I have done nothing but watch your videos and work for the last 4 days....I'm not even a landscaper lol. I do have big dreams for my back yard though. Just trying to figure out what I feel confident doing myself and what would be best contracted out. I almost feel like I could do all of it, your videos are so informative.
Most landscape/tree work type videos are how to's in the field because the physical stuff just begs to be filmed. But this was such great info with glimpses into your personal business strategies and ethics, done from the office-the scariest place of all to work. Thanks for taking the time to sit and explain all that! So helpful.
You can calculate the area of a semi ellipse with (π*a*b)/2 where 'a' is half of the straight length, and 'b' is the distance through the widest point across. For your example a=10, b=4, so the area is 20π ft².
I was so focused on learning I didn't notice until halfway through your video that there was a Goku action figure on top of your desk. Nice motivation!
I am a home owner. I do not mind doing some work my self, and getting a contractor to do other work. (i.e. I to electric, but I have gas and a plumber come in.) I am looking at outside work. I have an area where I am putting in a patio. I am doing the framing, but I will probably contract out the concrete or blocks. It is good to see what goes in to a project, tools required and over all cost. It help me decide which way I want to go. Thanks for the video.
First time I see your videos and wanted to say you are awesome on giving advice . Im a Independent contractor so I'm always making sure I don't cut myself Short .Thank you!👍
Someone probably already said this, but a circle area is the radius x the radius x 3.14 approx. Then for a half, divide that in half. Much easier than your square method.
Thank you for your educational videos. I'm actually new in the landscaping business and I feel the need to learn a lot on how to price/quote projects as opposed to what I'm currently doing. I'm not 100% sure if what I'm charging per hour or any project is the right market price for any job. Most of the times when I give my prospects my price I get a rejection and it makes me feel bad. I don't like being rejected just like everyone else. That's why I've subscribed to your channel and I truly hope to learn from the pros and experienced contractors in the business like you. Thank you very much and looking forwards to more educational videos 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓!
Good for u guys. I hope it turned out well for you. I am just starting. I am not gunna work for someone for forever. I never did a patio on my own before. Totally shot myself in the foot with the bidding. But i went for it. Almost done. I wish it was pavers. Lady did not want the reg process. And had some old material she needed put down. I could not say no. With no job. And every penny spent on tools, I have to go out there and work
In Ottawa Canada the average price for a new Interlock installation is between $25 and $45 square feet. With my newly started company at 18 years old I charge $35 per square foot, as a new company you might be wondering why I’m not charging less the reason why is because I dig down at least 12” for patios and 24” for driveways. Doing interlock the right way cost the contractor more money. If I were to charge any less I would have to dig down half of what I do now which with our winters here in Canada, it would cause all the interlock to move in a short period of time. With all this being said my point here is going with a contractor that is charging $25 per square foot will only dig down half of what I dig down and at $25 per square foot you can be sure that the contractor will be skipping steps. So don’t go with the lowest quote, always go with the middle or the top.
For future reference: Area of a semi-circle equals (pi times the radius squared) divided by 2. [A=(3.14×r^2)/2] r = the distance from the midpoint of the straight edge to any point on the curve.
As a contractor in Massachusetts I have to tell you if you find a good hardworking landscaper female or male keep them and pay them well. It’s a hard work. I asked my landscaper to work with them for a week side by side to help the job move faster because of our time line and landscaper accepted my offer. Since then I have lots of respect for them.
I've always done my patios by square foot taking in consideration any difficult Excavating or highly specialized patterns or expensive material such as granite. So far it's worked out great for me .
Im a distributor for pavestone and have been asked only once about only doing a base. Only thing i came up with was to deduct the cost of the pavers and $1 /sqft Installation cost then charge the typical going rate for our area which ive heard is around $17-21/ft. One thing ive always informed customers is that they need to price out materials before they submit estimates especially on smaller projects. We sell only in pallet qtys and no returns on broken pallets so if they have to purchase a whole pallet just to get an extra 10sqft it can really take a bit out of profit margin if its not priced out at 1st...
I’m doing my first 700sq ft of pavers. I started my business a month ago. Talk about game day butterflies. Thanks for the tips, I have found you and Keith Kalfas.
jose Delgado how did u price? Front end loader? QP, 3/4 Clean stone, and 6” stone dust bro? Compactor? Demo Saw? You using all that stuff?? How did it go? How many workers did u use? Were they experienced?
Jill-of- All-Trades don’t let the material company over load with sand and gravel that you don’t need...if your renting the plate compactor make sure you know how many days you will need it....and make sure you have the man power!!...good luck
For the materials we use "Up to" language in our Estimates/Bids. Example "Up to" x amount of pavers @ X price each" That way if additional materials are required, we can charge for them. In addition for the labor portion of the Bid/Estimate, we simply state that we will install the "above materials" for x price. Again, that way we are covered for any extra labor associated with installing any additional materials. This also gets us out of having to figure out discounts if we go a little under. Our Bid/estimated quantities are fairly accurate, and in the rare case that we use significantly less materials, we adjust things accordingly. I just don't want to be ducking around over $25 at the end of a $5000 project.
I charge $10-$12 sq/ft + the cost of materials. I also charge for prep work such as excavation or demo existing patio. If your costumer doesn’t know what kind of pavers they want try and being few samples with you or your ipad with photos of previous work .
I just wanted to tell you, I've started my own business after 21 years of installing all types of stone and masonry projects, your videos are super helpful and I just wanted to say thank you!! If you have any advice for a business just starting out,I would love to have your insight into what the biggest mistakes that many people may make when first starting out. Thanks again!!
Literally taking notes Please keep them coming. Just like this one. 20 years in the business and just learned a ton from you. Well done sir. Eddie. Kelly Jax Beach Florida
Me and my dad are staring are own business and now were gonna become bosses not being boss imma take part of the landscaping,lawn care,and pressure washing,and hes taking care of hardscape and remodeling and this vid really helps.
Here in Central Florida we get anywhere from 5$ - 10$ per sq ft. It is on a sliding scale. The bigger the patio, the less it will cost. If we do a 10x10 it's 10$ per sq. If we do a 50x25 it is 5$ per sq.
I’m actually starting brick paving here in upper michigan. There’s few people who do it but also not much demand so it’s just kind of a side thing. I worked as a foreman on a brick paving crew for quite a while and want to do it on my own. Your videos are so helpful
I charge $28/sqft for Belgard cobble pavers, includes excavation geotextile, 4inch crush and run, 1 inch sand. I charge $10/sqft for concrete removal. Just signed a contract today for a 350sq ft paver patio using Belgard Dublin cobble, 120 sqft concrete pad removal, and threw in a firepit free. 11280. Signed within 48 hours of estimate. I draft up HOA documentation as well too though. Biggest thing here in NC is that you are punctual and communicate. Lack of skilled workers here in comparison to population and you can’t get anyone to keep their word. Do it right and be there on time, charge top dollar.
Right now lm doing my driveway paver installations for $15.00sq feet with concrete removal. Not to many contractors dare but l do. Times are tuff out there in 2924 Greetings from Southern California The Masonry Company
Find the area of a circle (A = pie R squared), then divide by two. I think that would be far more accurate than estimating by squares, at least if the area being worked is close to being half of a circle.
Great video my buddy and I are starting up a company, he's been in the business for a longtime now, but I'm fairly new but I've done lots of work with him in the past. Anywho just wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge.
My business is higher end finish and carpentry but I like your vids. Your a good contractor and teacher. I may never need to do pavers etc outside my own homes but it's nice to learn new things..
Hey thanks for the info on your video, I'm a handyman beginner and I am working on a quote for paving a patio about 370 square feet never done before but i have an idea how to do that I'm learning and it's always a first time , I hesitate then I'm accepting the job. Now to charge my customer I'm trying not to over charge at the same price I don't want to less charge and ending up with a work for nothing , so the market in Florida is about $12 to $18 , what do you recommend just a labor. Ty
Great information! I was wondering if you might have some advice on pricing a rebuild of an existing patio. The $18-$23/sq ft doesn't really apply here as I will be reusing most of the bricks. It's roughly 250sq ft and I'm not an insured contractor- I want to give a fair price but I also don't want to sell myself short. Is there a price range you'd recommend for such a job?
Just fired up my Hardscape business last year, would love to see an update to this. Prices as well as the times are crazy especially here in New England. Thank you for the great content
I like the fact of basing your square footage of the patio based off of the suppliers number. the cut waste can be missed easily for the beginning bidder. do you factor in a cull percentage for broken or flawed pavers on top of your square footage or does your supplier allow you to return those as well.
I just started watching your videos and want to say thank you for giving your advice... Question: To figure out tons needed for a job have you ever seen this formula? Tons= Sq. Ft divide by 9X 110 X INCHES DIVIDE BY 2000. ( YOU DONT CONVERT INCHES FROM FEET IN THIS FORMULA. if ITS 6 INCHES USE 6 NOT .5 ) that's WHY OLD TIMERS LIKE THIS FORMULA CUZ THEY DON'T HAVE TO CONVERT ANYTHING. Try this method if you don't already know it. It works well. I have no idea where the 110 comes into play. Thanks again, David Hoover Chattanooga, Tn.
Charging the $19.70/sqft, what’s all included in that price? The pavers themselves as well? Because there are pavers out there from $2/sqft to $15/sqft.
I'm curious about how you cope with the price range of the pavers that a customer could choose. I'd like for clients to choose the pavers they want before giving them a bid but, they usually need to know the price variations to inform there decision about what paver to choose. Makes good sense and I want to provide that information. How do you get around this? Thank you.
Who returns brick ? 108 sq feet on pallet of 4x4 brick I measure the job and add 10% for cuts and angles. In my area 4x4 brick goes for $10-14 a foot. For walks and patio, not drive's
So for example if I change 18 dollars per square feet that includes the digging base and you buy the pavers from your pocket and only charge 18 / square feet?
I always when I was in the concrete business would figure at least 3 inches wider on each side which was 6 inches wide for the project and I always figured it for 2 ft longer in the reason why is because I'm with your pouring a concrete driveway it's not going to be the same width all the way down it is but it's not because you will have to remember you've got the wing out the end for the pool in off the street so the bottom and is always going to be a lot wider and deeper than the rest of it is so if you do not allow for that measurement there you're going to be stuck by and concrete and fixing their yard back when you didn't figure that end of the cost
Yo Stan, See ya got a little Napolean Hill there. Brian Tracy is another great thinker. All very interesting stuff. Thank You for sharing all your experience
Thanks for your advice man! Apreaciated 👍I been doing all the upeset, and I tell them averything, I have 2 years an 1/2, off and on working small and middleman job on a neighborhood app , and I keep coming with 1,000 per week, very off time and price, 🙄😒😐🤔
Great video Stan, thank you for sharing your knowledge so freely. You are one of the best people I have run across on RUclips and I wish you the best of luck.
Stan I had a minimum price for the smallest jobs there was a minimum that it took me to mobilize get there and pay my labor for one day that was the band bond price for any job no matter how small it was that lost a minimum because it takes the same amount of money to mobilize for a big one day job as it does for a small one day job
Hi Stanley, 1st I want to say great video! 2nd I noticed on some of the other comments that they thought you were digging your own grave by giving out your pricing! Not true! Knowledge is King and if your hands on that usually helps alot too. The factor they haven't thought of is, they can have your pricing all day long and try to beat it or go over but if you are great at what you do and your previous work and references show it and you actually have your foot in the door, you will win almost every time! The customers I deal with are not looking for the cheapest bid if they even get comps which is rare for me since the majority of them are referred to me they still tend to pick me over the other companies which I (Assuming) ha ha you have the same out come... 3. it looks like we are bidding almost the same amounts and Im in Indianapolis IN. I just happened to run across your video and had to check it out 4. Gravel base here in Indy most the guys barely do 4inches (how do I know this? Well going behind well named co and repairing their settling projects do to either not enough base stone and too much sand and the biggest one is very poor compaction! 5. I love hearing someone else is using soil separator fabric as well I do it on every project 6. Back to gravel not sure what your formula is for figuring it but this is mine and always works perfectly for me with maybe a wheel barrow or so extra EX: lets use your 344 sqft patio as an example I would take the 344 add 15% for over dig which equals 344+15%= 395.6 then I take the 395.6 and divide it by 200 395.6÷200=1.978 Tons for 1in of base stone then I multiple that by 1.25 for compaction 1.978x1.25=2.4725 tons per an inch of gravel. so lets say you want 4inches 2.4725x4=9.89 tons or if you want 6inches 2.4725x6=14.83 ton and so on. And well for the 1in of sand I just use my first number of the 344+15%=395.6÷200×1.25=2.47 tons of sand once i have that then i just multiple that number by my gravel depth I need or want. (hopefully helps the guys learning) like to hear how you come up with your number. 7. As for ordering paver quantities I usually use my square footage times the 15% to account for cuts which 90% of my work is radius's anyways so lets use the 344 size patio with the 15% = 395.6 square feet now I have to look at the spec sheet on that particular manufacturer pavers and see how many square feet of pavers come on the pallets and if the manufacturer lets you buy sections as well. lets use unilock brussles now half stone 88.7 standard 94.91 xl stone 93.86 sqft per a pallet are we using a solder course lets say yes ok 80 +15%=92 lnft feet of soldiers 92 lnft ÷ 22 lnft a section equals 4.18 sections or 80 lnft x12 = 960 inches ÷ 8.25 (the width of the stone) = 116.5 stones plus 15% waste for cuts 116.5x15%=138.81 stones 138.81x's 0.19i sqft of each stone now equals 26.496 sqft of standard soldiers now I take the 26.46 and minus it out of the remaining square foot that we added the 15% waste to 395.6-26.46= 369.14 sqft left now we got the pattern percentages Pattern Y 57% xl, 29% standard and 14% half stone XL Stone 57% 369-57%=210.4 sqft of xl's .782 sqft per stone 214.4 ÷93.86=2.24 pallets so I order 2 palltes 1 section of xl's Standard Stone 29% 369-29%= 107.05 sqft 1 pallet 1 section 94.91+15.82=110.73 plus my 2 sections of soldiers Half Stones 14% 369-14%=51.67÷12.67= 4 section 12.67x4=50.56 sqft xl 2 palltes 1 section 219.01 standard 1 pallet 3 sections 142.37 half 4 sections 50.56 sqft total 411.34 sqft you have to purchase
I just charged $83 per square ft all inclusive for 60 sq ft. Your leaving money out of your pocket by being transparent. You may make up for it with the volume you do. I love your videos.
Awesome videos man! I been really considering to start small, I’m in Wyoming and I haven’t seen absolutely anyone doing this kind of jobs, hopefully soon! And I dig holy on your desk! 👍 thank you for investing the time and showing us the way is done!
Where do I sign up for your videos, tutorials, etc.? I would like to stay in the loop as our snow season is rapidly approaching, and I would like to start preparing and learning for the 2021 landscape season. Watching your vids is inspiring and motivating.
Great videos man! Our market in va is getting $12-16 a sq. With poly sand. Crazy. We've even gone down to $8 a sq. For a 6000 sq pool deck with 500 sq. Of retaining wall.
Great video/info. I just have to wonder, if I had 5 or so pavers left over on a job, just give them to the customer, no? They may come in handy one day.
First video ive seen by you and i liked it. I did my first paver job in northern California and it came out great, but now people want bids that i dont know how much to charge, how do you know how much help you need, does the square foot price include everything, base, sand,pavers,labor? Please help
Great video. Very articulated in your pitch. I've done Hardscaping but never bid. I do stone in my landscaping and small retaining walls using my own formulas. It helps out alot. Thanks for the info!
Cool I enjoyed the video. We are at the high end of our price bracket because we offer high end finish. To me square up the site could save working out the cuts. Please help me here. Australia vs USA but business is business.
So I'm trying to figure a commercial job out and I'm not to sure how to find out what the local going rate per square foot is I was offered 1.50 per square foot. I live in Florida but that still seems super low for even Florida
Thanks for doing the video. As a customer looking for a contractor for my project, I feel a little better in what to look for. I had no idea there was a market price per square ft for paver projects. I need to do a little research to find the going price in my area. This way I can better estimate the cost of my project so I'm not in "sticker shock" up front.Bill - Deltona Florida
for a backyard paver job what criteria do you have for using a 6" base versus a 4"? If I understand correctly you have compacted soil, a plastic sheet (porous?), 4" to 6" base material (grade 5 stone), compacted and 1" of regular sand, then the pavers. Brush sand between pavers, compact, repeat till compacted sand is level with pavers. Is this correct? Oh... I forgot grading the compacted soil (water drainage away from house, anything else I missed? ;-)
Your prices are the cheapest I could find from multiple bids in oregon. A lot of contractors are charging 40 to 50 square foot here for pavers, it's insane.
So say you charge 20 per sq ft- how do you account for the differences in paver costs? For example someone may want pavers that are 16 per sq ft, and another person may want ones that are 3 per sq ft. Do you still charge both customers 20 per sq ft?
Thank for the videos Stanley. I'm a homeowner looking to get pavers in my yard, 1000-1200sqft depending on design. I'm thinking of buying all the materials and just paying for labor. What are your thoughts on that approach?
does your base prep work alone (1 dollar per sqft per 1 inch) include excavating native soil and haul out? or Is that price assuming you need to bring in and pack base material alone and build up to grade
Dang...i dont think that price is bad at all. Doing my own 400 Sq ft patio with $4/ft2 pavers and I have $4400 into it including rentals. I dug it by hand. Had I known I get could it done for $8k I would have 2 months of my life back! Wait..... Is that just install price???
Hey thanks for this information, very helpful, I'm in the west-Chicagoland area and finally starting to focus on my business. I will definitely bookmark you, that's awesome in sharing knowledge!
Love your videos I came across them while looking for excavator videos. I'm a Mason/builder/ excavator. I've been in business for almost 20 years but I don't have a system or any office support. I do make money at times but usually break even and last year I almost lost my home. I will try to use your advice. Thank you.
Thanks, but what is the range for 2021? Also is 10" below the frost line, seems like no matter what you do, heave is going to be a problem in your area.
I buy paving stones by the skid load, and use them for multiple clients and projects. So, I just figure out the square footage by drawing the patio on grid paper and counting the square feet including the square footage of paving stones that are outside the drawing and will be cutting.... then charge based on the amount of cuts PLUS SF.Question...., When you say 10 inches of base, is that compacted base, or not compacted?
seems like it always ends up being cost of labor and materials times 1.5. i set a goal for material and labor times 2 so if i have to go down a bit i can and still be at or above the 50% profit margin. ive worked for a guy that always went straight for about a 10% margin and ripped himself off soo much and i told him to bid for more and he told me he wont because hes afraid he wont get the job. well there is not point getting the job if you are breaking even cuz then you are wasting time. could you imagine charging $600 for a job that costs $450 in labor and material? well he did and all it did was create stress for the employees that had to hustle until they were broken and encouraged cutting corners so he could try and squeeze in a few extra bucks.
@M R maybe some illegal immigration is to blame, but remember, it's not the immigrants that are starting the business. Blame the owner for using the labor that they provide. Maybe if the owner was willing to take less overall profit they could afford to pay their workers a real rate. Not relying on illegal immigrants (and then the same owners cry when their work force gets deported)
@M R Marxist, communist ideology is to blame. The idea has been responsible for over 100 million deaths since the 1900. Ideas will never die and it will be responsible for another large war in the future. All we can do is be aware that both left and right ideologies lead to genocide if they are pushed far enough. We are humans and we should not be making legislation based off a right leaning or left leaning ideology.
Wez Pope - I think it is great what these professional small business Men and Women are doing for other small businesses or potential businesses. I would argue that it actually defines Stan as the expert and allows for a more level playing field for the trades. Contractors have been in a battle of skilled and non skilled contractors trying to compete each other which is driving consumers away from Contractors. Stan is leveling that playing field and giving up and coming or experienced tradesman an insight to do better for everyone. I think you should refer to his video on making money from competition and his video on helping your competition. Doing trade off. Im a Master Plumber and working on getting my business off the ground. Even though he specializes in landscape and Excavation, the business insight is so valuable to me and my trade.
Hey i 'AM' going to start a land clearing business and i was wonder what should i buy first a track loader 953 or a excavator? I have been working for my dads logging company since i was 7 yrs old and most of the customers are wanting all the brush cleared and stumps removed,so i know i will have business. Also we work on our own equipment, so therefore i can fix any problem i would encounter.
Thank you Stan can you talk a little about prospecting and marketing? i know you're at a point most of your business is by referral. how do you go about prospecting and marketing / generating new business for a new company. thanks again for all you do
For your $1 per sq ft per inch formula, does that final price include the cost of materials, or is that just for the labor and you invoice out the materials as well? I think you answered this in the video but I just wanted to clarify. Also great vids man, subscribed and will be checking out your website
Don’t even worry about what they think your purchase price is include everything in invoice as materials,cutting pavers is labor add it as linear ft cut .service autopilot lol.
this is what schools should be teaching, amazing and priceless education in this video. This man is a real hero for helping so many for free.
It’s common sense it’s not hard 😭
@@enzoiadevaia9019 Oh is it? I also thought it was common sense you came from a ass!
I have done nothing but watch your videos and work for the last 4 days....I'm not even a landscaper lol. I do have big dreams for my back yard though. Just trying to figure out what I feel confident doing myself and what would be best contracted out. I almost feel like I could do all of it, your videos are so informative.
Thanks Travis!
Haha me too
Most landscape/tree work type videos are how to's in the field because the physical stuff just begs to be filmed. But this was such great info with glimpses into your personal business strategies and ethics, done from the office-the scariest place of all to work. Thanks for taking the time to sit and explain all that! So helpful.
