What is the going hourly rate in your area for.....

[Baz]

Tradework:

• Carpentry
• Plumbing
• Electrical
• Painting
• Flooring

Professional:

• Legal
• Medical
• Financial

Automotive:

I'm seeking input to compare my rates with other occupations to get an idea of where others are.

I've used the $55.00/hr. rate for years because I remember that as the labor rate I was charged on my Porsche years ago and figured this would help me break even.

Most of my work is not hourly.

But some projects work out better if charged by the hour.

Thanks for any input!

[911dean]

The company I work for residential HVAC $94.50 service call + $135/hr if not flat rated. Comercial $135 service call + $135/hr.

My family's auto repair shop $97/hr(55 years), Firestone down the street $110/hr

Dean

[pavulon]

legal here is about $250/hr. Medical is situation dependent.

[Baz]

Thanks Dean - I didn't think of HVAC with the trades - sorry!

Pavulon - thanks - I guess when it comes to rates many times that includes a staff along with the professional. I was just going by rate by myself but in many cases I have a helper too - but usually those jobs are done by agreed upon lump amount.

Here is a chart I pulled from a competitor's website that I thought was structured pretty good to make sure there were no misunderstandings on rates...



PS - yes I know commercial is misspelled - not by me....

[mikesride]

Heavy Duty Journeyman mechanics, Dealership location.
In shop $165.00 per hour
in field $195.00 per hour plus travel

[wdfifteen]

Independent auto repair shop - $85 an hour.

[porsche4life]

You forgot to ask how much for hookers... You know, to make sure you aren't paying too much.....

[Rick V]

The indy shop I wrench at is $85 an hour
My garage at home is $110 an hour

[Nostril Cheese]

5 dolla

[peppy]

Tradework:

Carpentry $20/hour per man
Plumbing same
Electrical same
Painting same
Flooring

legal $75-$100/ hour
auto $55/hour

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by peppy

Tradework:

Carpentry $20/hour per man
Plumbing same
Electrical same
Painting same
Flooring

legal $75-$100/ hour
auto $55/hour

Never saw a painter make electrician's wage. I was one for 10 years.

At one time I could make 300/day as a carpenter. It stood at 200/day all through the 80's until towards the 1992 recession. After that, I could make anywhere between if I could find work. Today, I have lowered my rate to 80's prices and I get turned down if there's a immigrant available to work for whatever it is they will take.

I could not have any more contempt for the American public and their attitude towards paying for a job well done by a well trained mechanic.

Most of the idiotic public won't recognize that we tradespersons refer to one another as mechanics. Most of the idiotic public deserves Jack-in-the-Box labor. They wouldn't understand the difference between horsemeat and USDA Prime.

The cabinet maker I used in the 80's had it down: he mandated that people suck.

That's the wages in my area, suck wages. But ass sucking lawyers haven't heard.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by peppy

Tradework:

Carpentry $20/hour per man
Plumbing same
Electrical same
Painting same
Flooring

I seriously doubt that, unless all of the above are illegal. Plumbing and electrical require a license and some degree of professional training, which typically carries a significantly higher price. I paid $50/hr to my neighbor's son in law for electrical work, that was the cheap rate to have him come out on a Saturday as a side job. It would have been more than double that had I hired his company. The only other pro that I've had to hire has been HVAC, I hire a self-employed low overhead guy that only charges $75/hr which is also a bargain. Everything else I DIY, so my guy works for beer.

[gduke2010]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Never saw a painter make electrician's wage. I was one for 10 years.

At one time I could make 300/day as a carpenter. It stood at 200/day all through the 80's until towards the 1992 recession. After that, I could make anywhere between if I could find work. Today, I have lowered my rate to 80's prices and I get turned down if there's a immigrant available to work for whatever it is they will take.

I could not have any more contempt for the American public and their attitude towards paying for a job well done by a well trained mechanic.

Most of the idiotic public won't recognize that we tradespersons refer to one another as mechanics. Most of the idiotic public deserves Jack-in-the-Box labor. They wouldn't understand the difference between horsemeat and USDA Prime.

The cabinet maker I used in the 80's had it down: he mandated that people suck.

That's the wages in my area, suck wages. But ass sucking lawyers haven't heard.

Yep, the working man is getting screwed these days. Not, only are we losing jobs to the Chinese but,we're losing jobs to the foreign competition in our own country. The pay for tradesmen is going to suck for a l9ng time

[911dean]

Originally Posted by gduke2010

Yep, the working man is getting screwed these days. Not, only are we losing jobs to the Chinese but,we're losing jobs to the foreign competition in our own country. The pay for tradesmen is going to suck for a l9ng time

I 100% agree with you. I'm giving my 2 week notice tomorrow. I've been a HVAC service tech for the past 20 years. It's not the foreign competition so much. It's that people give no value to this type of work.

[Evans, Marv]

As of three years ago in this area, the hourly rate for an independent carpenter/framer, tile installer, painter, was $40/hr. Plumbers got $60 & electricians were $55/hr. Normal civil/contract attorneys were $225 to $250/hr.

