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a gc friend of mine has asked me to
finish the drywall on his latest
project. usually i work for him by the
hour, but i would like to bid this one.
last i heard, the going rate was .30 sq
ft. other perameters, the finished product
has to be first rate, nothing is over 8
ft tall, i don’t know if the sheet rock
will be hung horizontally or vertically.
generally i use all purpose for the
first coat with paper tape and a banjo.
then i finish with light weight,
although the last job i worked on i used
mesh on the flats and lightweight for
all the coats and it was quicker. i’m
open to any suggestions, also i’m in st.
louis so that may make some difference in pricing.
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Matt, may not be much help but here in NY...labor for BOTH hanging and taping is around 60 to 70 cents a square foot. Just taping..i dont know. But maybe that will help a little. Later
*Matt, Until a pro taper answers, here's my two bits. I think 30 cents is too low, a little. If this guy is a friend, then you want to do first class work. On the other hand, its a money deal so don't work too cheap. Not much sucks worse than speculating on your per hour pay while sanding sheetrock. You want to be known for quality, not a low bid. In KCMO, probably 60 cents a foot, maybe even higher if I supply all finishing material. I know somebody will fire in that I am high, but I almost always make money.
*Purely regional...I lived in Frankfort, KY back in 91-93, I was helping a friend demo and rehab his fixerupper. Nice place, up on a bluff overlooking the river.Drywall crew showed up, charged $6 an hour. Very nice work, too. My buddy felt so guilty when the final tab arrived he threw in a few hundred extra as a bonus. The lead came back, "bonus" in hand to return it, saying a deal is a deal.Here in Southern NE, crews charge $9-12 to hang and another $9-12 to tape a 12 foot board. That works out to around $18-24 per 48', or 27-50 cents per foot.Any bending involved is usually another $15-25 per depending on difficulty, for example, two 1/4" layers bent on an arched doorway would be about $20 per opening.These are essentially labor only, with me supplying the rock, they supply everything else (tape, mud, screws and corner bead, etc).
*Matt:We would consider .33 cents to be "wages" only and not include materials, or profit. It also would not include texturing if that was to be part of the deal. Are you doing the corner bead? Bullnose? On a recent job for a 700 sf basement with numerous bumpouts, sliding door openings and bullnose we bid $3.08 for the whole deal including texture. I would consider tape and finish at .60-.70 for walls, .70-.80 for ceilings up to 8', texture at an additional .67 sf. That's the Rocky Mtn area.Thor
*good piece of advice for your first sub job is to charge a labor only price so that you dont overextend yourself and get burned on paying too much for material. At least this way you know for sure you will be making a certain amount of money and can prevent a loss.Pete Draganic