# pvc pricing



## Jasonthompson (Jan 25, 2010)

I dont ever do big single-ply production jobs just repairs wondering what labor prices go for per sq. it's wide open like ten curbs, 4' high parapet wall around whole thing. I was thinking around $50 per sq am i under pricing it or over pricing it??? any feed back would be nice thanks everybody


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## 4 seasons (Dec 31, 2009)

Per square I am assuming you mean 100 sq. ft. If that is the case here. That Is very very low. Not sure what labor is down there, but that price would barely cover labor!


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## Jasonthompson (Jan 25, 2010)

Your right, but labor down here is so cheap not even funny. I just move my biz down here, and not big on production jobs but it's 800sq so that = 40,000 at $50sq what are u guy's getting or can u give me an idea of where to go with it, cause i don't want to screw myself. any help would be nice if u guy's don't want to tell that info i understand, Thanks everyone.


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## RooferJim (Oct 20, 2008)

you will be out of business very quickly at that kind of price.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

My standard reply to pricing questions always starts as follows: The per square price should reflect how much production you can do in a day x your hourly rate. Only you and your accountant know your hourly rate. 

Could I do a thermoplastic single ply such as PVC for $50 a square? I sure could, but it's have to be a large roof like maybe 100 squares and have very very very few projections and penetrations. Everything would be extra, curbs would be a man hour, pipes a half a man hour, edge metal extra, drains extra, insulation extra, tear off extra. So it all depends on what is included in that $50 a square. 

I actually don't think $50 is that far off for the labor of installing the membrane only. I think when it's all said and done: insulation, membrane, penetrations etc... You should be something like $100 a square plus materials, plus overhead/margin/profit. Then again we are talking averages, and no two jobs are exactly alike. 

I think that I can do a new construction about 10 squares a day per roofer complete on a typical job. If you have a 5 man crew that's 50 squares per day. Let's say you pay your guys $20 on average, that's $20 x 8 x 5 = $800 per day. Let's say that burdens (WC, SUDA, FUDA, GL, FICA) are 75% of payroll so that's $800 x 1.75 = $1,400. Let's say you have two trucks, a generator, 3 leisters hand helds, 1 robot an office, phones, etc... Can we say that's no less than $750 worth of overhead per day probably more? Sounds like you need to charge no less than $2,150 per day just to BREAK EVEN. $2,150 / 50 squares = $43 per square to break even. 

How Much profit do you want? Salesman takes 5-10%, and you should pay yourself a sales commission even if YOU are doing the sale, after all YOU are doing the work of the salesman. How much net profit do your share holders want? 10% is a nice round number. What about margin for error? I add 2% to every job for errors and ommission. 

BTW I markup my materials for sales commission, margin of error, and share holder profit, not just my materials. 

I would need to charge absolutely no less than $75 a square plus materials and have the job come off absolutely perfectly with zero problems or delays to make any money. I don't like those odds. 

Now let's say the job is a little tougher than average, you're not going to be able to put down 10 squares per man per day. There goes the WHOLE formula. If you have 4 men instead of 5 men, then in theory you'll have more overhead on the job since the job will take more days. Don't forget you have to pay for 365 days wirth of overhead in 200 working days per year. Do you offer health insurance, paid vacation, sick days, or any other perks? That'll change the burden factor.


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## 4 seasons (Dec 31, 2009)

As usual, well said Grumpy. For a job that large, you can't look at a figure of 40,000.00 and get cold feet. You can't look at the number like that. You just gotta figure out realistically what you can get done in a day. Then figure out what you need to make per day to come out comfortably ahead. Then do the math. Then add at leist 10 percent for all the unthinkables. Be confident about your price and kick some a$$.


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## AaronB. (Nov 23, 2008)

Seems like Roofer Jim is right. I can't shingle for 50 a square, and thats with minimal equipment needed.

You gotta do how Grumpy says.


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## roofermike73 (May 5, 2010)

New member here, but I think that Jim is right. If you are bidding a large project that someone else is buying the material for and you are installing then you would soon be out of business at $50/SQ. $50/SQ is what it would cost me to have the crew working and break even.


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## stevenee (May 8, 2010)

*S Ply bidding*

Grumps is right. 
Don't pull you pants down because you think it's to expensive. Either he pay's or you do for him.
$65hr. is fair all things concidered anywhere.

First time doing this sort of thing, so be gental my brothers.


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## jimsonburg (Aug 4, 2010)

You have more chances to get more jobs at those prices. but it is not sufficient amount of your work because labors are charging minimum 10$ per day. A roofer can do 10 squares complete per day if you have 5 labors for work they will complete 50 squares that means they are charged 50$ per day. That amount only sufficient to labors.


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## kimboy (Apr 29, 2011)

Your right, but labor down here is so cheap not even funny. I just move my biz down here, and not big on production jobs but it's 800sq so that = 40,000 at $50sq what are u guy's getting or can u give me an idea of where to go with it, cause i don't want to screw myself. any help would be nice if u guy's don't want to tell that info i understand, Thanks everyone.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

kimboy said:


> Your right, but labor down here is so cheap not even funny. I just move my biz down here, and not big on production jobs but it's 800sq so that = 40,000 at $50sq what are u guy's getting or can u give me an idea of where to go with it, cause i don't want to screw myself. any help would be nice if u guy's don't want to tell that info i understand, Thanks everyone.


 

Figure your materials out, make a complete materials list. Take your best guess as to how many squares you can put down per day or per hour multiplied by hour hourly or daily rate, add on your overhead and profit = price. What we charge is meaningless to what you should charge. If you don't understand what I am talking about labor rate, overhead, and profit have a meeting with your accountant and ask him to help you price the job.


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