So glad you enjoyed. Thanks for tuning in Eddie 😀
You can calculate the area of a semi ellipse with (π*a*b)/2 where 'a' is half of the straight length, and 'b' is the distance through the widest point across. For your example a=10, b=4, so the area is 20π ft².
I was so focused on learning I didn't notice until halfway through your video that there was a Goku action figure on top of your desk. Nice motivation!
+Justin Rozinek Thanks Justin
I don't do pavers but I definitely appreciate your willingness to share such valuable information! Keep up the good work.
Peter Dreibelbies Thank you!
Inspirational videos. I've only done small stuff before, patios, sidewalks etc w/ concrete, but now I know I can do more if I decide to. Thank you!
I am a home owner. I do not mind doing some work my self, and getting a contractor to do other work. (i.e. I to electric, but I have gas and a plumber come in.) I am looking at outside work. I have an area where I am putting in a patio. I am doing the framing, but I will probably contract out the concrete or blocks. It is good to see what goes in to a project, tools required and over all cost. It help me decide which way I want to go.
Thanks for the video.
Love you man. I cant thank you enough for all this amazing advise. You are a legend.
Thanks, appreciate that !
First time I see your videos and wanted to say you are awesome on giving advice . Im a Independent contractor so I'm always making sure I don't cut myself Short .Thank you!👍
Someone probably already said this, but a circle area is the radius x the radius x 3.14 approx. Then for a half, divide that in half. Much easier than your square method.
Thanks for the info and for watching!
Thank you for your educational videos. I'm actually new in the landscaping business and I feel the need to learn a lot on how to price/quote projects as opposed to what I'm currently doing. I'm not 100% sure if what I'm charging per hour or any project is the right market price for any job. Most of the times when I give my prospects my price I get a rejection and it makes me feel bad. I don't like being rejected just like everyone else. That's why I've subscribed to your channel and I truly hope to learn from the pros and experienced contractors in the business like you. Thank you very much and looking forwards to more educational videos 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓!
@Salo Lopez Hi, how are you doing 2 years after this comment? I'm new to landscaping too. :)
Good for u guys. I hope it turned out well for you. I am just starting. I am not gunna work for someone for forever. I never did a patio on my own before. Totally shot myself in the foot with the bidding. But i went for it. Almost done. I wish it was pavers. Lady did not want the reg process. And had some old material she needed put down. I could not say no. With no job. And every penny spent on tools, I have to go out there and work
In Ottawa Canada the average price for a new Interlock installation is between $25 and $45 square feet. With my newly started company at 18 years old I charge $35 per square foot, as a new company you might be wondering why I’m not charging less the reason why is because I dig down at least 12” for patios and 24” for driveways. Doing interlock the right way cost the contractor more money. If I were to charge any less I would have to dig down half of what I do now which with our winters here in Canada, it would cause all the interlock to move in a short period of time. With all this being said my point here is going with a contractor that is charging $25 per square foot will only dig down half of what I dig down and at $25 per square foot you can be sure that the contractor will be skipping steps. So don’t go with the lowest quote, always go with the middle or the top.
This video is perfectly planned and structured wow dude.
The Landscaping Employee Trap Thanks for the high regards!
For future reference: Area of a semi-circle equals (pi times the radius squared) divided by 2. [A=(3.14×r^2)/2]
r = the distance from the midpoint of the straight edge to any point on the curve.
E=mc∆
As a contractor in Massachusetts I have to tell you if you find a good hardworking landscaper female or male keep them and pay them well. It’s a hard work. I asked my landscaper to work with them for a week side by side to help the job move faster because of our time line and landscaper accepted my offer. Since then I have lots of respect for them.
I've always done my patios by square foot taking in consideration any difficult Excavating or highly specialized patterns or expensive material such as granite.
So far it's worked out great for me .
Im a distributor for pavestone and have been asked only once about only doing a base. Only thing i came up with was to deduct the cost of the pavers and $1 /sqft Installation cost then charge the typical going rate for our area which ive heard is around $17-21/ft. One thing ive always informed customers is that they need to price out materials before they submit estimates especially on smaller projects. We sell only in pallet qtys and no returns on broken pallets so if they have to purchase a whole pallet just to get an extra 10sqft it can really take a bit out of profit margin if its not priced out at 1st...
I’m doing my first 700sq ft of pavers. I started my business a month ago. Talk about game day butterflies. Thanks for the tips, I have found you and Keith Kalfas.
jose Delgado how did u price?
Front end loader?
QP, 3/4 Clean stone, and 6” stone dust bro?
Compactor?
Demo Saw?
You using all that stuff??
How did it go?
How many workers did u use? Were they experienced?
Omg ...I'm doing my first job as well...i underbidded...this is a learning experience it hurts but oh well
@@NoOne-gx2wc OMGosh, talk about analysis paralysis! I'm about to work up a quote now so doing as much research as I can!
Jill-of- All-Trades don’t let the material company over load with sand and gravel that you don’t need...if your renting the plate compactor make sure you know how many days you will need it....and make sure you have the man power!!...good luck
@@yjersey None of your business😎
For the materials we use "Up to" language in our Estimates/Bids. Example "Up to" x amount of pavers @ X price each" That way if additional materials are required, we can charge for them. In addition for the labor portion of the Bid/Estimate, we simply state that we will install the "above materials" for x price. Again, that way we are covered for any extra labor associated with installing any additional materials. This also gets us out of having to figure out discounts if we go a little under. Our Bid/estimated quantities are fairly accurate, and in the rare case that we use significantly less materials, we adjust things accordingly. I just don't want to be ducking around over $25 at the end of a $5000 project.
