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Trim carpenter costs

12/6/24

Local trim carpenter has his own business. It comes with costs I am sure to run it. Tools overhead truck payments all that stuff.
Middle of nowhere Canada. Price to me to hire him is 75$ an hour.
Guy has a truck and site tools. Does nice work.
My shop, 750k of machinery plus trucks and forklift and inventory, 120$ per hour.

What rates are you seeing in your area? I am a bit sticker shocked but maybe I am behind the times. I am not critical of the fellow as i don't know his business model.

12/6/24 #2: Trim carpenter costs ...

RichC

Are you hiring that guy, or just bothered that you think he makes more money than you? If you are hiring him, it's a line item on your quote and the customer pays the cost, not you. Hired a plumber or HVAC guy lately? Everything they own is on his truck, and they have a fixed charge just to show up. $95 before they put on there tool belt.

12/6/24 #3: Trim carpenter costs ...

Dave edgerton

Not bothered he makes money, just surprised that prices have risen and state if the economy has fallen, or so they say.
It's a question to others no judgement on what he makes cause I don't know his costs a d don't care.

12/6/24 #4: Trim carpenter costs ...

Matt

They charge $55/60 an hour in Northern Michigan where I live. I think they area just getting as much as they can when they can. Absolutely not upset with them, and I suspect if there is a downturn in the economy, prices will get better. Know what your competitors charge and price accordingly.
There is another post on here about estimating for cabinetry. Everyone talks about knowing your operating cost and margins, but you also need to know what others charge for similar items. It�s a foolish businessman that leaves money on the table.

12/9/24 #5: Trim carpenter costs ...

David R Sochar

Member

Some folks believe the economy is terrible, and others say it is great. Like many other things nowadays, these facts are entering the same arena as religion - believe what you want. To explore it any further is to invite argument.

$75.00 per hour is reasonable here, if he is any good.

12/9/24 #6: Trim carpenter costs ...

Quicktrim

There is a shortage of good qualified trim carpenters / cabinet installers available. In my market I can now get 100.00 and hour to install and 75.00 is no problem. I work off piece rate and usually average more than that per hour.

I do however show up with a diesel truck, 14' enclosed trailer, with all tools needed to fix, adjust, correct, spray etc.. anything. Conturo edgebander, CA tech spray guns, touch up kit, 10" and 12" slide miter saws, festool 32 mm boring system guides, on and on .

That being said I also owned a full CNC shop with two cnc's , cnc dowel , case clamps etc... so I am way over qualified to install. The overhead of the shop ate up most of my profits. Probably my inability to run the shop correctly. I installed for 25 years and only did the shop thing for 4 so probably needed more time but leases are not cheap around here and I did not own the building. It does frustrate me when I hire help to do an install and they want 75.00 an hour and show up with minimal tools and are not quick about their work. I have several subs that charge piece rate and they usually average 100 - 150 and hour, they are good and I have no problem with this as I make my percantage and we all win.

The issue I have is with guys that want an hourly rate to just show up and they are not especially good. I believe that piece rate is the way to go it shows you who is experienced and efficient and who is not. This is what your pay should be dictated upon.

I shut the shop down because I could make more installing. But my body is slowing down so I will move into project management next year and use my experience instead of my body to earn my keep.

Can you pay by the job and issue a contract for the work ? Make sure you inspect the work before you pay and it should controll your costs and allow the carpenter to earn what he is worth. I am not a fan of hourly pay but sometimes it is unavoidable. It's hard for someone who is being paid hourly to not fall into the "employee mindset " This is just the nature of humans.

12/9/24 #7: Trim carpenter costs ...

Dave edgerton

Thank for sharing that experience @quicktrim. Valuable knowledge!

12/10/24 #9: Trim carpenter costs ...

Allen Chalifoux

Couldn't agree with Quicktrim more.
Everyone should be paid on performance. I ran into the same problem as you 30 years ago, my solution was to eliminate all on site work through, Allen

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