# Price adjustment for L/f wall heights



## d-rock (Oct 21, 2009)

Estimating away...
working out LF/SF prices for various partition types. Someone I spoke to said he kept his price the same for everything up to 12'. I disagree because an 8' wall is using less material, so it should be cheaper. Especially in these times, people are losing jobs for a few dollars. Also I noticed -especially lately- that it's almost impossible to get a guy to hang 45-50 boards in a commercial/metal stud job. always seems to be all sorts of delays, mix ups, tops, penetrations etc..I figure, conservative number to be 25-30 pieces per day.


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## d-rock (Oct 21, 2009)

na huh...


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

mines quite a bit more at 12' than 8. I keep my 8' $ the same as 9' as long as there is 1 seam.


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## Drywall Tycoon (Mar 1, 2009)

I hate hanging 54" board. Especially when the doors openings are at 7".
I have to crawl through the openings so I don't knock the corner off the board.

Finishing it is great. But I can't spot the fasteners off the floor at 9'.

We run into so little 8' around here the last 20 years that I just reduce my normal price when we get it. Don't call the Wambulance.

Tycoon


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

I hear that. However here, the only thing we typically see that's over 8' is main levels. The rest are usually 8 or 7' 10"


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

some will argue the point that 54" is easier to finish and it is , as far as charging some extra per ft. you have to take in consideration the extra 1' on all the angles , extra on the butts , and extra on the beads... Myself I do not charge any extra, it's to complicated for the average contractor to fathom the extra materials , anything over that I will charge more if I have to run a double flat in a room or even more depending on height it only stands to reason more work more pay , especially if it involves scaffold slow and time consuming ... who ever thought up the idea of doubling on anything over 8' and triple anything over 12' anyhow ????


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## wnybassman (May 9, 2008)

d-rock said:


> Someone I spoke to said he kept his price the same for everything up to 12'.


Do you suppose he meant he kept his square foot price the same up to 12'? Say the usual price is $1.10 a sf for normal heights, but raises to $1.25 (or whatever) for higher heights?

That would make sense.


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## d-rock (Oct 21, 2009)

no. but i didn't articulate myself.. In nyc, as opposed to the suburbs, a drywall contractor handles all framing,sheetrock, taping or plaster and grid ceilings. So when i'm pricing partitions, i price by Lf to save time. that number includes framing, insulation, rock and taping. So in a typical NYC high rise, deck to deck is 12'. He told me he keeps partition LF prices the same no matter what the height of the walls, if it gets higher than 12' he adds more.
In this economy, I think if a wall is shorter and easier to build, less material, i should charge less. so i take the LF price and divide it, but only on material, because wether i stand up an 8 or 10 or 12 still takes the same amount of time.


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## Drywall Tycoon (Mar 1, 2009)

d-rock said:


> no. but i didn't articulate myself.. In nyc, as opposed to the suburbs, a drywall contractor handles all framing,sheetrock, taping or plaster and grid ceilings. So when i'm pricing partitions, i price by Lf to save time. that number includes framing, insulation, rock and taping. So in a typical NYC high rise, deck to deck is 12'. He told me he keeps partition LF prices the same no matter what the height of the walls, if it gets higher than 12' he adds more.
> In this economy, I think if a wall is shorter and easier to build, less material, i should charge less. so i take the LF price and divide it, but only on material, because wether i stand up an 8 or 10 or 12 still takes the same amount of time.


 Nope, 8' high walls take less time than 10 or twelve.
Example 8' walls. 1). You can shoot or screw your track up from the floor.
2). You can hang your top sheet without scaffold.
3). You can tape everything from the floor.
4). If you have a dw ceiling. Use regular box handles.

When you have to start rolling a perry around or even jump up on stilts.
You are taking additional time. Don't let them fool you.

Where typically in highrise construction, not all the tenant suites build out initially. You may not have the volume to reduce your standard rate.

Tycoon

Just a regular drywall Tycoon. Just like the rest of them.


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## d-rock (Oct 21, 2009)

Drywall Tycoon said:


> Nope, 8' high walls take less time than 10 or twelve.
> Example 8' walls. 1). You can shoot or screw your track up from the floor.
> 2). You can hang your top sheet without scaffold.
> 3). You can tape everything from the floor.
> ...


 Well, I can't put up top track on 8' without ladder or baker. we stand boards up on metal studs, so i do easily put up 12' myself. Taping is another issue, i don't use machines yet, and am not sure if i will, but we do run bakers and stilts.


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## d-rock (Oct 21, 2009)

if i really get busy i'm thinking of the taping machines, but i'm getting really mixed reviews on them. I'm hearing it takes the same amount of time as a great guy working manually. These are the cons i'm hearing

1- if board joints aren't perfect, you have to put machine down and work by hand.
2- mudd must be thinned on covering coat (2nd) . as a result, polish coat usually doesn't finish as well.
3- to much time spent cleaning machines
4- need 2 guys to do taping coat.

I have watched guys use them, and fly. but only in houses, never in a commercial application. Especially on a high end Park Ave residence....
This should've been a seperate thread!


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## Bevelation (Dec 20, 2008)

Perhaps you need to choose some machines and go without others. Let's say you pick out a set of boxes, pump, and angle machines of choice. Skip the bazooka.

If joints aren't perfect, you could run boxes anyway and do by hand what's needed afterwards.

With the boxes set up right, and with the right box, you shouldn't have to thin down your polish coat much more than what you would do by hand. Boxes, angle tools and pumps don't take that long to clean.

As far as I'm concerned 9' takes me longer than 8', even with just one joint. Some 54" board has deep bevels that make coating a real pain.


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## Drywall Tycoon (Mar 1, 2009)

Drock,

If you stand up all your board. I would consider coating flats by hand. I'm a large size 
Swedish-German American and don't like pushing the boxes on stand ups.

I think for the reason that the recess is broke on a stud it makes the recess more shallow. That's why you see some finishers leave to much mud on them and crown them.

The trouble with high rise buildings is you can only get board in there the length of the buck hoist. 

On 8' high ceilings I just tack each end of the track off a pail. Shoot the rest from the ground. most hiltis or screw guns give you an extra foot of reach.

Tycoon


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