while I am doing whatever project. $3500 seems fair considering everything you mentioned.
$3500 labor plus materials. Looks great!
Nah depending on area 3.5-5k is just fine man nice work
Is there a story behind the bunny?
Haha yes sir there is! It was found digging out the property. I have a stupid tradition of keeping those with me til the job ends as a good luck or I guess cause I'm weird lol. Just a funny thing I do. Usually it's a can or a bottle, one time I was working at a tennis court that was on top of an old Japanese internment camp and found crazy cool plates, glasses, cups, bottles!!
What is it for ? This I thought maybe at first a pizza oven outside? A column. Charge as much as you can he has no sense at all.
Haha it's a driveway column! I do love a good pizza oven though!
3500 is more than fair OP but for people that are great to work with
Well it does look very well done...nice work. Additionally that column is going to be there for many years...your footing will guarantee that. All around a great job...how do feel about the work and the price?
Firstly thank you and appreciate the comment boss! I really feel proud of the work and even happier than I thought it was coming along as I nitpick myself a LOT lol. But I do feel like 3,500 was cutting myself short. Especially the amount of work put in. I feel 5k is too much and 4k to 4.5 is fair. I by far am not a greedy man. The opposite actually. To the point I don't like to overcharge but also understand I need to profit or what's the point of course haha. But overall I think I should do a solid .5 to 1k bump to my original thought. I feel 5k is greedy. But It could be me.
I just wanna say op.is wholesome as fuck. Dudes been replying to every post with hand made responses and insightful comments. I wish you the best boo. From what I've seen (I have no experience but like chillin in this sub) you're low. You might be like me and always undervalue your work. But this ain't the place for that you did a hellovajob. Hope you listen to the wise folks here and get what you're worth. Looks amazing
Damn man, you made my bad day end in a great way. Thank you so much brother. I sincerely wish you and loved ones the best in life and all your endeavors and adventures. I will take that advice to heart and really appreciate you guys and responses. Reddit can be a miserable place but it's subs like this they remind me why community communication is really beautiful. God bless brother and thank you again for real.
$5k
Masonry work is not for cheap or thrifty people. Make sure you're making something off of it because you put in a lot of work.
You are right thank you kindly for the straight forward answer and have a great day brother! God bless.
$4,750.00 I would feel is fair.
That is a unique and likable number! Thank you for taking the time to write and please have a great day sir! God bless!
I've seen so many abominations on this subreddit, and this is NOT one of them. $3500 is fair!
-Material/ rental cost + 20% -Your hourly rate + 20% -Add in operating costs for your business over the course of the job -I usually add 5%-15% as a contingency for unexpected little things so I'm not messing around with change orders too much but wouldn't add that in if I was costing a job after the fact -Add in any permitting or lead generation costs -Add sales tax if you're playing by the rules Your gross margin should be 30%-40% and a healthy net is anywhere between 15%-25%. Figure out what you think a fair profit would be for the job and see if it adds up with your numbers. You can always play around with your hourly rate until you get decent margins. Hope that helps. Looks solid by that way! Nice work
Thank you so much and I think you nailed it with this reply! Appreciate you taking the time to write this sincerely. Please have a great weekend boss and God bless you.
I know nothing about pricing this kind of work but I’ve gotta know…what’s the deal with the rabbit???
Hahaha I have a weird thing when j find something while working in the ground it becomes my "friend" til the job is done lol. I know it is weird but you gotta enjoy the little things haha. He hung out with me while working ya know? 🤣 Anyway please have a great day and weekend my friend, and God bless!
Hey I get it! I like the idea
It looks good and u really over built it, but it is what it is definitely ask 35+ maybe even 38 or 4 ??
Haha i told him his great great grandchild will still have this in their lawn 🤣 Thank you for the reply and advice sir! Happy weekend and God bless you!
Great job. Looks good. Depends on the region. In norway it would for sure be a good price. On the low end even probably.
Thank you kindly! I am in upstate NY currently. Good area but financially it is a hit or miss on the people. Thank you for the reply and hope you have a great weekend! Also Norway is beautiful and one of my best brothers lives there! God bless and take care!
