# Some ideas



## Al Taper (Dec 16, 2007)

A few contractor that i have worked for. They only want to know per board. They want to headle the materail just want labor. Or they want you to work for prices that were in the 80s. I know we are still working for them prices. The materail has gone up but our labor has gone down. 
I think there is just a lot of guys that are will too work for nothing.
Like they will say $10 a board. They will proved tape n mud.They will say $10 x X board=$. No extra $ in it. After overhead there is not much left. I look at $10 board as a wage not to make a living. Maybe my thinking is wrong. 

Does anyone have any input or ideas to work around this?


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## taper71 (Dec 9, 2007)

They way I see it is why go through all the headaches of being self employed if you can not make a wage + profit and overhead, live comfortably and retire comfortably? I would rather work for a company with weekends off and earn regular paid vacation days . Take the bus and save a fortune in gas , insurance, truck payments, and let the buildings go to hell. I dont know about you but I have probably spent the equivalent of a university degree + to learn all that I have in this trade and I still can learn more.


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## Al Taper (Dec 16, 2007)

Its just contractor and HO(home owners) want u to work for penny. And if dont do it for there price they will get some one else to do it for cheap. I know its just the way it is, iam just bitching thats all.


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## S&SDRYWALL (Oct 21, 2008)

I agree. Some people want stuff done for nothing. I hate low-ballers, they ruin the industry. I am from North Dakota, most of the companies bids are similar. I say, in this industry, you get what you pay for, sure someone will do it for half what I will, but will it be as good of quality? On custom homes and stuff like that, I always tell the homeowner 9 days, from prefill to texture. They seem to understand because there building a cadillac, and just want a nice looking product.. The guys that lowball will work themselves out sooner or later.


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

It's really not any of there business what you spend on materials and if they want to provide them just to save themselves a bundle of money just paying for labor ask them if they are going to pay for all the constants also , like insurance and all the personal time involved with a job even though you are not on the actual job , do these contractors themselves do a job and not buy other materials for it ? oh course not , they make profit on there markups or discounts , seems to me even if you need the work let some other taper who don't give a hoot about his quality do it for nothing , might just as well go flip burgers at burger king...


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## joepro0000 (Jun 14, 2008)

You guys are right, and its places like craigslist that help low-ballers survive. I always think I should just work a 7-3 in a company as an estimator or a project manager and make good money with weekends off and chilling.


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

joepro0000 said:


> You guys are right, and its places like craigslist that help low-ballers survive. I always think I should just work a 7-3 in a company as an estimator or a project manager and make good money with weekends off and chilling.


 Weekends what are they anyhow as i sit here again because i figured a job and over by two sheets on a 60 sheet job what the , hell is it getting that bad that a contractor has to argue over a couple of bucks its only money:furious:


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## orangeparkdrywall (Feb 14, 2009)

hey i just bid a job here in fl i supply mat/labor 32 sheets of 12 foot 

hang,finish,spray,sand he wanted it done for 1000.00 I told him good luck.
next day he had hangers there. did i miss somthing!


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

I wouldn't have supplied it, but I would have done my labor for that. That is probably what they settled on. Did you try negotiating?


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## Al Taper (Dec 16, 2007)

I like how people are. They will already how a hanger/finisher. But they will have you price it anyway. Time is money.


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