Siding labor cost

[Bolson32]

Anyone happen to know rough siding labor cost per square for LP Smartside? A mix of both BnB and lap.

We're building an addition and I'm doing some of the work myself. I sided my garage myself and was planning on doing that as well, but I'm starting to think I might be cramped for time and not sure I want to be that ambitious.

Location: Twin Cities Mn

 

[FredWanaker]

can't answer directly but I use $100 - $150 per hour per Journeyman and $60 an hour per apprentice when I am estimating costs, plus materials, and if a long way from them, something to cover mileage and time of transportation. Basically, if someone works 5 days a week they have to make a minimum of $2500 to $3500 a week to cover their time, licenses, insurance etc.. What would you work for a month if you had to cover all expenses including insurance, social security, workers comp, tools, callbacks, warranties, etc., out of that? I use that as a starting point to determine if a quote is too high or too low. Someone who works with something knows what is involved so beware someone is too high or too low.

 

[930dreamer]

3X material cost?

 

[jonesg]

home depot parking lots , any morning 6 to 8 am, $75 to 120 a day.
You want labor, not master cabinet makers.

 

[Bolson32]

home depot parking lots , any morning 6 to 8 am, $75 to 120 a day.
You want labor, not master cabinet makers.

Does this actually work? Sounds too good to be true honestly.

 

[Firebrick43]

Does this actually work? Sounds too good to be true honestly.

No, you get really crappy results

 

[jonesg]

nothing would get built if they put a stop to it.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Y'all can ***** about taking food from the mouths of whatever, but no one would touch the jobs I've offered, and I honestly don't have weeks to waste ******* around with idiot professionals who constantly ghost me, or massively underperform. When a 30-40yo man can't keep up with post-war vintage old lady, well...

I've pulled some pretty good guys from under the trees at the orange store. Got one now, fresh off the boat from Cuba, almost no English, but he does some nice flooring, carpentry, trim, cabinetry, n drywall work. He also willingly digs ditches and cleans up after hoarders. No electric, plumbing, gas, or HVAC. I'm trying to teach him a bit, but the language barrier is a killer. Show him the process, for something he doesn't know, once and he's a great assistant or off on his own, depending.

 

[jonesg]

its easy to sift the workers from the grifters, if they're carrying a packed lunch they have a family to provide for.
If they stand there with their hands in their pockets, pass by.
... just common sense.

 

[p00p]

I'm not going to try estimating the cost for you, but from the digging for quotes for removing the old [aluminum] to replace with new for a 1,300 square foot one level within the city, 25k.
The cost hardly changed if the removal was not part of the agreement.... for obvious reasons.

Regarding the use of self employed undocumented skilled labor; decades ago it was less dicey.
I just have much less tolerance with dealing with shadyness, which drives experience in being more self-reliant, or setting the moving mark on when to seek assistance. Do I always benefit financially trying to be a "DIY'er" ? No. Does it bother me? Not 100% of the time. What is bothersome, is knowing who I can trust & rely on is me.

Spending more money on one thing/person doesn't guarantee honesty, skill, & integrity.

 

[phred]

I was a construction estimator for 25 years and worked on projects world wide. Based out of Atlanta. When I retired in ‘20 commercial siding labor was 6-10 per sf for what you described. (Residential about half that.) I don’t have access to my old regional cost index anymore but Minneapolis was a bit higher than atlanta because of prevailing wage rates. Given the inflation we have seen in the past 3 years I would venture to say a middle of the road price for labor in your area would be about 15-18 per sf foot. (Residential about 10-15)

 

[FredWanaker]

My gardener is a fellow who came here legally from Mexico with $2 in his wallet 40 years ago. He has built a nice business, and he provides good workers for all landscaping and misc needs. i only use him exclusively, and when he is shorthanded, I've asked him how he finds help. He tells me that going to the Orange store is not such a good idea for many reasons. Laborers find work the same way most of us do, thru contacts and friends. Someone who just sits around waiting for work to come to them at the Orange store is likely to be the most unskilled worker you can get, and worse, you are on the hook for liability if anything goes wrong and they get hurt. I don't know what the current limit is but $900 a year used to be the limit on what one could pay to all their casual labor without having to declare them workers, and pay social security and other insurance like workers' compensation.

 

[nitroracer20]

If i could get a day laborer for 120 a day id take him tomorrow.

They are 180 a day by me + food.

 

[Jeff C]

We did an addition in 2018. Boxing and siding came out to roughly $6/sq ft. That was in the Raleigh, NC area for what I consider an above average quality installer. Add five rough years and you could easily be approaching or surpassing $10/sq ft now. Board and batten was even higher labor last time I checked.