What should I charge to drywall a room?

Question

My sister asked me if I would drywall a room in her house for her and she wants me to name a price. I told her I would, but I have no idea how much to charge her for the job. All the materials (sheetrock, joint compound, screws, etc) will be provided by her. She just needs to know what I want for doing it. The room is approximately 14'x20'x9'. I have to tear down the old walls and ceiling, hang sheetrock on the walls and ceiling, and replace a light fixture in the ceiling. I have no idea how long a job like this will take and I don't want to ask too little or too much. So any ideas for what I should charge?

Answer 1

Demolition- 6-8 hours (how are you disposing of the old materials? A 14x20 room will make a good sized pile)

Install wallboard- with easy access from the material storage site to the room, 2 men-3 hours. If you don't have easy access, or you have to cut down sheets to get through tight hallways, maybe an extra hour. It can be done solo, but it will take more than twice as long because the material is akward to handle solo -plus- you'll have to rent a drywall lift to do the ceiling by yourself. I'd guess 8-10 hours working solo.

Tape, finish and texture - this takes it to paint-ready state -- 2 passes at 2-3 hours each (with a half day to a day in between for the mud to dry), and an hour to texture.

All in, call it 24 hours.

A contractor might pay their labor $0.50-.60/sf to demo, hang and finish (varies by region), and they'd bid the job at $10/sheet to demo and $65/sheet to take it to paint-ready state. Your job is 20 sheets. So your sister might expect to pay a contractor $1500 to have the job done, and the contractor would pay his labor $450-550. Anything below $1500 would be a savings for your sister, and anything above $500 would be more than you'd get paid if your were just a laborer on the job. Maybe you split the difference and call it a $1000. Or if she's not looking to save money on the deal, she could pay you the contractors rate less materials. Either way, it's not bad for 3-4 days work.

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editorial-
161_IQ's answer is way off base. First off, fixed rate bids are the norm for this business. Secondly, it's totally unreasonable to expect your sister (or any customer) to pay a penalty because of your lack of experience - and charging an hourly rate would be doing exactly that. I think from your question that you understand that.

Answer 2

I agree with number 3. This is your SISTER for one thing, and you have little or no experience. Hopefully she won't have to call in a finish contractor.

If you currently have a job, how much does it pay you? Assume for a moment that FAIR to you, may not be fair to charge your sister.

I can get "hangers" who do excellent work for me, for $8 per hour, and not waste my money on them. I can get finishers for less than $12. These are people in the trade who know what they're doing.

I suspect you should come up with an amount, discuss it with your sister, and then cut it some. A room that size, especially alone, could take you more than a week, even at 8 hrs a day.

9 ft. ceilings? that should equate to 10 ft. sheets of drywall Do you have ladders/scaffold/tools? Can you fabricate "TOOLS/ Braces/helpers... for a one man ceiling hanging? Is there disposal available?

You probably should do some math PRE-Commitment and access how much time you can allow, and determine how soon your sister would like the job finished. You probably can assume 2 work days for tear down/disposal/cleanup of studs.

To hang you should probably assume a work week at least. You'll be hanging between 20 and 25 sheets of stock, depending on the size you have to work with. In this case it seems 10 ft, all around, with cuts, would be the most logical. Can you handle a 4 x 10 x 1/2 sheet of drywall? Figuring cuts you should still buy at least 10 % extra for waste or OOOPS.

To "finish"; probably the same. To tape and mud could easily take a week for anyone inexperienced. Being inexperienced you'll probably have to mud in 3 steps, possibly two. Sanding might take you 2 full work days. Will you have to paint it? If so that's a day or two at least.

Hanging the light fixture could be as little as an hour.

Cleanup after the fact should be your responsibility as well, and another days labor.

With all due respect; "too much or too little"? You'll know immediately if the price is too high, believe me. Too low probably can only be determined by what you and your sister both think your time is worth. I'm guessing; half at least, of what you currently earn anywhere else.

Steven Wolf

Answer 3

First of all . Are you going to the lumber shop and buy the items and deliver them.? Time and money and who is going to help you. the 4x8 wall material is heavy..You need some one or equipment to hold it to ceiling before attaching it. Did you ever do this kind of work? If so are are you fast and do a good job. If the answer to these questions are Yes then go by the job. Hurry, get it done , get out and take the money. How much do you think your worth, $5 hr or $25 Hr.?. V

Answer 4

Set an hourly price. Don't do it by the job because you will often be working for peanuts. As it always takes longer to do any job than you think it will. By tearing out the old walls you are in for a major task. Don't cheat yourself by setting a price. Of course they want you to.

Answer 5

Charge by the hour as it is renovation and not new work. Pick a rate that you think is equal to what you are worth. Which is determined by the amount of experience you have.

Answer 6

The cost of the supplies plus a reasonable fee for labor.