This Sunday, I’ll be posting two new installments to my blog “The $6000 House.” I’ve been quiet because, well, there really wasn’t much to report.
Well, this past week has given me some things to discuss, things I expect will be of interest to this audience: Tax assessments and roof leaks.
We had a storm last weekend that revealed that my well-worn roof was no longer leak free. Pity that, as I had wanted to get at least another two winters from it. Still, I can’t think of a better time for a leak than now, as there’s still plenty of time before the stormy season arrives.
I’d like to go over the numbers a bit, simply because folks are always asking “how much should a job cost?” With the roofer coming tomorrow, I’ll have more details by Sunday … but here’s how it looks right now:
Roofer quoted $3500, with half in advance. Not an unusual request; the window guy works the same way.
Now, I had to suppress a groan every time the guy said he needed that much for the materials. As some of you know, I’m a contractor myself, and have access to the same sources most contractors use. I KNOW what the material costs are.
For my house, the costs -shingles, underlayment, nails, etc., …. will cost the guy about $1000 – 1100. This is somewhat less than the $1750 he wants up front.
Now, at this point someone might think that if the materials cost $1100, isn’t $3500 kind of high? $2400 for a day’s labor?
Well, here you need to recognize a few facts of life.
His tools and equipment costs money. That special truck that raises the dumpster to roof level costs big money. Insurance and licenses and permits cost money. Plus, I won’t know until he comes just how many guys are used.
A general rule of thumb -indeed, the multiplier used by many ‘non-profit’ groups – is that an employee costs 3x his base wage. Pay the guy $15/hr, and you need to collect $45/hr just to break even.
One also needs to recognize that tradesmen need to eat 365 days a year, but cannot count on every week being a week of eight hour days and forty hour weeks. That means he needs to be paid enough to cover his expenses for the thirty or forty percent of the work week that he’s not generating income.
Folks that try to get around these facts are fooling themselves. Hiring a couple of guys off the street only means the job takes longer, you have to do a lot more yourself, and costs are hidden. Odds are, your total bill will exceed the quote from the ‘real’ contractor. Most important …. where will the handyman be when there’s a need for a return visit?
If you’re using cheap materials, expect a contractor to charge triple for the job. Using premium materials will reduce this multiplier, as it’s just as much work to drive a nail into a cheap shingle as an expensive one. Any quote that is much less should be a caution to you. Mike Holmes might say “double,” but he’s usually using premium materials.
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Well, the new roof is on.
It took all day. There was a crew of four- a working foreman and three roofers. 7-1/2 hours actually on site. Looking at the labor numbers, let's assume 4 guys x 8 hours x $15.00/hr x and overhaed multiplier of 3. This gives us $1100 in payroll expenses.
There was some rotted theathing discovered, as well as some bad trim on the fascia and damaged or missing drip edges. So. let's up the 'materials' expense to $1200. $1200 + $1100 brings the contractors costs (so far) to $2300.
The roof proved to have three layers, over a torch-down membrane. That's more than the expected two layers. Dump fees would be about $400 - bring the costs of this job to at least $2700. Out of a $3500 job, that gives him $800 to cover everything else.
Not yet accounted for are the lift trailer (he brought the smaller trailer, rather than the truck), the two pick-up trucks, or the 'normal' utility trailer. Not accounted for are the expenses of maintaining his shop and office. Not counted for is the permit (probably about $40)
. The lift trailer, BTW, costs $31,000. It's a rather well thought out bit of gear. It has it's own motor for positioning on site, an aluminum body, and a clamshell top that opens to form a funnel to collect debris. Naturally, it also serves to lift materials up to the roof. My point is that even if you spread the cost of that trailer over 150 roofing jobs ( a years' worth), that trailer eats up $200 of every job. Thus, the guy will need to use that trailer for at least three years before he can be sure it has paid for itself. Spreading the cost over 450 jobs would bring the cost down to about $70/job .... clearly less than the cost of man-handling the waste multiple times.
BTW, that 'unexpected' work did NOT lead to any effort to collect 'extra' charges. His price was firm, either way. Personally, I much prefer that to the alternatives. Imagine if I had been quoted a $3000 price (in an attempt to be the low bidder) and was later faced with an additional $500 in 'extras.' Or, perhaps, if the guy just kept his mouth shut and shingled over the bad decking, and denied any responsibility for the eave trim that fell apart.
The weather has been nearly ideal. Much of yesterday was overcast and in the mid-80's, though the humidity was awful. The next few days are predicted to be sunny, which will give the new shingles to seal to each other. All I need then is a good storm to test the roof, before the winter comes.
You've presented an interesting and helpful analysis. I'm sure it will help others feel better about "those high prices" that contractor's charge. Being a guy who works on his own house but has a lot of professional contruction experience, I am only too happy to leave the most arduous tasks to specialized contractors. Roofing being near the top of the list.
There's nothing like a new roof to make a guy feel secure in a house under remodel. I was in your position about ten months ago. I got on the roofer's do-list late in the season and had to suffer through several rain storms under blue tarps. Adding additional battens at two in the morning in the rain and wind isn't a nice way to spend one's sleep period.
When getting bids for my roof, I asked for a line item for things like rotted sheathing, since I expected to encounter some. Luckily we didn't find a lot, but there was about three sheets of ply needed, spread out over the roof. I'd already replaced the facia. Having the line item, made it easy for me and the contractor. He didn't object to additional work and I didn't quibble about the cost.
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