concrete labor pricing...WHAT!!

[gregtwojeeps]

Now as a old man that poured concrete when I was in my 20's I will add a few bits. A self employed concrete contractor has overhead, taxes to pay, high dollar machinery to maintain, pays his top guys even when times are slow, just so he will have them when the weather breaks or the jobs come in or not...

Anyone that has poured concrete for more than just a few years will end up in his senior years with a bad back, bad knees and arthritis most likely. So his senior years will be spent running the jobs, not doing labor so much..

A self employed concrete man will not get a great company retirement pension, he will have only what money he was able to store away from his jobs he done. A lot of the times that money is eat away when the economy downturns...

Some jobs he did well on, some he broke even on. Most concrete men that worked in it for 30 -40 years don't have a long life expectancy from what I have seen of those I have known. To me, they earn what money they are able to get, as they won't make that good money year in and year out, all their lives. jmo

 

[spotco2]

I HAVE NO PROBLEM paying somebody for some labor but anything over $500 a week take home in my area is pretty good money. There's no way I'm paying a general laboror triple what I make.

Sorry, I couldn't buy groceries for $500 a week.

Also an employee cost about triple what they are paid.

I called a couple of contractors for estimates on repairing a cracked and heaved garage floor. The garage is a two car attached 24x30...
A real concrete contractor showed up in a truck and gave me a quote of $1800 for full replacement.

Uh, R&R a 24x30 slab for $1800 out the door? Are you sure about that?

 

[volleyball]

Hello everyone. I'm new here and haven't really introduced myself but I had to jump into this thread.

Here's a story about outrageous pricing...
I called a couple of contractors for estimates on repairing a cracked and heaved garage floor. The garage is a two car attached 24x30.

The first guy that showed up was from a concrete leveling company. They drill some holes, shoot some foam under the slab and raise it. They claim it's fast, immediately useable, and leaves a waterproof material that supports the load on poor soil.
It's a 2 man job that takes 2 to 3 hours. The cost "FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS!"
Apparently they use some sort of foam infused with gold, platinum, and unicorn horn.
I guess I should also add, this salesman showed up in a small car with the company logo all over it.

A real concrete contractor showed up in a truck and gave me a quote of $1800 for full replacement.

I'm one that believes, the concrete guys earn that money. It's labor intensive work. I'm willing to take on lots of projects, but a big concrete job isn't one of them. When the concrete starts pouring, the clock is running. You have to get it right before it sets or you have a big expensive problem.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the project. I need to wait until Michigan lets go of winter before it can start.

Great thread

If yours broke up, there is work to be done under the slab before you can pour a new slab if you want it to last. So his price is low for what you think.
As for the unicorn foam, the equipment isn't cheap. next he gets people who waste his time because they don't get it. He comes and fixes you problem today in a few hours in the middle of winter. Done. Set price.
The concrete guy may come back in spring and do your job if he hasn't gotten a better deal. Then it is a lot of digging out after you have cleared out the garage and stored it where? Then you get a concrete truck that may crack your driveway, a new pour and hopes the guy finishes it correctly. And you hope it gets done in 3 weeks. Now when your concrete guy dug it up, he found out that your site needed extra work and material so you add on another $1k.

Me, I am all for replacing a worn out slab and doing it right, but the foam guy may be your better solution. At $4k, you must have lots of heaving. I'd ask if they could make it $2500 to compete with the other guy. Probably not but they may give you a discount.

 

[ICindrich]

In RI you are looking at $180 to $200 a yard for flat work complete, $8 for footing labor and $17-20 for form labor. I'm a GC by trade and am friends with both my floor guy and form guys. They make a decent living but by no means are getting rich (not that anyone in the trades are).
The thing with concrete is that after a few hours, there is no fixing it. You will not be able to sweep a rough floor or you will have to cut every stud individually if the foundation is crooked.
Renting forms as a home owner costs more than hiring a pro, I think this is to protect the form guys.
Renting finishing tools is a **** shoot. If the rented whirlybird craps out, your gonna spend a long time on your knees using the steel trowel you don't know how to use.

