Carpenter Going Rate

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Author Message   Handygirl Citizen Username: Handygirl Post Number: 503 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 2:27 pm:        I just had a carpenter give me a quote to drywall my basement and rip out the yucky ceiling tiles and am trying to determine what the going hourly rate is currently for this type of work. Although most jobs (large and small) are usually bid as flat rates, does anyone have any idea approximately what carpenters look to take home? And I don't mean laborers, I mean either the lead carpenter or a senior carpenter. Thanks   Shanabana Citizen Username: Shanabana Post Number: 125 Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 8:30 pm:        Between 280 and 500 for a day? There can be quite a bit of work beyond the sheetrock, with taping, prepping for paint, which can take several days depending on the size of the place. And isn't sheetrock about 8-11 dollars a sheet? It also sounds like there's carting involved?   Sherri De Rose Citizen Username: Honeydo Post Number: 42 Registered: 11-2005 Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 9:34 pm:        You guys are kidding right? $280.00 a day? That means $1400.00 a week or $70,000/yr. After paying 40% in taxes (self employed people pay the extra S.S. the employer usually pays. That means he would bring home $42,000/yr and out of that pay at least $14,000 yr in health insurance. You try living on that. The average blue collar, home improvement owner would charge about $75.00/hr and that would be at the low end reasonable rate. Just curious Handygirl....what hourly rate did your guy charge you?   Handygirl Citizen Username: Handygirl Post Number: 506 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 11:12 am:        To be fair, Shanabana gave a range with $280 being on the low end of her range. Sherri, your breakdown was helpful, but I don't think that either of us are trying to insult the work that you do, we're just trying to sort out the often confusing world of contractor bids. My guy did not give me an hourly rate, but he estimated approximately $1200 for one full and two partial days of work - which I think is fair. I will be assisting him during the full day of work (I can do drywall, although I'm not an expert and I can't do it without help.) He is also going to tear out the ceiling tiles and dispose of them.   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 2269 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 12:16 pm:        Handygirl - that sounds like a fair price. We re-did our basement two years ago and had someone come in and do the demolition, which included tearing down all of the ceiling tiles. The guy I hired to do the sheetrocking brought a helper and charged about 1,700 for labor. They had to add furring strips to some sections of the ceiling and then put up the walls and ceiling. I'm trying to remember how many boards we had to buy. I'm pretty sure there were over 20 all together. He spent three days. The first to put up the drywall, tape and first coat of mud. The other two days were spent sanding and applying finish coats. Our basement had lots of corners and a couple of windows to deal with and they did a great job. The guy I used is actually a union taper - this is all they do. Its amazing to watch them because as you know hanging sheetrock is not hard, but it is hard to do well.   Keywest Citizen Username: Keywest Post Number: 141 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 12:21 pm:        sportsnut, Who did you use for your job? Sounds like they did a great job and we will be looking for someone to do that to our basement in the near future. Thanks   Handygirl Citizen Username: Handygirl Post Number: 510 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 12:51 pm:        Sports, how big is your basement? We are not putting sheetrock on our ceiling but the basement is a decent size. We have to sheetrock over the existing panelling, but much of that needs to be stabilized (with 2x4s), we also have to install about a foot of plywood at the base of the wall all the way around the basement (it was cut out because of water damage) before installing the sheetrock.   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 2270 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 1:21 pm:        Keywest - I used a guy named Nicky (don't laugh) I have his number at home. He's actually done two jobs in our home as well as fixed a job that my dad and I did. One was just a taping job the other was actual "rocking" as he calles it. He is fast, doesn't like to make small talk. He does these kind of jobs on the side, either on weekends or after his day job ends. Handygirl - I'm really bad with measurements but I can try to let you know after I get home. I'm curious as to why you are going over the panelling though. We ripped all of our vintage 70's panelling and were surprised to see rotting insulation, corroded electrical boxes (non-galvenized of course)and rotting framing along the outside walls. We took the opportunity waterproof the block walls by using Drylock and plastic sheeting along the walls. The sheeting was then tucked into the french drains so that if there was any accumulating water it would run down the plastic into the drains. We then reframed the outside walls (it was only really bad in one corner), reframed around the hoppers, added insulation, swapped out the electrical boxes, moved some steam pipes and added a 20 amp circuit for all of the games/tv/home theater system etc. Added new lighting and new doors all around (the basement had four generic doors, one set of sliding closet doors and one set of bi-fold doors). The only downside was that the demo guys inadvertantly tore out the bannister leading down the stairs. The deducted from the price since they weren't supposed to do that but I had to install a new post, bannister and spindles which is not easy. Its not perfect because I know where all the flaws are but its 100% better than it was.   