concrete per sq foot or flat rate

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Randy Ward

New member
have done a few estimates, answered a few calls regarding doing driveways, concrete decks etc and go based off .10 sq foot and have pretty much i get that "holy shit" from the homeowner each time. is it better to go at this with a flat rate, same price per sq ft or lower? few other companies in town but do keep seeing adds on craigslist saying concrete 55 bucks, house wash for a 1 story 100, 2 story 155 etc. feel like i am spinning my wheels here!?!
 
Randy Ward said:
have done a few estimates, answered a few calls regarding doing driveways, concrete decks etc and go based off .10 sq foot and have pretty much i get that "holy shit" from the homeowner each time. is it better to go at this with a flat rate, same price per sq ft or lower? few other companies in town but do keep seeing adds on craigslist saying concrete 55 bucks, house wash for a 1 story 100, 2 story 155 etc. feel like i am spinning my wheels here!?!
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I pretty much eyeball most driveways and give a quote, but I'd say I'm at about ¢10 sq. ft. up on 1000 sq ft. and ¢5-7 sq ft for larger aras.

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Guy Blackmon said:
Anywhere from .25 to .30 per sq ft.
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Randy Ward said:
have done a few estimates, answered a few calls regarding doing driveways, concrete decks etc and go based off .10 sq foot and have pretty much i get that "holy shit" from the homeowner each time. is it better to go at this with a flat rate, same price per sq ft or lower? few other companies in town but do keep seeing adds on craigslist saying concrete 55 bucks, house wash for a 1 story 100, 2 story 155 etc. feel like i am spinning my wheels here!?!
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Keep an eye on these bozo's, they'll be listing their equipment on CL before long.
 
I'm at .15 to .20. I back down to .15 when it's a bigger job.


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Seriously, think about it....... You don't price residential concrete like you do commercial. You mean you'd actually go clean a driveway (Lets say 500 sq. ft) for .05, .07 .10 a sq.?.....That's crazy!!!!

Do I get those numbers all the time?....Of course not....But if we get called for a driveway cleaning only, we still have a $175 minimum no matter how small it is.

If you can't make a profit it's not worth doing the work....IMO.

Just Saying.
 
Guy Blackmon said:
Seriously, think about it....... You don't price residential concrete like you do commercial. You mean you'd actually go clean a driveway (Lets say 500 sq. ft) for .05, .07 .10 a sq.?.....That's crazy!!!!

Do I get those numbers all the time?....Of course not....But if we get called for a driveway cleaning only, we still have a $175 minimum no matter how small it is.

If you can't make a profit it's not worth doing the work....IMO.

Just Saying.
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I'd do a 500 sq ft driveway for $50 as an add on, but not worth driving out of my way for. For larger areas, I have to give a better deal. I did a 8000-9000 sq ft driveway for about $600 a while back, and barely sold he job, because the last guy did it for about half that. (with a wand! Lol) $600 is pretty good for a day's work for me though. And I'm probably the most expensive cleaner in my area.

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Just want to be clear....I'm not demeaning or putting down what guys charge....you got to do what you got to do...My point is you should raise your prices to increase your profit margin. Again will you sell every job?...No...but when you do sell them it will be worth your time. Sharpen your sales skills...you can get those numbers.
 
Guy Blackmon said:
Just want to be clear....I'm not demeaning or putting down what guys charge....you got to do what you got to do...My point is you should raise your prices to increase your profit margin. Again will you sell every job?...No...but when you do sell them it will be worth your time. Sharpen your sales skills...you can get those numbers.
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Exactly....and this goes against every fiber of common sense, BUT IT WORKS!!!! I raised my prices AGAIN this year, and I have a higher closing rate than last year. Go figure. I can tell you how I do it, if you want to know....
 
Guy Blackmon said:
Just want to be clear....I'm not demeaning or putting down what guys charge....you got to do what you got to do...My point is you should raise your prices to increase your profit margin. Again will you sell every job?...No...but when you do sell them it will be worth your time. Sharpen your sales skills...you can get those numbers.
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Good advise Guy. If you can't make a profit then it's not worth your time. Move on. It's just that simple
 
Most add ons like driveways are discounted if we are already there doing the roof etc... We normally go over all the pricing for adds beforehand and the are agreed on. 95+ % of the driveways we do are just 2 car short with and without sidewalks and take maybe 20 min to do. I don't mind making an extra $40-$50 while we are there. Heck, it almost pays for one of my guys for the day and hrs the one doing it. If they change their minds and call me to come back out 2 days later ( which has happened a lot) then they pay the regular rate. I tell them this upfront as well. Normally they just say do it while hour here. Guy is right, sharpening hour sales skills and presenting all of the options and feature and benefits will definitely add to your bottom line big time.
 
I flat rate residential driveways. $185 if they are within 5 miles from me and then $285 to $485 depending on the location and size. It's extra if they want oil or rust stains removed also.
 
Larry Millette said:
Most add ons like driveways are discounted if we are already there doing the roof etc... We normally go over all the pricing for adds beforehand and the are agreed on. 95+ % of the driveways we do are just 2 car short with and without sidewalks and take maybe 20 min to do. I don't mind making an extra $40-$50 while we are there. Heck, it almost pays for one of my guys for the day and hrs the one doing it. If they change their minds and call me to come back out 2 days later ( which has happened a lot) then they pay the regular rate. I tell them this upfront as well. Normally they just say do it while hour here. Guy is right, sharpening hour sales skills and presenting all of the options and feature and benefits will definitely add to your bottom line big time.
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Good call Larry. We do the same thing. We'll tell them if we get the house wash we'll discount the driveway cleaning, and this usually closes the sale on both making for an even higher profit margin.

You will fail or succeed in your business based on profit margin, especially if you're a 1 or 2 man operation.

You'll never get higher prices unless you sell higher prices.
 
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