 

[musgofasta]

I'm like most on here - an ultra-DIY'er. I've pushed the limit of my personal knowledge and comfort level for a lot of projects.

But for me the cost, labor and time involved in fixing a major slab F-up isn't worth the DIY savings. Get multiple quotes, get one you're comfortable with, watch the pro's do it right, and sleep well.

If you're seriously looking to save some on the slab, offer to be a grunt for the job or do as much grading/prep-work as you can by yourself.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

I'm like most on here - an ultra-DIY'er. I've pushed the limit of my personal knowledge and comfort level for a lot of projects.

But for me the cost, labor and time involved in fixing a major slab F-up isn't worth the DIY savings. Get multiple quotes, get one you're comfortable with, watch the pro's do it right, and sleep well.

If you're seriously looking to save some on the slab, offer to be a grunt for the job or do as much grading/prep-work as you can by yourself.

When I had my driveway blacktop completely removed, new base rock put in, and new asphalt put down, I learned something about the blue text above. ...

 

[T-Mac]

D.I.Y. is always cheaper but rarely better than a pro

 

[PWC Repair]

D.I.Y. is always cheaper but rarely better than a pro

That's why I do everything myself.........I live in Arkansas. When I remodeled my 8x11 utility room it was 3/4" out of square, no double studs at the door, and absolutely no header above the windows,...not to mention the 10/2 with a piece of coax cable taped to it (neutral) that was running the 220v to the dryer!! That's the way people do things around here.

And yes....$500 a week take home is decent money around here. I have one friend that makes over $30,000 a year, the rest of us all make less. Hence, the shop build because I stay way too busy after hours and weekends to not be self employed and make better money.

 

[Shoester]

For simply showing up to pour and finish the 'crete, I was quoted $.80/sf

 

[Banjorear]

That's why I do everything myself.........I live in Arkansas. When I remodeled my 8x11 utility room it was 3/4" out of square, no double studs at the door, and absolutely no header above the windows,...not to mention the 10/2 with a piece of coax cable taped to it (neutral) that was running the 220v to the dryer!! That's the way people do things around here.

And yes....$500 a week take home is decent money around here. I have one friend that makes over $30,000 a year, the rest of us all make less. Hence, the shop build because I stay way too busy after hours and weekends to not be self employed and make better money.

If this is the case, I'm moving to Arkansas!

 

[Mr Mat USA]

If yours broke up, there is work to be done under the slab before you can pour a new slab if you want it to last. So his price is low for what you think.
As for the unicorn foam, the equipment isn't cheap. next he gets people who waste his time because they don't get it. He comes and fixes you problem today in a few hours in the middle of winter. Done. Set price.
The concrete guy may come back in spring and do your job if he hasn't gotten a better deal. Then it is a lot of digging out after you have cleared out the garage and stored it where? Then you get a concrete truck that may crack your driveway, a new pour and hopes the guy finishes it correctly. And you hope it gets done in 3 weeks. Now when your concrete guy dug it up, he found out that your site needed extra work and material so you add on another $1k.

Me, I am all for replacing a worn out slab and doing it right, but the foam guy may be your better solution. At $4k, you must have lots of heaving. I'd ask if they could make it $2500 to compete with the other guy. Probably not but they may give you a discount.

I corrected my measurements on the garage (see above). The levelers do not do any concrete work. The concrete guy gave me quotes for the garage floor replacement and a pole barn slab.

The levelers overhead costs are not my concern. If he can't compete in the market then he can ask the government for a bailout. The only way this type of company can stay in business is if he can under bid new concrete. His solution to my problem would have left me with a level slab with multiple cracks for $4000.

The heaving wasn't that crazy. I think they were just trying to gouge me. He even played the, "If you give me a deposit right now I can take another 10% off." He pushed that line on me three times. The business model is high pressure sales.

The concrete replacement quoted me the cost to break up, remove, and dispose of the old concrete, add sand to back fill, compact, pour and finish the concrete for $1830. Adding wire mesh would bump the cost to $1990. I'm going with the mesh.

I'm not going to call the leveler back for another crack at giving me a fair estimate. They had their chance, and I wouldn't pay anything over $500 to just level what is there now. $100 per hour per guy and material costs. $100 of foam is really being generous.