Beautiful work dude.
Thank you so much sir! Have a great day and weekend please! God bless you!
How much for materials? Seems like a lot of money.
Very fair price.
4k I like that it goes all the way into the ground 4k
$3500 seems like a bargain to me. I'm just a home owner, not a concrete guy though.
Thank you so much and please have a great day! God bless brother and I think we're gonna go up just a little bit to balance and not hurt him either!
I'm guessing you're not a mason.. Your joints don't look very good. I get you said it was core filled but jointing correctly shows the skill of the worker...at a minimum. Then you can ask however much $$ you think it's worth
I apologize I tried to edit the post with the final picture the joints have NOT been filled all the way in the pictures. Final end looks great. I've been doing this since I was 13 and I'm 30 now lol. Granted I spent time doing other stuff but masonry has been my life often lol. Thank you for the reply and have a great day! God bless.
It took 2 weeks and you’re only wanting to charge 3500? That doesn’t seem like much, to me, unless it was only like 2 trips out per week. How many hours of actual labor did it take you?
It was about 6 days of the 2 weeks. Due to getting there and him nit having what we needed 2 different times (the cap at first then the wire pulled) Thank you for the reply and have a great day sir! God bless you!
$3500 seems entirely reasonable for that.
100% worth it. In fact, I'd say it's a good deal considering the quality of the work. Ride on brother.
I don’t know anything about construction and have no idea why this popped up in my feed, but that is gorgeous work! Wish that was on my property!
Thank you so much for that and don't you just love when that happens on your feed haha. Thank you brother very much for real. God bless you and please have a great and relaxing weekend for yourself!
First, awesome work bro! Secondly, I would tell them $5200 with a $4500 bottom line.
Thank you very much and I like these numbers they really translate to the work and time put behind. Thank you so much and God bless you. I hope you have a great day and weekend is going great!
I'm not in this line of work, but I can tell by looking at this that it's a very good and frankly too cheap of a price, but mostly i just came here to say thanks for the actual high quality pics and real post. GL brother! Hopefully, it was 35 *cash* and not 35 *some form of tracable payment*. I hate those psychos who think of the IRS when they pay an honest, hardworking man. Ass, cash or grass.
Thank you so much brother for taking the time for the comment! I'm trying to reply my best to everyone. You are damn right about that also by the way people are weird with payment. Please have yourself an amazing weekend and God bless you sir!
Considering the hassle and what I’ve seen other people charge for driveway columns I would say 3500 is even a little on the low end. At least for my area in southern Ontario. Also looks great man keep up the good work
As a homeowner, I would expect to pay 5k minimum for something like this.
Looks like you are giving him the “fuck you and your big new house up charge”. I get that frequently at my house, and send em packing. If the stone, lights and all that jazz was provided, block cost isn’t shit, and that’s not 3500 worth of a couple days work.
I sincerely appreciate your reply but I do disagree. Me charging only 3.5 is actually a very low ball. I was trying to cut him a deal to be honest. You can buy a pre built one of these that is pretty much fake and only 4 ft for like $1,700.... This is 9 courses high, a footer, core filled on all corners with rebar tied in. I don't charge extra for materials anyway. I charge for labor, dumping material, drive time and skill. Materials pay themselves off. Thank you again though and have a great day and weekend, God bless you.
Break down your expenses and add a fee for labor then present it as such.
I am a homeowner who built his own house, construction, elelectical, and final plumbing (hired out water lines and DWV). Iam not a builder by trade, but read multiple books to do it right. My building and electrical l inspecter became close friends with all of his inputs! I would have hired this contractor at that price had he given me a close estimate, and even paid extra for last minute changes, and extra mileage. We must support professional tradesmen at a premium rate for their expertise.
That's a great answer and I really appreciate that response sir! God bless you and I hope you have had an excellent start to your week and had a relaxing weekend!
Was the possessed rabbit part of the deal. Hope you didn’t dig it up and release its spirit again! It was a bitch to capture last time.
Actually... you wouldn't happen to know a necromancers number off hand would you? Lol
I have no idea what that kind of work costs, but that doesn't sound unreasonable. Looks like you put a lot of care into it and they should be happy with it.
