How much $?

[frugal is fun]

A friend of mine has agreed to be my handyman for a bunch of small projects. He started yesterday. Projects include some minor plumbing (he's a plumber by trade), closet doors, closet shelving, base board trim in my hallway and kitchen, a few missing tiles in my bathroom, etc.

He's already spent $130 on material and I gave him $150 yesterday just to cover his costs. We haven't talked about how much I am to pay him and I don't think he'll just come out and tell me.

So...how much should I pay him? Should I base it on the material he buys and multiply that by a certain percentage, should I pay him by the hour or should I just throw him a couple hundred bucks?

I don't want to under pay him but I certainly don't want to over pay him either.

any advice would be appreciated!

[Wendy99]

Maybe before he gets 'too far' into things you should try to discuss the payment and what he expects and what you can offer so there are no hard feelings and so that both of you feel the payment is fair

[mh3rdwheel]

Judy, you should immediately talk to him and find out exactly what it will cost you, get it in writing, because he may overcharge you.

Hope this helps.

[Russ]

I agree with Wendy.
As far as how much, try to find out what other handypersons get in your area.

See how PC I am?

[krbshappy71]

Irk, I would have wanted to know how much even the materials were before I let someone start. It might determine if I had all the projects done or just a few of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._minimum_wages

I wouldn't offer less than minimum, personally.

[Contrary Housewife]

Should have discussed it beforehand, but... $100 seems to be the starting place, at least around here. It was $100 to have our new screen door installed by the guy who painted our house (We bought the door). I was told it would be $100 to have the glass in the broken basement storm window replaced. And I paid $100 to have a small cabinet (that we bought) installed in the bathroom, plus an extra $20 for parts the guy had to go and get. I think when I had the roof patched a few years ago, it was $150. These are all jobs that took about an hour to complete.

[OOwl]

I have a laid-off friend that helps me like that around the house and it's often sooo uncomfortable, even WHEN we discuss "up front" what he would be happy with for compensation. He always seems to go slow and do a meticulous job (which I DO appreciate) but then it has him actually compensated MUCH less than he had predicted (he's just not good at estimating his time, and I'm certainly not for handi-work types of things). So, what's been working for us is that I pay for materials (up front), he ESTIMATES his time into it (paid when finished), and I will DEFINITELY pay for those two amounts. If I see that he has a lot more time into the project because he went slower than expected (because he really does have the free time right now) or he ran into complications with the project (and businesses that estimate work run into this type of issue, as well), then I compensate him to MY degree of understanding and comfort for that extra time, sometimes with an extra monetary "bonus" for job well done, sometimes by baking him cookies or providing food to go, extra groceries, etc. So far, it's been working out great. We're both happy and no one feels like he or she got a short deal. Good luck to you with that.

[Spirit Deer]

I agree, have the money discussion with him BEFORE he starts.

Definitely pay for his plumbing work at his going rate. He's a pro, why should he settle for less than pro wages?

I've been in the position where people (not friends) tried to lowball me when I had my own sewing business. It's not uncommon because people who don't do a particular type of work often don't realize the skills and time it takes to do a job well. Or they don't have any respect for the job and the skills needed, or understand the overhead involved. I did a lot of custom design work, which takes a huge amount of time, and estimating how long a custom job takes is sometimes difficult. Everything takes longer than you expect, so you have to try to balance what the customer is willing to pay with what your time is worth. The same is true for repair and fix-up jobs. Case in point, the small raised garden we recently built that I estimated would take two weekends, and it took a week's vacation and most of the weekends for all of May.

What we've done in the past when we hired pros for carpentry is to estimate the materials, and then triple that cost to cover the labor. It usually came out pretty close to what the bids were for the jobs, but these were large projects so that might not work for stuff that doesn't require much for materials. Then it would be helpful to discuss an hourly rate with your friend and keep track of his hours. And you can't forget about the 'as long as you're here' factor, because if you have someone doing work around your house, I can almost guarantee those words will cross your lips! And of course more time, in fairness, should equal more money.

The rates for hiring people to do small tasks are why I buy quality tools, own how-to books, and do extensive online research about how to build and fix things. As I've frequently told our carpenters in the past, tools are cheaper than them! I realize that's not an option for everyone, but I've never yet attempted something and then had to have someone else come and do the job because I couldn't. Lots of satisfaction in that.

Good luck. I'd have a good talk with your friend, just so there are no unrealistic expectations for either of you, and so you know what to expect in the way of a bill. BTW, feel very, very lucky he works slowly and meticulously, because you will be getting good value for the money you spend, and a finished product you'll be happy with that will last for years and years. Quality work really does show.

[Libby]

Are you a single parent? What type of 'friend' is he? An acquaintance or a true friend? The reason I ask this - yes I agree with a mutually decided price before hiring anyone an airing any questions you have and getting everything out on the table before hiring anyone. BUT if you're a single parent and its a fairly close friend - maybe he's just trying to help you out. No strings attached.

If he's single - maybe he wants projects to do after work to beef up his skill set and keep them sharp as well as fill up his void solo time. I've had male friends offer help for home projects for both my dad and I for no charge or for a nice home cooked meal. They wanted to do something productive with their time and some decent company.

Have a chat over coffee and hash out all the details. Maybe barter something in exchange for labour and pay for the materials? If it makes you uncomfortable not knowing what to pay him, pay the min going rate as well as covering materials and call it a day?

[mndtrp]

What Libby said. If it's a true friend, and he is simply helping out, I don't know if I would pay him his normal wages. Whenever my friends have helped me do various projects, I've paid in nourishment (beer), meals, and then helped them whenever they had projects of their own. However, I was actively helping during those times, and most people seem content with the sharing knowledge aspect itself.

I would discuss this with him at your earliest opportunity. Ask him what he was hoping to get out of it, and tell him you weren't sure what a valid compensation should be. If you honestly tell him you weren't sure how to broach the subject, and you're concerned about offending, things should work out fine. Either come to an agreement, or tell him you just can't afford his help at this time. Work out a payment plan, if necessary, but put it all in writing.

[oheoh's momma]

some people charge for the as much as the materials cost but that does not always work a $5 piece could take 2 hours to change. if you decide to pay by hour you to get references for quality and effectiveness for hourly wage. as far as throwing a sum of money that would be determined by the job itself. My husbands says for the jobs stated the cost of material plus 25 % percent is a fair wage. this is what my husband does for a living and he works on million dollar homes. i have pics of his work to prove it when I learn to post

[wjcalderon]

My handyman charges $20 an hour plus materials.
I've used a couple of other guys in the past and this amount is very reasonable.

[lwlynch]

better stop and get quotes.. just say it would be easier to write it up. usually my husband quotes a job, by material x2 for example..material 75 then the job is 150

[Wendy99]

Either come to an agreement, or tell him you just can't afford his help at this time. Work out a payment plan, if necessary, but put it all in writing.

IMO only have him do what you can afford and hold off on the rest. Owing money to friends can cause hard feelings and trouble in the end.

[Ali Lee]

We paid a man 20$/hr, just like above^^ to work on our camper. Plus while he was @ our home, if it was meal time he ate with us & I took out cold h20 drinks.