 

[finn]

Mud jack guy charged me less than $400 to level a 12'X12' patio and 3 sections of siewalk. Still looked good 6 or 7 years later when I sold the house.

It only took a couple of hours.

 

[ffjosh]

I paid my buddy $1k (not materials) to do my pillars. Well worth the money having someone do the work that knows what there doing. If I would have done it I would have had $1k into fixing my screw ups.

Now im doing the forms. Stuff takes forever. Its not very hard but the time it takes to dig out the ground, get the boards, get everything even and ready to pour takes forever.

The worst part is leveling the ground.

 

[tlmartin84]

I will say this, I paid $1.10 a SF for guys to finish my garage floor around 5 years ago. That was one of the lower guys at that time. I had to form and place my reinforcement. He simply placed and finished.

Had I known how it was to turn out I would have done it myself..............

 

[jb3]

Im paying a concrete guy to put in a spot for trash cans and protect a gas meter with a couple columns at a rental property. Total space is about 9 feet by 6 feet separated by an existing sidewalk, and he's sinking a cut in half and concrete filled lolly column on either side of the gas meter.

The official reason for this is trash cans, but the unofficial reason is an entrance to a place to park on gravel for tenants of the building, thus the need to protect the gas meter from idiot drivers.

Total job is costing me about 1700 bucks, which is decent for this area. Im more than happy to pay that money to a guy who knows what hes doing and does a good job.

 

[goatsnhogs]

And yes....$500 a week take home is decent money around here. I have one friend that makes over $30,000 a year, the rest of us all make less.

Another reason to be happy to be union and live in the Northeast

 

[Lewisthepilgrim]

dude you are totally over thinking everything. If you feel comfortable doing it yourself, then go for it!

Make sure you have everything square. snap some lines on the inside of your forms so you know where to level everything off and go for it.

Its a GARAGE ! you are building a building to WORK in. Spend the elbow grease and build it yourself. If not for the reward of knowing you did it yourself, than for the extra savings involved

 

[buddyboy]

these laborers don't owe you anything.

you showed them the job, they quoted a price.

take it or leave it.

they don't care whether you hire them or not, the guys that give you the lowest bid are the guys that need the work.

all the bids you have gotten must be from guys that are in high demand, if you can't afford them then there must be alot of others in your area willing to pay.

don't look at what's in it for someone else, look at what you are getting instead.

 

[PWC Repair]

What I'd be getting is half-*** work. Starting footer forms tomorrow myself.

 

[spideytech]

dude you are totally over thinking everything. If you feel comfortable doing it yourself, then go for it!

Make sure you have everything square. snap some lines on the inside of your forms so you know where to level everything off and go for it.

Its a GARAGE ! you are building a building to WORK in. Spend the elbow grease and build it yourself. If not for the reward of knowing you did it yourself, than for the extra savings involved

This!

FYI: I just had a 24x36 building built and I paid $89 per yard of crete and I paid $1 sq ft to have it formed, poured and finished. I just didn't have the time or the desire to do it myself. But if you can do it and want to save $$$ then go for it.

 

[jdwilson44]

Is it just me or do the concrete guys stick it to everybody. I'm ready to start pouring a footer and retaining wall for my shop so I've done my research, priced materials and got some labor rates. Seems like a 2 man crew will come out and make a WEEKS WORTH OF PAY EACH in a day and a half.

Looks like I'll be buying some lumber and plywood and doing it all myself.

I went thru this a few years back when I needed to get the foundation poured for my barn. I contemplated doing it myself as I had already done a decent amount of concrete work - and even went so far as to research what the forms would cost me and so forth. Pouring footers isn't that hard if you can get a truck to deliver - and the truck can get in and dump right into the footers. If you need a chute to get the concrete into the forms - then you're talking about more work. If the truck can dump directly into ALL areas of the footers - then you could probably do it yourself if you're in good shape and read to keep going -HARD for a couple of hours. If you've got to hump it in a wheelbarrow to get to certain areas - now you're talking about real work and if your all alone - you'll going to tire out fast.

