# Question about stone work



## JoeyT (Jan 23, 2009)

What is the general going rate per sq ft for stone install and how much should a good stone mason be able to erect in a wall application in an 8 hour day? Thanks for your answer.


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## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

Go read my reply to your first post & duck, I hear the bombers coming


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## JoeyT (Jan 23, 2009)

*I have*

But even the biggest and most succesfull of companys keep an eye on what others are doing. Thats how they stay competitive. The details the article talks about comes in only after you have a base to work from. You have to keep an eye on what others are doing to compete. Otherwise your blinding yourself and will consistantly be unable to compete. We are a family bussines for 15 years and to this point have had success by word of mouth alone due to the quality of work we provide at competitive prices. Its way to competitive out there and would be naive to think you can have success while ignoring your competitors especialy now in the state of the economy.


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## dakzaag (Jan 6, 2009)

SLSTech said:


> Go read my reply to your first post & duck, I hear the ers coming


 

Aw your no fun:laughing:

JoeyT

I'm real new here but let me give you a hint, new guys asking pricing are usually homeowners acting like contractors just to see if they are getting shafted or not. Hopefully this is not you but you won't get much of an answer from the regulars cause this happens 10 times a day. They really flame and I think its the funniest stuff on this site. 

If your serious about wanting decent info stick around, contribute, read alot and then the regulars will play nice. (or not)


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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

Follow your competition by paying attention to the bids. Ask the GC what the bid spread was, win or lose. Most GC's will tell you. 

As for how much a mason can lay per hour, you should be able to work that out from your own records, since it doesn't matter what someone else's crew can do.

Here is something I read the other day:

Something like 70% of masonry contractors go out of business within 3 years. Thus, if you use the going rate, you will have a better than 70% chance of going out of business based on your pricing.

The only pricing that matters is what it costs YOU to do a job and make a profit. If you are not winning bids at your price, bid more, bid other projects, or reduce your expenses.


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

JoeyT,

Tscar is right about costing out work.Your question is wide open for comment from a wide range of people from all over the world here. 
But asking for some input isn't bad. If you stated, 
"I'm in AL, and we have been asked to build natural fieldstone walls, 2' wide and 2.5' above grade and 6" below grade. There is a slight batter to the walls we will build. The area we will work in is fairly level with good access. My crew is myself and two laborers. We will have a bobcat to move the stone around. The natural fieldstone we use is on the larger side and it lays pretty flat. What would you estimate the general going rate per sq ft and how much should a good stone mason be able to erect in a wall application in an 8 hour day? Thanks for your answer." You might get quite a bit of feedback that might be helpful.

I answer this way because in the 40 years we were building stone walls in CT with fieldstone we only built 5 walls that I would say were the "same" in spec and material. We built a lot of walls. Things need to be close to the same to give per ft prices.


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## stacker (Jan 31, 2006)

JoeyT said:


> What is the general going rate per sq ft for stone install and how much should a good stone mason be able to erect in a wall application in an 8 hour day? Thanks for your answer.


answer to your first question,all you can get.
answer to nuber two,all i can get my hands on.

i get anywhere from 12-15 sq ft labor in oklahoma.
and it depends on the stone being layed as too how much a mason can lay in an 8 hour day.ive had stone jobs i couldnt get 50 feet a day.and some i could get 150 a day.


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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

And the layout, and the coursing, and the setup, and the weather, and who got laid last night.

Sometimes I eat lunch for 3 bucks, and sometimes I spend 30 bucks for lunch. I have paid $500.00 for a car and $50,000.00 for a car. Ballpark, AKA "going rate", is a meaningless term.

It is like the calls I get 3 or 10 times a week, "How much is a pallet of brick".

Since I sell brick with anywhere from 300 to 1200 bricks per pallet, at a cost of 280 per M to 1100 per M, it is a meaningless question. How high is the sky? Can you match my paint color over the phone?


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