# Need help with a guestimate



## Rucco (Nov 24, 2010)

I live near Cleveland and have always worked for someone. Ive gotten a few opertunitys lately to bid on some hangin & finishing but as a result of me being mainly an hourly guy I have no freakin clue how to give a price on anything bigger then a garage. Was wondering if there was a diferance in price for commercial work compard to housing. Ive got a job a guy wants me to bid on. He is suplying the bourd & mud its ruffly 3000 brd '. 14' high with standard commercial hang to the deck bs @ 12' 5/8. I know that once you get the stand ups finished the thing that eats u up is toppin out. As a finisher this isnt an issue for me and have a good gestimate of what to charge him but i have no clue as to what to say about just labor for hangin. Work isnt that pleantifull here at the mistake by the lake so I was thinking around .30 to hang but then I do not want to lose my arse on the tops. Do people charge hourly for hangin the tops over top of a piece price? 
Any ideas?


----------



## Bill from Indy (Apr 26, 2010)

really depends on topout needing done, for me...does it have to castle?..ribs cut for a better term..is there alot to cut out or is it just barjoist

I basically charge flat rate for footage then figure time to take on topout..figure an hourly rate for the footage at hand then figure together

just say you can do standup area for .25 and topout for 1$..figure your footage for each...then total it out...it really depends on what is at stake and you can only make the estimate to fit your needs...

But that is how i do it


----------



## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

i suppose it also depends on when you can get into the job. (my shift key is busted, so please pardon lack of capitalization)....how far ahead of the other trades can you go...how many penetrations? The best bet is to walk through and do an estimate on the hourly and calculate your footage price based on that. That's a fine line....getting the job or losing your a$$. Most important to the commercial companies I know, and it sucks to say, is sticking to the contract, and making sure to get change orders for anything not covered on the initial plans. The last framing/drywall/insulator superintendent I worked for was pretty hot for making all the real money on back-charges. If a box didn't have a mud-ring...cover it. If the plumbing wasn't finished but we had the go-ahead....cover it. then he charged an outrageous hourly rate to go back and fix it....lame, but i suppose it needs to happen on those f*&$ed up commercial jobs. Needless to say, you don't make any friends with the other trades if you do business that way. Personally, I can't do that.


----------



## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

Bill from Indy said:


> really depends on topout needing done, for me...does it have to castle?..ribs cut for a better term..is there alot to cut out or is it just barjoist
> 
> I basically charge flat rate for footage then figure time to take on topout..figure an hourly rate for the footage at hand then figure together
> 
> ...


Sounds reasonable. We are all in this to make money, I would figure out total footage (That includes every sq. inch on the job) by my rate then above and beyond that I would figure out how much time it would take a guy to top off and double his time and add that to the footage price. Hanging tops around bar joist and mech. always takes more time than we think, it is better to over figure on the hours than under-figure them and lose profit all around including the footage price. What is the point of trading dollars for dollars... that don't pay the bills. You would be surprised as to what a GC figures in for hanging.. So don't feel like you are going out on a limb and overpricing difficult hanging.


----------



## Bill from Indy (Apr 26, 2010)

silverstilts said:


> Sounds reasonable. We are all in this to make money, I would figure out total footage (That includes every sq. inch on the job) by my rate then above and beyond that I would figure out how much time it would take a guy to top off and double his time and add that to the footage price. Hanging tops around bar joist and mech. always takes more time than we think, it is better to over figure on the hours than under-figure them and lose profit all around including the footage price. What is the point of trading dollars for dollars... that don't pay the bills. You would be surprised as to what a GC figures in for hanging.. So don't feel like you are going out on a limb and overpricing difficult hanging.


Silver,
we are on the same page....i think...in so many ways we pointed out the same...after doing this for 20yrs, i don't give away anymore..i get what i want or let the next guy do it..those i do work for know what they are getting and is mainly why I get called back..as you know, there are some jobs that just don't go the way you want them to and it happens....you get a green super or someone that can't run a job right and it makes your time go out the window..but, in general, any scaffold work or aerial work is at least 4x more because of time involved


----------



## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

:clap: You have that right. I have knowen General Contractors on commercial jobs to figure around 40-60 sq. ft. per man hour. (by the way to pay union wages are not cheap with all the benefits) Can you imagine that ? I can just hear all you hangers out there gnashing there teeth saying that's it ? that's all ? , that is insane. It may be insane but that is how they make their money they don't work for free. So if you are bidding some difficult hanging keep that in mind, the GC is going to use his numbers no matter what we charge they at least most are in the game to make money... Unless you are a desk contractor which all they do is sit at home in front of their desk calling every sub around a 500 mile radius to get the lowest price to low ball then submit .... what happens is if they get the job everyone else loses...other subs are taken advantage of while they lose money big time the desk GC don't he already has you on a signed contract you are screwed... YOUR LOSE HIS GAIN.


----------



## Rucco (Nov 24, 2010)

*Thanks guys*

Your answers helped me a lot. Gave me a bit of confidence wich I lack in. Mainly due to me always being an hourly guy. You know the type. Dont give a sheet just give me the job and let me do it. Ive been in this trade for over 20 years and never realy cought onto the priceing end of it. This isnt anything like a garage or basement where u can just say "Oh um yeah just toss me a few hundred and i'l be happy" 
Thanks again:thumbup:


----------