If you've got to mix it yourself - now you're talking about a whole different ballgame. You CAN do it yourself - but it's going to take a LOT longer and you'll have to keep going until it's done.

If you're thinking of doing the whole foundation wall yourself - that is also a possibility - you could look into some of the foam insulating stay in place type form systems that are out there. You can set the blocks yourself and then the concrete pours in. But those have their own issues. In Arkansas - you likely have termites - termites love the foam stuff for some reason and will eat thru it right up into the building unless the details are not done correctly.

As a price reference point - I paid about $8500 for a 28ft x 42ft foundation - with walls about 6ft high on average - with footers poured. I did the excavation. The guy who poured the foundation said he could have done the excavation for another couple grand.

This was like 5 or 6 years ago. In MA. So your prices may vary.

 

[jdwilson44]

This!

FYI: I just had a 24x36 building built and I paid $89 per yard of crete and I paid $1 sq ft to have it formed, poured and finished. I just didn't have the time or the desire to do it myself. But if you can do it and want to save $$$ then go for it.

Last time I got concrete delivered probably 3 or 4 years ago, it was like $95 a yard.

 

[jdwilson44]

Well I talked my contractor down from 10K to 3K + the concrete. His task was 1 days work to pour 50 yards and float it. I did the rebar, forms and excavation. I told him a 5 man crew for a day at anything over that was a bit excessive. It ended up being himself and two other guys for about 6 hours, plus him staying thought the night to float it.

Yes they can get out of hand.

Yes.

It definitely pays to shop around with concrete work. After debating a lot with myself on whether I really wanted to do the work or not - doing some research on what the concrete itself actually costs - and how much I would need. And then pricing out forms and what not - I started contacting contractors. I talked with five different people. And called a bunch more. Out of the five I talked to - only three ever showed up to look at the job. 2 of the 3 stood on my deck and looked out at the hole and then said they'd get back to me with an estimate. Then they sent me chicken scratchings on a piece of paper. The last guy wanted plans, asked me what I wanted to do - asked a bunch of questions - and then told me he would get back to me. He sent me a written estimate a few days later.

I gave him the job. He was excellent. Really knew what he was doing - and the whole thing came out as well as I could have expected. Plus if I remember correctly he was the least expensive of the three that actually gave me quotes.

 

[jdwilson44]

I'm like most on here - an ultra-DIY'er. I've pushed the limit of my personal knowledge and comfort level for a lot of projects.

But for me the cost, labor and time involved in fixing a major slab F-up isn't worth the DIY savings. Get multiple quotes, get one you're comfortable with, watch the pro's do it right, and sleep well.

If you're seriously looking to save some on the slab, offer to be a grunt for the job or do as much grading/prep-work as you can by yourself.

I had separate guys do the foundation and then the floor slab for my barn. I got the foundation done - built the whole barn myself, did all the prep work for the slab myself (foam insulation layer, covered by waterproofing sheet with rebar and PEX for in-floor radiant heat) - and then I called somebody in to do the floor. I wanted one of those nice smooth HOme Depot floors and knew damn well I couldn't get it by doing it myself. The guy showed up with a crew of five - for a 24 x 42 floor - and it took them most of the day to finish it off.

The crew was a bunch of pros - one of the guys looked to be in his 60's - and showed up with dress pants and nice set of loafers. He barely even got dirty during the whole thing. After watching them I knew damn well I couldn't ever done that floor by myself and gotten the same type of product out of it.

 

[spideytech]

Last time I got concrete delivered probably 3 or 4 years ago, it was like $95 a yard.

I got the price a builder friend of mine gets. It was back when it was cold so I paid $83yd for the crete, $3yd for delivery, $1.50yd for calcium, $1.50yd hot water. Yeah I know that's a deal and was very glad to get it.

 

[jdwilson44]

I got the price a builder friend of mine gets. It was back when it was cold so I paid $83yd for the crete, $3yd for delivery, $1.50yd for calcium, $1.50yd hot water. Yeah I know that's a deal and was very glad to get it.

The price can vary depending on how much you get , what the weather is, how much other work is going on - etc.