I charge $10-$12 sq/ft + the cost of materials. I also charge for prep work such as excavation or demo existing patio. If your costumer doesn’t know what kind of pavers they want try and being few samples with you or your ipad with photos of previous work .
I just wanted to tell you, I've started my own business after 21 years of installing all types of stone and masonry projects, your videos are super helpful and I just wanted to say thank you!! If you have any advice for a business just starting out,I would love to have your insight into what the biggest mistakes that many people may make when first starting out. Thanks again!!
Literally taking notes
Please keep them coming. Just like this one. 20 years in the business and just learned a ton from you.
Well done sir.
Eddie. Kelly Jax Beach Florida
Really appreciate that , thanks Eddie!
am starting my own landscaping company, but had no clue of how to bid, so im learning quite alot from you, thank you for sharing this information
You're welcome, best of luck in your new company!
Me and my dad are staring are own business and now were gonna become bosses not being boss imma take part of the landscaping,lawn care,and pressure washing,and hes taking care of hardscape and remodeling and this vid really helps.
Here in Central Florida we get anywhere from 5$ - 10$ per sq ft. It is on a sliding scale. The bigger the patio, the less it will cost. If we do a 10x10 it's 10$ per sq. If we do a 50x25 it is 5$ per sq.
I’m actually starting brick paving here in upper michigan. There’s few people who do it but also not much demand so it’s just kind of a side thing. I worked as a foreman on a brick paving crew for quite a while and want to do it on my own. Your videos are so helpful
I charge $28/sqft for Belgard cobble pavers, includes excavation geotextile, 4inch crush and run, 1 inch sand. I charge $10/sqft for concrete removal. Just signed a contract today for a 350sq ft paver patio using Belgard Dublin cobble, 120 sqft concrete pad removal, and threw in a firepit free. 11280. Signed within 48 hours of estimate. I draft up HOA documentation as well too though. Biggest thing here in NC is that you are punctual and communicate. Lack of skilled workers here in comparison to population and you can’t get anyone to keep their word. Do it right and be there on time, charge top dollar.
Used to do brick pavers back in the early 90s and now just getting ready to dive back in to this type of stuff. Thank you for the advice
Right now lm doing my driveway paver installations for $15.00sq feet with concrete removal. Not to many contractors dare but l do. Times are tuff out there in 2924
Greetings from Southern California
The Masonry Company
Find the area of a circle (A = pie R squared), then divide by two. I think that would be far more accurate than estimating by squares, at least if the area being worked is close to being half of a circle.
Great video my buddy and I are starting up a company, he's been in the business for a longtime now, but I'm fairly new but I've done lots of work with him in the past. Anywho just wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks Jeff!
I'm in Minnesota also you have helped me for the past 7 years
My business is higher end finish and carpentry but I like your vids. Your a good contractor and teacher. I may never need to do pavers etc outside my own homes but it's nice to learn new things..
6 year old video, still relevant and helped alot...much appreciated!
Great info, in northern cal you can go twice as high for doing the base work and you will win it every time.
Thanks JV!
Hey thanks for the info on your video, I'm a handyman beginner and I am working on a quote for paving a patio about 370 square feet never done before but i have an idea how to do that I'm learning and it's always a first time , I hesitate then I'm accepting the job. Now to charge my customer I'm trying not to over charge at the same price I don't want to less charge and ending up with a work for nothing , so the market in Florida is about $12 to $18 , what do you recommend just a labor. Ty
Great information! I was wondering if you might have some advice on pricing a rebuild of an existing patio. The $18-$23/sq ft doesn't really apply here as I will be reusing most of the bricks. It's roughly 250sq ft and I'm not an insured contractor- I want to give a fair price but I also don't want to sell myself short. Is there a price range you'd recommend for such a job?
Just fired up my Hardscape business last year, would love to see an update to this. Prices as well as the times are crazy especially here in New England. Thank you for the great content
Please upload more videos on pricing your jobs, On how to speak to the contractor? And how to get the best price form them?
I like the fact of basing your square footage of the patio based off of the suppliers number. the cut waste can be missed easily for the beginning bidder. do you factor in a cull percentage for broken or flawed pavers on top of your square footage or does your supplier allow you to return those as well.
+jason shuler We return the bad product. They get to keep the ones that aren't suited for installation and take them of our order.
Wow, clear, direct and really useful video. Just discovered you and man let me say you are great, thank you for this knowledge sharing. Blessing. 👍
I just started watching your videos and want to say thank you for giving your advice... Question: To figure out tons needed for a job have you ever seen this formula? Tons= Sq. Ft divide by 9X 110 X INCHES DIVIDE BY 2000. ( YOU DONT CONVERT INCHES FROM FEET IN THIS FORMULA. if ITS 6 INCHES USE 6 NOT .5 ) that's WHY OLD TIMERS LIKE THIS FORMULA CUZ THEY DON'T HAVE TO CONVERT ANYTHING. Try this method if you don't already know it. It works well. I have no idea where the 110 comes into play.
Thanks again,
David Hoover
Chattanooga, Tn.
Charging the $19.70/sqft, what’s all included in that price? The pavers themselves as well? Because there are pavers out there from $2/sqft to $15/sqft.
Base rock, sand, labour , gas, insurance, taxes
Filter fabric
I'm curious about how you cope with the price range of the pavers that a customer could choose. I'd like for clients to choose the pavers they want before giving them a bid but, they usually need to know the price variations to inform there decision about what paver to choose. Makes good sense and I want to provide that information. How do you get around this? Thank you.
Just make sure you quote retail, not wholesale price on the pavers. That leaves a margin for you no matter which one they choose.
