jim

if i supply all mat. tools etc what is a fair labor only sq. ft. price?

Al Taper

If you have the mat, and the tools why dont you do it? Is there rice and beans for lunch? Hand tools or boxes? Where do you live? What color are the walls going to be painted?

jim

i dont have time to do it. tape tech boxes tube etc etc are supplied, what should i be paying for tape top ready for orange peel? per sq. ft

joepro0000

20 a board

ThatDrywallGuy

lol,
.11-.20 cents per foot, depending on what part of the country

Chris

Custom Drywall Svc.

For my area (northern california), or just me at least... anything past .14 cents per board square foot is insane.

my usual pay rate is usually within .06c - .10c per sf......and if theres people out there that think thats ridiculously low, its not -- at least for my area.

heres my rule of thumb:

if its a standard floorplan (not too custom) with a flat 8' clng. plate ht, that can be hung for no more than .08 cents......i pay .06 cents. If you pay more than .08 cents, or your hangers demand more -- you're being taken advantage of.

and, for lack of a better word, im talkin 'rice and beans' hangers of course -- hey, its the name of the game :P ....my area is nothing but.

anyways, im dead serious....people can say whatever to me, im unfair to my hangers, im taking advantage of them, blah blah....

NO.

hey...i'm running a BUSINESS, people.

for the house i described above, considering TIMES LIKE THIS....as slow as the economy and new construction is, theres hangers lining up at my door that beg to hang a house for .06 cents or even for 9 bucks an hour.

theres people that even say to me, "wow...you're paying employees 1980s prices per sf"

well, hey........houses are selling for 1980's prices right NOW....am i wrong?

just think about that.

Also, custom homes....10' clng ht +.....i pay 10 - 12 cents........but as bad as times are now, my hangers can do it for .08cents. 2 years ago, i would pay .12 cents tops.

and if you guys are wondering, finishing is the same......actually, bottoms at .05 cents to rarely am i paying over .08cents.

intricate, 5000 sf+ custom homes, i pay 12cents.

custom hawk and troweled hand textures, im paying usually .08 - .11 cents.

smooth troweled hand textures, .10 - .13 cents.

machine applied spray texture i rarely go over .015 cents......yep, one and a half cents.


again people....this is in MY area....northern california...central valley to be more specific.

ThatDrywallGuy

.08 cents is starting to become the norm here also.

Chris

taper71

Okay let me get this straight. At 8 cents on lets say 5000 ft of board. That is a small cookie cutter house. 5000 x .08 = $400. Sorry to be insulting but you guys are stupid to work for that. Here is a bit of advise change carreers!!!!!!!!

ThatDrywallGuy

yeah pretty much sucks,

ive decided to take an hourly job out of state in IL.

will be moving by the end of the year.

their is just to much illegal competition here that will finish for $4 a sheet and
american drywallers are geting pretty scarce around here (FL)
i probably should have taken the hint long ago.
ive been doing this too long to think about changing careers, thats not an option. but moving to where im on an even playing field is.

we used to justify the lower wage ($5-6.50) per sheet by the sheer volume we used to do (600 sheets for a 2 man crew, with a cheap helper) per week, every week. with no slow downs , ever.

i worked 5 days a week for almost 9 years straight making $60K per year
but the houses started getting tougher, higher, more cut up and paying a whole lot less.

then add in our brothers from the south.

see ya later Florida, its been fun.

Chris

Custom Drywall Svc.

Oh yea, $400 bucks is correct, your calculator is sharp.

actually, i can get it done cheaper than that my friend.

an 8' house, 5000 board sq. ft.....i have 2 hangers @ 11 bucks an hour who come in at 5 1/2 to right under 6 cents for me everytime. Take that to the bank, thats no exaggeration.

.........yes....under 6 cents.

5000 board sf, these guys can hang in a day and a half, EASY.

so, those two together make 22 / hr........x 1.5 days (12 hrs)....thats $264 bucks.

..........under 5.5 cents people (.0528 cents to be exact).


this is reality. Ask me why im the most succesful drywall sub contractor in my area, please. Again -- THIS....is a business.

u wanna have 5000 board sf hung for 8 cents, be my guest -- you're being taken advantage of, or feel sorry for your employees.

will they feel sorry for you when your business shuts down?

hey, its a cold world.....act accordingly.

Custom Drywall Svc.

listen to this guy.

marinerito

hanging drywall .30 cents ,finisher level 5 .35 cents vancouver canada

taper71

And it is no wonder why your country has gone to crap. Well done to be apart of the problem buddy. There are special places in hell just for guys like you.

joepro0000

Right on said!

