I am curious how you guys go about pricing cabinet work. I’ve done a lot of reading on this subject and there are a lot of ways to price your work.
Obviously you need to take into account ALL of your expenses, but in the end, I’m sure experienced cabinetmakers aren’t calculating a quote based on a cut list.
So how do you do it? Do you base it on:
Price per Linear Foot?
Price per Square Foot?
Price per door, per drawer, etc…?
Some other method?
Obviously there is a different price for a painted poplar kitchen than
clear cherry kitchen, but that’s not what I’m looking for. Just the method of calculation.
Thanks.
Replies
My calulation: (estimated time to build) X (shop/labor rate) + material cost +
profit = Bid.
Thanks for your reply. How do you calculate your profit?
bob
You can easily make up modular pricing for cabinetry, based on materials, fabrication time, overhead and tooling, transport, handling, site construction, installation, unforeseen elements and punch rectification. (what did I forget)
However, if you do not price the material costs on the day you make your quote, and do not plug in this adjustment factor, then you will burn yourself in the short term. Do an experiment. Price lumber from a few local suppliers and do the same with sheet goods. Keep a running tally over a month period. The pricing is as volatile as the stock market on some days. There have been days that the price of solids given to me changed from morning to mid afternoon.
I have gone to veneer mills with requirements for materials for jobs coming up, and because they had no logs in stock and they had no reserve logs in their system, all bets were off on the pricing I had to use.
You can make a linear foot price for upper cabinets and one for lower cabinets, with a factor for various finishes. This serves when you give ballpark numbers. When push comes to shove, only real numbers will keep your accountant and bank manager off your back, and put food in your family's mouths. JL
Bob:
This subject came up recently in the "Business" section. The following thread is worth a read as you think about this.
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=fw-knots&msg=34724.1
Hastings
You can have the most accurate estimating tools in the world, but if your pricing is not competitive, you won't get much business. So, in addition to developing an estimating process, you need to get an idea of competitive pricing in your area.
Good luck, Tom.
Tom hit the nail on the head so to speak. You must balance what the client is willing to pay and and is the price worth your time. We do very little work for profit, this is mostly a hobby for my wife and I. We have bid projects that we thought was a real bargin, and the client did not agree. We have bid projects that we thought the client would never pay and they thought it was a great bargin and even gave us a $500 tip after the project was completed. My $0.02
John
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled