Pricing for friends & mates

[Seasider53]

Hello all,

Just before Xmas I completed a 10 week "introduction to plastering" night school course and have since done a small ceiling at home (first job and an eye opener!) and have just finished a kitchen diner room for my sister at no cost as I just wanted the experience and she can pay me in babysitting duties when the World Cup's on!

I've learnt quickly in regards to how to rectify the few mistakes I'd made and also what little things to do to make life easier when doing my next job so feel a lot more confident than I did 48 hours ago!

I've got 3 jobs lined up for friends and wonder what to charge (they're fully aware they're not getting a pro in!)?

At this stage I'm happy to gain experience but equally want to make a bit of money for my time & materials spent, especially time as they'll eat into weekends away from the family.

Any suggestions about how best to approach this and what to charge either by m2 or by the hour? Took me approx 8 hours to do sisters room of approx 12-15m2 (2 coats skim & trowel up). In room had to work over kitchen units, cooker hob etc so probably delayed time to complete rather than a standard living room wall.

Any advice appreciated - cheers all.

 

[ashymoko]

shouldnt you be paying them???
I would be offended if someone wanted to come and practice plastering on my walls and want paying for the privelege!!!!

Only jokin m8 but there is that side of it.

I dont charge my friends and family at all, after all they are friends and family and i dont do stuff in return for any favours either, but each to there own.
I would say a fair price £50 a day cash plus your materials, but you shouldnt really be chargin if your not confident your gonna do a good job.

 

[Seasider53]

Oh I'm confident of doing a good job for them but appreciate where you're coming from!

Thanks

 

[Richard C]

As a general rule, I work around 2 hour sessions per mix which will see the all the walls in a medium to large room completed in a day. Including the ceiling will usually push that up to around 1½ days max but a small box room should be achievable in about half that time.

If it took you 8 hours to do 15sq/m then that’s pretty slow going even with obstructions & makes me wonder how you kept it workable! You’re effectively working at only around ¼ of the speed or less than would be regarded as the norm for most working alone, except perhaps those who aspire to super spread status. Bering that in mind, even a low rate of £50 day would still equate to £200/day in terms of actual work done, which is at the top end in the current work climate; & that does not allow for the fact you a re still learning. Providing your work is up to scratch, all that you need to do is get your speed up & a much farer rate for practicing would be to charge a total price for the room at, say, around ½ that rate & slowly increase it as you get quicker. I used another spread myself a while ago, his whose work was very good & he could hold his own on speed but he only charged me £130/day because he accepted he needed the experience.

Weather or not you should charge close friends & family is for you to decide; the odd room I would say no but a whole house would be another matter. Personally, I just charge for materials & Diesel so I’m not out of pocket & leave it to them how they treat me but I don’t take money. Sometimes there is a trade off for something I want done; sometimes I get a decent bottle of Cognac & sometimes the wife & I get treated to a meal out but if I believe I’m being taken advantage of (& it happens), I just make excuses about being too busy next time. Hope that helps

 

[islandview]

I think you should charge them something but probably half the price of what it would cost for a pro to do the job.

Im not sure what the prices are in your area are but I think if you did a room for around £150 then that would be fair.

This way you gain some experience and they get to give you something in return for the work you have done.

I know if it was me getting you to do the work I would feel guilty if I didnt give you something.

You just have to make sure you do a good job. If you charge them for something that is not acceptable you cant just say you did your best, you will have to sort it out for them. This is where you could end up losing out.

If you did it for free then any problems would be overlooked as you were just doing it for experience.

 

[Seasider53]

I like the bottle of cognac idea

Initially I'm hoping to just do jobs for that kind of a return and not to make any money out of it, however there will become a time when I'll no doubt have to ask for a wee bit more should I get any referrals so I'm grateful of your pointers.

 

[Richard C]

I like the bottle of cognac idea

Make sure they get you XO or at least a high quality VSOP, none of your 3 Barrels or the cooking VS crap