# Drywall Estimating and bidding



## Drywall Swine

*help*

*How much would you guys charge for just finishing a basement? It includes a bathroom, a bedroom and one large living space in between the two rooms. no ceiling, getting drop tiles. It's 1200 sqft. wall area with 13 corner beads. 8' high. Quite a few butt joints though. Could really use the input*


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## Drywall Swine

anybody?


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## damudman

Drywall Swine said:


> *How much would you guys charge for just finishing a basement? It includes a bathroom, a bedroom and one large living space in between the two rooms. no ceiling, getting drop tiles. It's 1200 sqft. wall area with 13 corner beads. 8' high. Quite a few butt joints though. Could really use the input*


Well atleat 4 trips 600.00


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## select drywall

basements run a min of $1.00 per square foot by most companies. Some of the larger ones go to $1.50 for anything under 25 prorated 12ft sheets. So your right on the bubble. Of course a single guy on his own could be cheaper if he is good. 13 corners @ $8.00 each and your looking at $1304.00


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## kgphoto

$1300-$1500 depending on what it really looks like.


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## Drywall Swine

thanks


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## Basement Water

If you charged even $25 more a job, you'd make a TON more every year, you'd be able to live a decent life, and very few people would complain.



Al Taper said:


> This sound good and all but no one wants to pay. Or they will get some one cheaper.
> Case and point..
> I bid bathroom or one room jobs. Tape and Finish ...$450.
> I have to make 4 trips ,100 a trip.Plus 50 materail.
> sounds fair . But to some it too much.:sad:
> 
> Iam doing a kitchen right now. About 700 sf and 5 bead.
> I gave him my price $525.
> He got another price for $350. And told me that it only about 6 boards need to get finished. Ceiling and a few spots where there is no cabinets. Fine i went down to 350. So there was a crooked wall so he had to cut half the bead off. And some other touch ups in the other room that pop up after i started. So there will be a extra charge.I told him today what i will hit him hard on the extra and he rolled his eyes.:whistling


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## BattleRidge

thom said:


> King, am I missing something here? How many homeowners do you work for? I think of drywallers as sub-contractors working for general contractors. Sure, there is the rare occasion when a homeowner acts as his own general, but how big a part of your business can that be?
> 
> Try to convince a gc that thats a reasonable rate. Not likely. The GC's that I know know how long a job should take. They talk to other subs. In fact, I rarely need to look for a new sub when I feel it's time to say good-bye to one I've been using because there is a constant line of them calling me or stopping by my jobsites selling themselves. I just ask for a labor rate psf. They see the job and what's entailed, they don't need to take the time to measure, and they give me a price. If their price is reasonable, I can go look at some of their current work.
> 
> With your prices, I wouldn't bother to call you back. You would never be in business at those rates, at least in my market.



I also think his prices are pretty out there, Mebbe on a custom resort home of like an elevator shaft, but The prices you quoted in another thread were incredibly low as well.


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## misty

hello all. Im a taper in edmonton i dont hang the board or texture, just the taping and i get paid .25/sq ft. 1$ bead they supply. Is that a good price? i am about to start my own company and am looking to relocate in cananda. Where are the best prices ???


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## Tim0282

Misty
Do you fill and skim, ready to texture or sand smooth. Or are you saying you tape only. Someone else fills and skims.


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## taper71

Misty - Edmonton is in Canada -so are you here already or relocating here or somewhere else in Canada? The price you state is about a base rate in Edmonton for sub contract taping. Some people pay more some less - it just depends on how well you sell your self, and what the job looks like.

Tim out here in the cities, when you tape it means that you tape, block, skim and sand to a level 4. Ceilings are subbed to a texture company. In Calgary tapers only tape, block ,and skim. Sanding is subbed out and texture is subbed out. These are in the cities - in the smaller towns there are the drywall contractors that do it all from the insulating to the texturing.


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## Tim0282

Thanks for info Taper71. Kinda what I figured.


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## PalyMudMan

*Dont Come Here If Your A **** Assed Tradesman*

rule of thumb: 

anyone who will work for PEANUTS .. is obviously a **** tradesman.

NO ONE underprices themselves on purpose.

WHY COME TO EDMONTON TO TAPE IF YOUR GONNA UNDERCUT THE TRADE AT .25/ lf and 1.00 sq...

its pathetic.. so many " TAPERS " yet 95 percent of em dont know the difference between taping mud and finishing mud .. let alone how to do a nail or mix mud... pathetic joke to the trade.... STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND MAKE IT THERE>> EDMONTON WONT DO IT FOR YOU IF YOUR useless and your quality is under 95 percent in 4 days for ANY JOB UNDER 10,000 linear board feet....

good luck ....... glad im not the slave.


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## PalyMudMan

No One Touches My Work ... From Pre-fill To Final T.ups.