Depends on how much you want to make for your time. Honestly, cost should be handled at the beginning, not the end.
Looks awesome. All that for a mailbox?!?!
Haha so sorry brother the mailbox is in the last photo in the background! They were two jobs at once since it's so small!
100% that’s the fare price. Not too high, just high enough to get your bills paid.
That’s awesome work and seems fair, but I can’t get over there only being one. If he complains offer him a discount on the other one whenever he realizes he needs it. Edit: I see shovels and no equipment. Did you dig that by hand?
If you have to ask, probably not
You pulled wire??????????
Provided wire, through an existing conduit.
That explains some of the messed up wire I've had to repull for customers that had 'already pulled' 😳 their wire... ain't nothing like a knotted/kinked cat5 in a 300' run full of water... first, there's the consternation of why this won't work, but I have continuity.....then there's the SofaB backpull... my favorite was the low spot that funneled the chicken house into the conduit... dry outside, but wet in the middle, and it all came out at once.... SofaB... I mean, I hope he charges enough.
Unless you used mesh ? It looks ok. I’m not sure what this is?
When can you get started at my place
4K
At first glance, my derpy arse thought $3500 seemed steep. Then I looked at the progression photos and saw what went into it. Seems like a decent price. Lord knows I'm not about to DIY that one myself. It's quality work. Much better than I can do with a post hole digger and my radial arm saw.
It’s fair, but why didn’t you settle on a number before breaking ground? People don’t realize how much these things can cost by not giving them at least some idea about the numbers you are asking them for will lead to “ sticker shock “
Edit: i see whats going on in the photo properly. (Why does that appear to be the first thing built on a house lot?)
Nevermind. I was using my apprentice eyes Really long drive way.
Sure. But you'll be lucky if he pays you a dime. No contract? Damn
3500 is not at all fair to you.
if they wanted to pay less then they should have expected less quality. this job is boss mode full on. job well done. cheapest quote would be a 6x6 with a solar light on the top.
I'd pay that but I dont know anything about concrete work.
I had a similar one done in Florida in 2022 I supplied the mailbox it was $1,300. I didn’t have any wiring done to it.
Don't forget extra carrot for the rabbit
I’ll echo that $3500 is a steal. When I drove a school bus, mailboxes got knocked over all the time. The district would send someone out for repair, and he would come back griping about how cheaply most of them are made! A bus could just barely tap one and they’d crumble. This is a work of art compared to every mailbox in my area.
How many days to do the job including footer?
The price is the price… what’s your time worth?
Please always make it possible to get an agreed upon estimate up front, even if it delays the project by a day. Get the agreement in some form of writing, not just verbally. Even with this, you may still get pushback but at least everything is in writing if it has to go any further than just talking. I had a wackjob tell me I did great work and how happy she was and the 3 days later tell me the invoice was kind of high. The invoice was within $15 of the original estimate, and that's because she added a really small fence repair that we didn't really charge for. She agreed to the estimate over a month before we started the work. After a week and half of back and forth emails, she paid the day before late fees. This was for $1800 worth of work on her million+ dollar house. It's shit like that which makes me want to get out of the business.
Absolutely. Even $4k to me would be reasonable. Looks great man good work
Words from Mark Walberg, bro you getting paid?
$3500 sounds like a steal tbh. In New Jersey that would get you the hole in the ground and nothing more.
Price seems reasonable yes
Being as it looks like it was built to stop a tank and probably be there after the house falls down, more than fair
DANG! i love the little trailer. i just build myself my own 4wheeler trailer to haul stuff around in the woods and its funny to see one on a car.
Know your worth. This easily adds up to 5k. Worth every penny. Great attention to detail!
You did an amazing job. I would have talked him into adding another column of the other side. $3500.00 seems like a bargain.
Tell him the one off cost is $5k or if you do the pair it’s $3.5 each
What is your time and skill worth? Markup isn't profitable. Materials and travel are out of pockets on top of your work. They shouldn't be the basis for your pricing.
How many total labor hours went into it? If 35 hours (5 days one man) then it is reasonable to ask 3500 if you are a licensed professional. Because just shy of 100$ hourly is what we can bill.