Dude are you seriously paying people 3-4 a board? Don't you see your killing our industry, letting contractors feel acustomed to those prices? Charge more money,stop being a pansey. Of course anyone can be real successfull paying so little, and charging so little, the low-ballers will always be working with jobs. But when those mexicans fall off your bakers and sue you for no workers comp and insurance on them, hey thats your problem. Houses can are being sold at 1980's prices, but the world itself is selling everything a 2008 prices. Bread does not cause 10 cent s a loaf!

ThatDrywallGuy

easy to say when your living under a security blanket provided by my crappy country.



its called capitolism,

you get the work done for whatever people will do it for. either you do it or you dont work, plain and simple.
if he can get the work done for a nickel, more power to him.

you just dont know the power of competition and how much of it is here.
its not like theres only 3-4 finishers in any one town, it probably takes you a week to finish 100 boards, its 3 days max here, because thats all the time alotted to you.

his contracted price is probably less than your price to just finish, its not like he can charge the same as canadian prices.
its all relevent, our pricing just isnt the same.
do you really think we would do it if we didnt have to?
.02 a square ft. can loose you a contract no matter how good you are

Chris

Custom Drywall Svc.

hahahha your kidding me right?

"charge more money"..........u think im one of these low bidders eh?

think again. im known to be one of the highest bidders in town....

let me rephrase: "ask me why im the most succesful drywall sub in town"

...

first of all, on cracker jack boxes, i make no less than 25 - 30% retained earnings

on custom homes, i make no less than 40% retained earnings. so, if you think im bidding houses at cost because i save on the labor, hahah....man, you got a thing or two to learn about how business and capitalism works.

if you want to think im one of these low bidders, think again. i dont stay in business to trade dollars or keep my guys busy.

ill say it a third time: "THIS IS A BUSINESS"

ill be honest......i dont consider myself a drywall sub-contractor.......im a business man.

people can say anything bad they want about me....i guarantee all the people saying bad things are EMPLOYEES. you wanna work under someone, its NEVER fair, sorry buddy -- thats life as an employee.

this is why you go into business YOURSELF.

Custom Drywall Svc.

THIS guy....gets it.

we have a 2nd generation family drywall business thats survived over 40 years, not by luck, but by ONE simple philosophy:

"BUY LOW, SELL HIGH."

so, again.....to call me the 'low bidder' is an insult to the way i do business. i agree with most people, those low bidders completely ruin the market. i know drywall companies working AT COST......half of them arent in business anymore -- go figure.

Custom Drywall Svc.

and seriously, is this comment really called for? Sorry taper71, that you're an employee.

no one is stopping your from forming your own business my friend. that's the beauty of the united states -- a free market society.

im sure you wish employees and business owners could all make the same money, or make whats 'fair' money.

im not gonna be as rude as you as to suggest i go to 'hell'...but i do know a place you could go where employees make just as much money as business owners:

try communist China or Russia.


thank you.

taper71

Now I can see why you get paid such low rates . I think maybe you need to grow some gonads and stand up for your right to a fair and decent living? 3 days to finish a house is acceptabe if you are getting paid damb good money, but not at 8 cents. Man that doesn't even put gas in my truck to get to the job let alone material. Competition means that you need to be better than not cheaper than. Maybe if you sold your self as a confidant man instead of bending over and taking it dry you would be able to get more respect and earn a better living.

Now here I get paid a decent amout of money and get to come home to a lovely wife and children and raise them properly because I do not have to work insane hrs to make someone else rich. I get paid good because I am good and if anyone were to come to me and say that they are now only paying me 8 cents a foot to finish - I would spit in their face for insulting my intelligence. Now I really do not care what country anyone is from we all bleed the same color ( rich or poor )and I would rather die fighting for a decent living than accepting the fate that people like Custom Drywall are forcing upon you all.

taper71

In my experience , I would get better responses from my wall than trying to convice you of human compasion. I take it that you have never known what it is like to starve, to not be able to pay all your bills on time, or buy your child that toy he/she really wanted because your boss is too busy getting rich of your back and making you work insane hrs .

Getting paid enough money to cover the cost of living plus a little entertainment and savings is all most people want out of life. Pay that and you will have a very succesful company like the one that hires me to do there work. People like you want that money and take it, but it doesn't last long because people can only be backed up so far before they turn around and start swinging. I like to believe that that day is comming because of the crappy situation your country is in because of people like you.