Who returns brick ? 108 sq feet on pallet of 4x4 brick I measure the job and add 10% for cuts and angles. In my area 4x4 brick goes for $10-14 a foot. For walks and patio, not drive's
So for example if I change 18 dollars per square feet that includes the digging base and you buy the pavers from your pocket and only charge 18 / square feet?
Sigo si. Entender .. Yo en mi pensar es por paleta.
Very cool of you to share your bidding strategies with all.
-Fellow scraper from Boston
Thanks Evan, I will keep it in mind!
I always when I was in the concrete business would figure at least 3 inches wider on each side which was 6 inches wide for the project and I always figured it for 2 ft longer in the reason why is because I'm with your pouring a concrete driveway it's not going to be the same width all the way down it is but it's not because you will have to remember you've got the wing out the end for the pool in off the street so the bottom and is always going to be a lot wider and deeper than the rest of it is so if you do not allow for that measurement there you're going to be stuck by and concrete and fixing their yard back when you didn't figure that end of the cost
Yo Stan, See ya got a little Napolean Hill there. Brian Tracy is another great thinker. All very interesting stuff. Thank You for sharing all your experience
Outstanding information - The cuts are very important so is the logistics ...thx Stanley
Thanks for your advice man! Apreaciated 👍I been doing all the upeset, and I tell them averything, I have 2 years an 1/2, off and on working small and middleman job on a neighborhood app , and I keep coming with 1,000 per week, very off time and price, 🙄😒😐🤔
Diameter/2 = Radius. 3.14×Radius /2 (since it's a half circle)
Great video Stan, thank you for sharing your knowledge so freely. You are one of the best people I have run across on RUclips and I wish you the best of luck.
Your prices are jacked. Where I live in Canada it’s $0.25/ft for prep
Stan I had a minimum price for the smallest jobs there was a minimum that it took me to mobilize get there and pay my labor for one day that was the band bond price for any job no matter how small it was that lost a minimum because it takes the same amount of money to mobilize for a big one day job as it does for a small one day job
in Chicago we charge $20 - $25. suburbs get the higher price
Interesting.
Hi Stanley,
1st I want to say great video!
2nd I noticed on some of the other comments that they thought you were digging your own grave by giving out your pricing! Not true! Knowledge is King and if your hands on that usually helps alot too. The factor they haven't thought of is, they can have your pricing all day long and try to beat it or go over but if you are great at what you do and your previous work and references show it and you actually have your foot in the door, you will win almost every time! The customers I deal with are not looking for the cheapest bid if they even get comps which is rare for me since the majority of them are referred to me they still tend to pick me over the other companies which I (Assuming) ha ha you have the same out come...
3. it looks like we are bidding almost the same amounts and Im in Indianapolis IN. I just happened to run across your video and had to check it out
4. Gravel base here in Indy most the guys barely do 4inches (how do I know this? Well going behind well named co and repairing their settling projects do to either not enough base stone and too much sand and the biggest one is very poor compaction!
5. I love hearing someone else is using soil separator fabric as well I do it on every project
6. Back to gravel not sure what your formula is for figuring it but this is mine and always works perfectly for me with maybe a wheel barrow or so extra
EX: lets use your 344 sqft patio as an example I would take the 344 add 15% for over dig which equals 344+15%= 395.6
then I take the 395.6 and divide it by 200
395.6÷200=1.978 Tons for 1in of base stone then I multiple that by 1.25 for compaction 1.978x1.25=2.4725 tons per an inch of gravel. so lets say you want 4inches 2.4725x4=9.89 tons or if you want 6inches 2.4725x6=14.83 ton and so on. And well for the 1in of sand I just use my first number of the 344+15%=395.6÷200×1.25=2.47 tons of sand once i have that then i just multiple that number by my gravel depth I need or want. (hopefully helps the guys learning)
like to hear how you come up with your number.
7. As for ordering paver quantities I usually use my square footage times the 15% to account for cuts which 90% of my work is radius's anyways so lets use the 344 size patio with the 15% = 395.6 square feet
now I have to look at the spec sheet on that particular manufacturer pavers and see how many square feet of pavers come on the pallets and if the manufacturer lets you buy sections as well. lets use unilock brussles now half stone 88.7 standard 94.91 xl stone 93.86 sqft per a pallet
are we using a solder course lets say yes
ok 80 +15%=92 lnft feet of soldiers 92 lnft ÷ 22 lnft a section equals 4.18 sections or 80 lnft x12 = 960 inches ÷ 8.25 (the width of the stone) = 116.5 stones plus 15% waste for cuts 116.5x15%=138.81 stones 138.81x's 0.19i sqft of each stone now equals 26.496 sqft of standard soldiers
now I take the 26.46 and minus it out of the remaining square foot that we added the 15% waste to 395.6-26.46= 369.14 sqft left now we got the pattern percentages
Pattern Y 57% xl, 29% standard and 14% half stone
XL Stone 57%
369-57%=210.4 sqft of xl's .782 sqft per stone 214.4 ÷93.86=2.24 pallets
so I order 2 palltes 1 section of xl's
Standard Stone 29%
369-29%= 107.05 sqft 1 pallet 1 section 94.91+15.82=110.73 plus my 2 sections of soldiers
Half Stones 14%
369-14%=51.67÷12.67= 4 section 12.67x4=50.56 sqft
xl 2 palltes 1 section 219.01
standard 1 pallet 3 sections 142.37
half 4 sections 50.56 sqft
total 411.34 sqft you have to purchase
Dean- you nailed it. Deadon
Dude, plug that in a spreadsheet
I just charged $83 per square ft all inclusive for 60 sq ft. Your leaving money out of your pocket by being transparent. You may make up for it with the volume you do. I love your videos.