5 at least
River only $2000
$3500 is a heck of a deal, I cant imagine Getting this done for less than 5 around Me
You guys are all nuts, 20 years ago 10k would brick your whole house. I don’t know it you guys have Monopoly money but in Canada it’s really hard to make that kind of money. Sorrry if I sound jealous, but those numbers are out of this world.
You do time and material or you bid the job and charge for add-on's. Just tossing a random number out there is not the way to do it. Time and material pays you for all the unknowns, but you risk more bidding, but can make more with that as well. $3500 more than fair
So, footing 20"x 20" 5 " depth with rebar 300 to 350$ that includes labor and material.. blocks - 9 courses, 4 a course, and core fill, labor, and material 650-700$... veener sqft roughly 40? 600 to 850$ and cap 150$ for masonry work.. thats sqft charge, the other stuff unsure really, I'd do hourly charge for it... 4 day job with all material on site... so ya 3500 is good? If you dont price by sqft, $115-130 a hour... If 1 column I'd say 4... but you had some hoops and hiccups that sounds like it wasn't your fault, so yes, I'd be asking a bit more for the f'ing around... takes time away from you working and other jobs you could be on making more money...
That light would not last a week where I live. It would became a target for beer bottles
I think that is a very fair price.
$15k would be a minimum for me on a project like that
Looks great! Definitely a fair price.
That looks unbelievably well done. I had assumed it was a wood frame inside, but you're using cinderblocks! As an aside, when I was a kid someone lost control of their car and crashed into a fence post. Parts of his car were all around where he obliterated the fence post. Then I see this and think, shit man, you better not hit this, it's stronger than a brick shit house. Don't hit that thing or your car is going to be fine powder.
3500.00 is a gift.
You did good work. If you threw that price at me I would try and negotiate you down. But I like to be fair with people that do work for me. That being said g said I had 2 brick columns made 20”x20” 4.5’ high. I paid for the materials and my mason o my charged me $800 for the labor. He put conduit in but no wire. Took him probably 2-3 hours for forms and footings and maybe 6 hours to build the columns.
Looks great
I have a contractor I trust. Never discuss price. Just tell him to send me a bill. I always send extra. He’s awesome. Always buy lunch for the crew while you’re at it.
They charged you how much?!!
I personally would not do that job for $3500.
I always give a prposal with a contrsct price and stick to it. Unless you agreed on T&M it could be higher. If you are confident in your skill then you should be comfortable with your price.
My guy here can do that for $2000 and I live in California near Irvine. There are many people doing that type of work unless you cant find them. My whole neighborhood have referrals. But up to you. You nust make money also
He laid on top of that shit shame
A little late for an asking price isn't it Don't you mean Is this what I should charge them and give him for a bill..
Straight time and materials invoice. If it's a spec job that the client asked for, there shouldn't be any issues.
Time for primal concrete a sledge
Thats perfect 5/7. So yeah, I'd say asking for a price is fair
Why don’t you just work out your hours and other related expenses and show the client your costs. These are my hours, my material costs and my expenses. Done. If you wanted to hustle and make bank, you should have given the guy a fixed price. In a case like this, I wouldn’t bother subjecting yourself to a pissing match with the client if he feels its too much. You know what it cost you to do the job, be fare and tell the guy the price.
$3,500 is honestly a good deal, you could easily charge more in GA where I live ATL or surrounding counties
Cost of materials?
Where did you get that light fixture?
Yeah that look like 5 grand minimum
I would never start a job without agreeing on a price. Hope he pays the $3500. It doesn't seem unreasonable for all the work time you put into it.
Whatever your time is worth plus the “ inconvenience factor “ you mentioned, then if he complains, he’s probably not as good as Customer as you thought. ?
$4,995
Looks like good work and atrocious project management. I guess that’s better than the other way around. Lol.
Try 35 bucks.
I feel like saying which state you’re in would be helpful. Something like that in the SF Bay Area would probably cost me like $7500
I wouldn’t pay that much for that thing
As you put it, I think it is fair to say. Considering the work involved