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## PalyMudMan

AND REMEMBER IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO DRESS YOURSELF IN THE MORNING FORGET TRYING TO MAKE 10 G A MONTH.... . JUST ACCEPT A BASE WAGE OF 20 / HR AND learn HOW to TAPE .. INSTEAD OF ... 
'


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## PalyMudMan

3000 and that final..... go find a quality taper that makes your house look like a million... go find it.. you will never know until your sitting smoking that j and you see that all your 3-ways are #$#$#$#$ed.

lol to that ...


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## Tony Rio

thom said:


> Try to convince a gc that thats a reasonable rate. Not likely. The GC's that I know know how long a job should take. They talk to other subs. In fact, I rarely need to look for a new sub when I feel it's time to say good-bye to one I've been using because there is a constant line of them calling me or stopping by my jobsites selling themselves. I just ask for a labor rate psf. They see the job and what's entailed, they don't need to take the time to measure, and they give me a price. If their price is reasonable, I can go look at some of their current work.
> 
> With your prices, I wouldn't bother to call you back. You would never be in business at those rates, at least in my market.


Here, his range is dead on, even in a depressed builders market Union in the middle, open shop at the lower end. Plus premiums for detail work.

I have also worked as a purchasing agent for a few home builders... I would never buy out work based on a SF price given to me without the sub reviewing plans and giving me a total cost, SF breakout, and the quantities they came up with. That's the only way to know if it is a responsible bid that is going to keep me from having to find a new guy in a few months when the guy who just shot me a SF price realizes he isn't making his margin and either asks for more or walks.


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## MetalStud

Hey yall Im new to this site. But please tell me that these prices are for the north. Cause if not then you all will starve down here in the south. Right now here I am getting $32 bd (comm) thats ready for paint. The only time I was able to charge $85-100bd was after Katrina. And that was all insurance work.


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## Tony Rio

MetalStud said:


> Hey yall Im new to this site. But please tell me that these prices are for the north. Cause if not then you all will starve down here in the south. Right now here I am getting $32 bd (comm) thats ready for paint. The only time I was able to charge $85-100bd was after Katrina. And that was all insurance work.


 
Here (Chicago) that is union. But hell, even the open shop guys charge union rates or close to it. 

Keep in mind, this is based on a 48 sf board, level 4.


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## MetalStud

Ok thank you for clearing that up. Let me ask this does the cost of gas affecting yalls pricing as well? Lord knows Im about to go up cause of it.


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## taper71

Mudstar said:


> its time to raise the price if you don't you will regret doing what you do for a living and endup with ***** for the rest of your working life. Everyone else are raising there prices. Don't be fooled by guys like the one posting above me. He's a fool


I agree. I know I will not do this trade for less than I am already making . The builders and a few of the drywall contractors around here are trying to drop prices by a few cents also - and it is just a game. The way It has always worked for me is that they want me to drop my price. I do and just start charging for extras that I wouldn't normally charge for and make more than previous rate. Then either I stop buisness with said contractor or they hire cut throats for 5 cents cheaper and get a hack job , maybe they even do a few good jobs first , but it doesn't last because this is way too tough of a trade to do for peanuts and usually the cut throats bail and I get asked to come back .


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## Buca1025

*Drywall*

I am located in philadelphia and i been charging $30 a sheet to hang and finish up to paint . Do you think thats a good quote?


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## MUDBUCKET

Mudstar said:


> its time to raise the price if you don't you will regret doing what you do for a living and endup with ***** for the rest of your working life. Everyone else are raising there prices. Don't be fooled by guys like the one posting above me. He's a fool


I'm not trying to fool anyone ,work maybe plentiful in your town ,but the rule of supply and demand does apply to all trades - if there's no demeand for your line of work and you raise your price your going to sit at home and wonder who's the fool...
Of the 10 builders I work for only 2 have built any houses in the last 10 to 12 months ,and the've only done that becuase they have cut costs across the board . In case you haven't heard there's a housing slump .


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## taper71

Go work somewhere else then. Housing always goes in cycles you drop prices now, when things pick up you are screwed.


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## CrazyTaper

I've found that moving into the commercial sector of drywall has really paid off. I had to change. You really can't go where the work is if your'e set in stone with a wife and kids. You just ride out the storm and the work will come back.


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## DowntownMN

*drywall and taping bid*



MUDBUCKET said:


> Here in the Minneapolis area I'm down to $22 per sheet to hang-tape-spray-sand ,including materials except sheetrock....good times...:sad:
> lots of price cutting going on we're in survival mode ,not money making mode.


how much did you charge for square foot to a builder? 
I live in minneapolis too


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## bomusic00

xxx


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## Mellison

This is an OLD post!


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## SLSTech

2007 
Now for those of you who can't figure out how many boards you need or how to price - call a Professional


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