[Zeke]

We need to divide this discussion up to wages paid to employees and fees charged for services. A plumber on a company truck makes $16/hr here. The company charges more in many different schemes, some up to over 199/hr. A good bit of it is to sell up at the job and the employee gets a commission.

I have bee self employed for most of my life and I did not send out employees in lieu of me in separate vehicles. Yes, this is the way to make money, but I wanted to do personal service. It's a flaw in business to take such an interest in each job that I had to do the majority of the work.

However, I never had any reservation about presenting an invoice for work done.

I have a real problem with those that present an invoice for work done that never saw the work. Most of today's "contractors" ride around in a huge pick up and "check in" with the work being done by those they harvested out of the Home Depot parking lot.

I cannot find any trade work performed within the last 10 years that is anywhere near what I and my contemporaries did 20 years ago. It has become a lost and unappreciated art. I will say the 2 out of 3 PCA members that hired me did appreciate the workmanship. The third was looking at a cheap Lowe's display and thought anything seen at Lowes was a slam dunk. Obviously, they had never shopped at Lowes. You see a red entry door and want one? You become a fool, but I'm the fool because it didn't exist when I went to order it.

[fintstone]

I think that the most recent work I have had done was about $55-$65 hr for the lead "real" carpenter and about half that for his help who did some carpentry, paint, or whatever he told them. Had them gut a 1930s house and rebuild it. Needed demo, new foundation, insulation, wiring, HVAC, plumbing, decks, porches, stairs, landscaping, etc. Had to find used/salvaged hardwood to match/repair the old floors, etc. He subbed out the work that he couldn't do like plumbing, electrical, and HVAC (and made sure I got a good deal).and anything he could get done cheaper by a different crew than he could do like drywall. He and his crew were all legal white dudes and he did great work. Perfectly honest/trustworthy...I was living in a different state and just sent him money. I pretty much gave him free rein on the work and he contacted me regularly with options/progress. Even found my appliances on sale and stored them until the house was ready...and after getting a couple of estimates for taking down some large trees close to the house for $500 to $1000, he took them down himself at his normal hourly rate. Great craftsmanship. At first I thought his rate was a little high (high for the area), but you get what you pay for. He was a Pelican when he did my work...but doesn't much come here any more.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Zeke

We need to divide this discussion up to wages paid to employees and fees charged for services. A plumber on a company truck makes $16/hr here. The company charges more in many different schemes, some up to over 199/hr. A good bit of it is to sell up at the job and the employee gets a commission.

I have bee self employed for most of my life and I did not send out employees in lieu of me in separate vehicles. Yes, this is the way to make money, but I wanted to do personal service. It's a flaw in business to take such an interest in each job that I had to do the majority of the work.

However, I never had any reservation about presenting an invoice for work done.

I have a real problem with those that present an invoice for work done that never saw the work. Most of today's "contractors" ride around in a huge pick up and "check in" with the work being done by those they harvested out of the Home Depot parking lot.

I cannot find any trade work performed within the last 10 years that is anywhere near what I and my contemporaries did 20 years ago. It has become a lost and unappreciated art. I will say the 2 out of 3 PCA members that hired me did appreciate the workmanship. The third was looking at a cheap Lowe's display and thought anything seen at Lowes was a slam dunk. Obviously, they had never shopped at Lowes. You see a red entry door and want one? You become a fool, but I'm the fool because it didn't exist when I went to order it.

We've had this debate before Milt, but I still think that with some marketing and word of mouth advertising in the right circles you could be very successful. My father in law is a real craftsman, much like yourself. His passion is doing custom cabinets and furniture but he does a wide variety of remodeling and repair work. He has two employees but does much of the work himself and takes real pride in quality, enough so that he has gotten exposure in remodeling type magazines when the customer sent in pictures. He has never spent a dime on advertising and normally has about a one year backlog, despite living in predominantly rural central KS.

There are still people that will pay for quality and integrity, I'm definitely one of them. Eventually you realize that you get what you pay for. Your challenge is finding those people.

[911dean]

Zeke...$16/hr as a plumber, that's $32,000/yr based on 2000 hrs, why bother. A very low paying job for skilled work. Exactly why I'm getting out of HVAC. I see wages going down here tremendously.
Fortunately, I do almost all of are commercial service work, where I think wages will still be good if you can get the work.The company I work for also does residential ,which is where I see the pay will really be effected. It's becoming a very difficult market place for a small businness.

[Baz]

Thanks for all the input folks.

Per Milt's post I wanted to clarify what I was looking for.

Not what labor is paid....what the customer is billed for per hour.

Also - there is a difference in rates charged by:

a) One person
b) One person with a helper
c) One person and staff support
d) Shop rates

I'm more interested in choices a and b.

I work out of my house so do not have shop/staff overhead but I do have vehicle, travel, and my time expense to factor in.

Dean - sorry you are having to bail out there....hope things work out for you.

Thanks again folks...