Helping you learn the fine art of plastering is one of the main goals of this column. Included in that is the skill of how to estimate projects. It's the profits from plastering that pay the bills and keep things going. With this in mind, last month we started talking about what I consider eight important factors that are involved in estimating jobs. We used the acronym "ESTIMATE" to outline the eight points. We talked about the first two, "extent" and "surface." This month, we continue with the remaining six:
#3: T = time: How long it takes to do a project is only part of the equation when it comes to figuring the time involved. Other things that must be factored in include the time spent going to look at the job, the time spent putting the estimate together, and then actually going to and from the actual project. You must figure your pricing with this time in mind. You may make $500 for a two-hour job (the time it took to do the actual job) but you may have 10 hours of time involved in landing that job. Which of course includes the time you spent looking at and bidding on jobs that didn't pan out for one reason or another. Something I've actually added to estimates is the "secure-and-stabilize" factor, which goes beyond the traditional time and materials. I use this as an area to charge for set up of the project, demolition and clean up, hauling away debris and putting furniture back if that's necessary-all the things that are above and beyond actually doing the repair.