Pricing out of the ordinary items......

[Mike Hughes]

When a deck clean and seal job includes items like a trellis, or a picnic table, or something like that........what method do you prefer to price it?

Do you just pick a number out of the air, or do you actually measure it? (I have done both)


This was on a job I looked at last night: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1471628&a=11073115&p=44268515 I have not decided on this one yet.......has to be stripped and sealed.

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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA

 

[Clean County]

Hey Mike,
I had all kinds of problems with my computer when you and I were sending instant messages to each other. I have my my cable set up all done in my house so I no longer have to use the phone line like I'm using now. If it doesn't rain tomorrow morning I'm going to run the cable to the back of my computer and i'll be good to go at a much faster speed.
Anyway back to your question since my business is pretty much all residential I price jobs in my head based on how long it would take me to complete the job or whatever is that the potential customer wants to add to whatever it is I'm doing the estimate for. Like the picnic table your talking about.
Some people here may disagree how I go about pricing my estimates but my truck and trailer show that I take my business seriously and I look professional in appearance and of course I act professional when dealing with potential and hopefully soon to be customers.
If I measured everything out then it will cut into my limited time I have between doing estimates/jobs etc. There are exceptions to this I always like to no the sq.' of a house when I price it but either way I still go by time in my head. I'll catch you later. -John-

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[Craig Lawrence]

Mike,
I would bid the deck like any other deck and on seperate items I would estimate the time and material.
On a table, chairs, trellis, etc. it should not take that long. The materials would be minimal, so your chance for making a mistake should be limited.

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Craig Lawrence
Leisure Time Decks