If you have good relations with the company your going to work for see if you can do on T/M (Time and Material) until you get the hang of bidding bigger jobs.


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The company is my old work place, real good relationship with them. I was the head welder there and now the boss man is having to weld so he called me up. I know they wouldn’t pay me what I would normally charge for pipe fence (which works out to about $75 an hour) so that’s why I don’t know how much to charge. Kinda sticklers when it comes to pay. I’m not having to buy material, everything will be provided except for my welder and consumables.


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I pay a guy 50.00 per hour when I have a job thats just welding he provides a bobcat and welding gear I provide consumables thats in idaho other places who knows and they do not have there licenses and paperwork, insurance, etc. but if you make 75.00 an hour now why would you work for less? if your doing it legal you need that much for it to sort of work

 

I wouldn’t lower your price unless your just trying to help a friend and make some extra coin but you drop that price once they well expect it every time best of luck stay safe.


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Thanks bo.

I’ve been welding pipe fence for side money for the past year or two, and just graduated trades school with my certs. I recently got hired on at an aluminum shop but it’s only part time and I could easily fit this fence project into my schedule. My problem with this company is, based on what I used to be paid, I don’t think they’d give me the time of day if I asked for $75. Think they’re expecting me to be quite a bit cheaper than that. The only reason I’m considering dropping my rates down is I’m tight on money right now and could use the extra cash. Just looking for a reasonable price to charge that would still make it worth my time. I might have to go talk to him tomorrow to see what he’s expecting to pay, thanks for the input.


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if you undervalue yourself everyone else will to. price it out per foot at your 75 per hour rate and give them a piece work quote, if your making that welding fence you must be fast and efficient, also then they dont worry if your sitting in the truck talking on the phone that they are being billed hourly. but remember you have school, a welder, practice time, and get up and go enough to finish your school, price it like its a piece of equipment with an operator.

 

Some times you can not work for former employers ! Especially if they think they can low ball you ! And if you take a job to cheap everything that can go wrong will ! Murphy,s law ! Just my 2 cent,s .

 

you cant run your own show for less than your usual rate. give them a (take it or leave it) hrly rate for" yoursself"where they supply equip - welder/fuel/torch/helper etc

 

Thanks for the input guys. Gonna go ahead and talk to him tomorrow to see about all this stuff. He might be able to provide a helper, machine and torch set up, but we’ll see. Thanks.


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give him the $75/hr quote, but if you really want to do the job then be prepared to offer significant "discount".

i don't live in US but $75/hr equates to £57/hr here. Working for a large-ish company, I wouldn't be paying anyone over £40/hour for a non-critical job like that. We pay anywhere between £40-60/hr for coded welders for vessel repair, and that's from big, tried and trusted companies with overheads. Regular fabricators we would usually pay £20-30/hr labour only which is the going rate around here.

Is the cost of living high, around where you live?

 

I guess the real question is how many feet can you hang in ten hours and compare to guys that charge by the foot in your area.

 

There's plenty of cost data available for metal fab online these days, you just need to make adjustments for your application. If nothing else they can help prevent you from screwing yourself too bad on a project.

Heres one: http://www.allcostdata.info/browse.html/055211000/Welded-Pipe-Railing

 

Be sure to include the cost of your liability policy and contractors license as those are required in most places.

 

Munkul, cost of living isn’t necessarily high, but when I first started out I got ahold of every other mobile welder in the area to see what they’re charging. I’m pretty cheap compared to a lot of them.

Bonzoo, working on a fence similar to this, I was able to finish about 300-350 feet a day. It will be just a top rail and hog panel welded into place. But, everyone charges by the hour, not per foot.

Thanks crooked. I’ll have a look at that.




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$16/ft plus materials is what I get. Sometimes I win. Sometimes....
not so much. You hit a boulder and troubles ensue.Good clay..... or on top of a block wall (as shown) you WIN big.

I know it isnt pipe. Pipe is far easier but fugly.... so I don't do ugly

 

See if they will hire you back at your old rate plus expenses to build the fence.

 

Old rates were under $10/hour. It was more of a “get the experience” kinda place lol


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If you need the work, price it to get it. Most of us had to do it at one time or another. If you said you had worked for them for under $10/hr, then you can charge $25/hr, and think of it as $15 for you and $10 for your equip. If you think they will pay more, go accordingly.

I have a side job, which is my former employer, I give a drastic discount to. I supply myself, welder and grinders/tools. He buys all consumables, gives me a shop I can work in a t-shirt on the coldest winter days, I make my own hours, and he is a great person who I can get paid from anytime I want. Unfortunately, my current job is working us 6/10's and I just don't have the time to get over to the side work. I like spending time with my kids on Sunday.

Good luck

 

Is this a job you are doing for the shop on their property or are they using you as a "sub" to build a job they were awarded?

Why be quite a bit lower than other on the bids, why not competitive? Recoup some of that learning wage.

I can foresee a situation where you will not be able to move your truck to a work sight (work/jobs and still lack of funds). If you stay low and get legal. Though you said cost of living is low,yet funds low?

Bid competively.

Good luck

 

Thanks for the input. Yeah funds are tight as of now, just graduated from school and starting out part time at a local aluminum shop so I could use the extra cash.


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Pretty easy to start chasing your tail from low bids. Bid to earn a few dollars, then something goes not as planned or just take longer than expected and it interfere with your part time job. Or a new full time position, more dollars....the fence job becomes a burden. If for their customer, then I suspect they will expect you to work to satisfaction of the client.

 

It’s for them not a customer, sorry should’ve clarified. It’s a huge project and my current part time job has talked to me about becoming full time in the future but not knowing when that will be might be an issue like you said. It’s a huge project that will most likely last into the summer


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Part of what is in the package of being a business owner versus an employee is the fact that, ultimately, the burden of the responsibility for decision-making falls squarely on your shoulders. Many employees do not recognize this fact. And so it is for you, levimeloy. The responsibility for making this decision is yours. That being said, it can be helpful to get opinions from others. But no one else can really tell you what to do. You are "self-employed" in this case, as I understand. Here are a few of my own opinions for you to consider. If you know funds are tight, try to realistically calculate the time you will spend on the job. Will it be five or six months? Then calculate what you realistically think the company will actually pay you. Ask yourself if you anticipate other work in that block of time you are considering selling to the people who want the fence built. Try to understand what the value of that potential work could be. Ask yourself which scenario is the one that will be the most helpful to you. Sometimes it may be better to use Wal-mart's approach - sell lots of time for a slim profit on each hour. I don't really advise that approach as something that is sustainable for a small business. I never like to lock myself into a situation where I am actually wearing out my equipment, and more importantly myself, just so "they" can put more profits into their own pockets. But there are, perhaps, situations when one is better off to do that for a short while. Again, there will be risks both ways. It is up to you. Wishing you success!!

 

You really need to come up with a per ft. price. Look at an 8 hr. day and what you can do in that day and figure that footage into $600 and go with that. Don't forget to add on what your hand will get paid as well.

 

Who pays the helper? Watch out for workers comp, employer taxes, etc.