Around here it's actually hard to beat the price of the pre-mix delivered stuff - add up how much it would cost you in Sakrete bags and the truck-delivered stuff is cheaper. But they usually won't do anything less than a yard. So you had better be ready to use it all.

I bought a small Multiquip electric mixer a few years back - and that thing has been great for mixing in small batches. It'll do two 80 pound bags at a time. I've probably put a few hundred bags thru it.

I wouldn't live long enough to pour a foundation with it though.

 

[Hootbro]

I put concrete contractors and roofers in the same category. Their quoted pricing on the same exact job and amount of labor is a sliding scale on where you live and economic status. There is Doctor and Lawyer rate quotes and then there is everybody else.

I have called for quotes having exact dimensions, grade and slope measurements but 9 times out of 10, they never want to give a rough quote until they have your address and either come out to size up your economic status or google map your place.

 

[gipraw]

What I'd be getting is half-*** work. Starting footer forms tomorrow myself.

So now it is half-*** work just because you don't like the price they gave you?

Just because it is heavy manual labor doesn't mean it is unskilled labor. I made $30k or better a year in the early 80's working as a laborer/finisher for a concrete company in OK it ia hard work, but can pay well, and deservedly so.

Their quote isn't cheap, but I would pay it before I did it myself.

 

[juiced10]

I have called for quotes having exact dimensions, grade and slope measurements but 9 times out of 10, they never want to give a rough quote until they have your address and either come out to size up your economic status or google map your place.

I had a guy drop some trees that were hanging over my house. Halfway through the job I grabbed my tractor from my polebarn to help clean up. He looked at me and said " I didn't realize that was your barn over there. I should've charged you more" . I laughed and said you could have but I wouldn't have hired you.

 

[mx500]

"Unicorn horn". Mr mat I'm still laughing!

 

[ddawg16]

D.I.Y. is always cheaper but rarely better than a pro

You haven't been to my house have you?

Click on any of the links in my sig

 

[PWC Repair]

So now it is half-*** work just because you don't like the price they gave you?

Just because it is heavy manual labor doesn't mean it is unskilled labor. I made $30k or better a year in the early 80's working as a laborer/finisher for a concrete company in OK it ia hard work, but can pay well, and deservedly so.

Their quote isn't cheap, but I would pay it before I did it myself.

No no no.......you misunderstood me. The half assed work is what most want to do around here. " Well we'll just dig in a little deeper around the edges and pour it all at once." "Naw, you don't need no re-bar, we use the fiber reinforced stuff." " Just put up the building first then we can pour right up to your splashboards and be done in a day."

Sorry, if I wanted to pay for skilled labor I guess I'd have to find some skilled people first.

On a sidenote I took today off work and did all the grunt work setting up footer forms of 2x6's around my trench. Yes it was a lot of manual labor. I'm not experienced and did it in an 8 hour day. It will take me another day to set re-bar and pour concrete. I just couldn't find anybody that wanted to make some cash on the side. Oh well, more money in my pocket.

 

[BDSax]

Im trying to start my 30x40 steel building with a lean-to. im looking at 70-80 yards of concrete at $7500 for the 54x40 slab. im getting prices of people doing everything from $29,000 to $6,000 for only labor. im getting myself ready for the back breaking experience to save in the labor cost. some of the people are a little outrageous for wanting $19,000 in labor cost and thats not including digging the footers!

 

[PWC Repair]

Update!... It took all summer putting out word but I finally got a guy that knows his stuff and would like to make some money on the side, he works on the city crew. We talked and he came out and finished leveling up my forms and staking everything, then tied 4 rows of rebar in a square pattern into my footer. He had a helper with him and they poured, finished, and stabbed in the rebar that I cut for my retaining wall. After cured, I pulled off all 2x6 forms. Cost me $300 plus I tipped him. He is rounding up some borrowed forms for my retaining walls and will be pouring them 8" thick with rebar tied in an 8" grid. He is very picky, knows his stuff, and tends to overbuild as that's what he is used to doing. Finally found a guy trying to make a living and not a killing! These people are out there but can be hard to find.