Abn14 Citizen Username: Abn14 Post Number: 32 Registered: 9-2004 Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 2:58 pm:        My carpenter bills out at $50 an hour.   Handygirl Citizen Username: Handygirl Post Number: 511 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 3:10 pm:        Sent you a PL Sports.   Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 10354 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 5:59 am:        I would strongly suggest stripping off the old paneling/sheetrock in order to reinsulate and repair any water damage, the way Sports did it in other words..   MM Citizen Username: Melandmike Post Number: 74 Registered: 1-2004 Posted on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 11:03 am:        Sports, Can you give a ballpark price for all the work you had done to re-do your basement? We're thinking of doing a job that seems similar to yours and got a ballpark estimate of $30K. We already have a toilet but wanted to add a sink as well, make the laundry area a real laudndry room, put the bolier and water heater into a "closet" and finish 2 partially finished areas (old 70's paneling, ugly ceiling w/ holes from elec work, etc) w/ new walls, ceiling, lighting, and carpet, as well as add 1-2 closets. It IS a big project. Does $30K sound reasonable?   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 2271 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 12:11 pm:        MM - I sent you a P.L. Your job is much bigger than mine was.   Handygirl Citizen Username: Handygirl Post Number: 512 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 5:56 pm:        This may be a stupid question, but can I damage the old cement by tearing out the old framing and installing new framing? I agree that, while I am redoing the walls, I might as well add drylock, a moisture barrier and insulation, but I was concerned about cracking the foundation, as I write this I realize how ridiculous I sound.... Also, I mentioned this to Sports, but can't insulation pose a mold problem when installed in basements? I don't have water coming through my walls, but the basement can get pretty humid in the summer when I forget to run the dehumidifier. Thanks all for the advice.   Handygirl Citizen Username: Handygirl Post Number: 513 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 6:00 pm:        Sports, what's a hopper?   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 2272 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 8:20 am:        Just another name for basement windows. We had all of them replaced about the same time as our basement redo. I should mention that our redo was a result of a particularly nasty rainfall that included loss of power for about 8 hours in may of 04 (I think). Our sump pump was out and the water started coming up through a hole in the floor. The water wicked up our furniture, the panelling, everything that was on the floor. It was a disaster. Thankfully now we have a back up sump and strangely we don't lose power as much as we used to.   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 2273 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 9:50 am:        Handygirl - here's a link to a pretty decent article on how to insulate your basement: http://www.the-home-improvement-web.com/information/how-to/basement-insulation.h tm Also, are the studs somehow attached to the cement walls? If not then removing them shouldn't be a problem. Our walls were nailed to the underside of the first floor joists and also nailed to the floor using masonry nails. Nothing was actually nailed/glued to the masonry walls. If I get some time I can take a few pictures of what our basement looks like now. You'll just have to ignore the mess and the toys everywhere.   Handygirl Citizen Username: Handygirl Post Number: 516 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 11:25 am:        Thanks SPorts. Yes, the studs (2x4s) are nailed into the cement. And our panelling is the good stuff, albeit somewhat green, from the 1940s (not the cheap 70s style stuff). That was part of the reason that I was going to put the sheetrock directly onto the panelling. However, just as your basement redo was the result of a flood, ours is the result of a township sewage back-up - 6 inches of wall to wall sewage in our basement. We had to have the bottom foot of the panelling cut out all around the basement, which has made the basement panelling a) much less sturdy and secure and b) easier to remove. I think that I am 95% ready to rip it out and start over like you did. Thanks for the link.   Shanabana Citizen Username: Shanabana Post Number: 133 Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 7:36 pm:        Sheri, I ain't advocating low wages, believe me! I was just relaying information, what a carpenter often bills at, not including any help, or mark ups on materials, and a profit/insurance mark-up that is usually tacked on. Carpenters will often adjust their rates depending on the size of the job and length of time that they expect to be at the site.