A formula on how to estimate planting would be great, also how much to mark up from wholesale to the customer? Thanks!
Tommy Morgan Plantings vary cosniderably. I will make a video how I handle it.
Tommy Morgan double retail price, it all depends if you warranty it, plus delivery, this is a good starting point
Awesome videos man! I been really considering to start small, I’m in Wyoming and I haven’t seen absolutely anyone doing this kind of jobs, hopefully soon! And I dig holy on your desk! 👍 thank you for investing the time and showing us the way is done!
Where do I sign up for your videos, tutorials, etc.? I would like to stay in the loop as our snow season is rapidly approaching, and I would like to start preparing and learning for the 2021 landscape season. Watching your vids is inspiring and motivating.
Great videos man! Our market in va is getting $12-16 a sq. With poly sand. Crazy. We've even gone down to $8 a sq. For a 6000 sq pool deck with 500 sq. Of retaining wall.
+anythingwildtvva $8.00 per s.f. is the going rate for large jobs especially commercial paver projects.
Great video/info. I just have to wonder, if I had 5 or so pavers left over on a job, just give them to the customer, no? They may come in handy one day.
U are the men thanks for take ur time to show how IT works u have Been an inspiration for Many of US god bless u Sir...
Im a newer company your videos are very insightful thank you
i am starting a paver business, done some small jobs already thanks for all the good info!
😄👍
First video ive seen by you and i liked it. I did my first paver job in northern California and it came out great, but now people want bids that i dont know how much to charge, how do you know how much help you need, does the square foot price include everything, base, sand,pavers,labor? Please help
base plus 4 in concrete after 5 years no sinking no weeds
Great video. Very articulated in your pitch. I've done Hardscaping but never bid. I do stone in my landscaping and small retaining walls using my own formulas. It helps out alot. Thanks for the info!
☼Tropical Detailing☼ Formulas make life easy. keep it going!
Cool I enjoyed the video. We are at the high end of our price bracket because we offer high end finish. To me square up the site could save working out the cuts. Please help me here. Australia vs USA but business is business.
So I'm trying to figure a commercial job out and I'm not to sure how to find out what the local going rate per square foot is I was offered 1.50 per square foot. I live in Florida but that still seems super low for even Florida
Can you please show how you do your contracts and what exactly you add in to it
Thanks for the suggestion and I will keep it in mind!
Thanks for doing the video. As a customer looking for a contractor for my project, I feel a little better in what to look for. I had no idea there was a market price per square ft for paver projects. I need to do a little research to find the going price in my area. This way I can better estimate the cost of my project so I'm not in "sticker shock" up front.Bill - Deltona Florida
You're welcome Bill , thanks so much for watching !
Excellent again. I used to do installs and wow ive learned a lot from your videos.
for a backyard paver job what criteria do you have for using a 6" base versus a 4"?
If I understand correctly you have compacted soil, a plastic sheet (porous?), 4" to 6" base material (grade 5 stone), compacted and 1" of regular sand, then the pavers.
Brush sand between pavers, compact, repeat till compacted sand is level with pavers.
Is this correct?
Oh... I forgot grading the compacted soil (water drainage away from house, anything else I missed? ;-)
Your prices are the cheapest I could find from multiple bids in oregon. A lot of contractors are charging 40 to 50 square foot here for pavers, it's insane.
we always use road base fabric
So say you charge 20 per sq ft- how do you account for the differences in paver costs? For example someone may want pavers that are 16 per sq ft, and another person may want ones that are 3 per sq ft. Do you still charge both customers 20 per sq ft?
Thank for the videos Stanley. I'm a homeowner looking to get pavers in my yard, 1000-1200sqft depending on design. I'm thinking of buying all the materials and just paying for labor. What are your thoughts on that approach?
does your base prep work alone (1 dollar per sqft per 1 inch) include excavating native soil and haul out? or Is that price assuming you need to bring in and pack base material alone and build up to grade
when you charge 1dollar sq.ft per inch do you include dig the dirt and haul away and bring the gravel? or just put Gravel and compact?
Dang...i dont think that price is bad at all. Doing my own 400 Sq ft patio with $4/ft2 pavers and I have $4400 into it including rentals. I dug it by hand. Had I known I get could it done for $8k I would have 2 months of my life back! Wait..... Is that just install price???
These videos are so informative. And the numbers are super helpful as i am also in the mpls area.
I get about $14 per ft squared here in south texas, and a little less for natural stone. Which I can do faster. Great videos, thanks!
Lee Kessler Awesome Info- Thanks!
Hey thanks for this information, very helpful, I'm in the west-Chicagoland area and finally starting to focus on my business. I will definitely bookmark you, that's awesome in sharing knowledge!
Love your videos I came across them while looking for excavator videos. I'm a Mason/builder/ excavator. I've been in business for almost 20 years but I don't have a system or any office support. I do make money at times but usually break even and last year I almost lost my home. I will try to use your advice. Thank you.
Thanks, but what is the range for 2021? Also is 10" below the frost line, seems like no matter what you do, heave is going to be a problem in your area.
I buy paving stones by the skid load, and use them for multiple clients and projects. So, I just figure out the square footage by drawing the patio on grid paper and counting the square feet including the square footage of paving stones that are outside the drawing and will be cutting.... then charge based on the amount of cuts PLUS SF.Question...., When you say 10 inches of base, is that compacted base, or not compacted?
Nice
Trevor Needham great insight , buying in bulk .
I've been looking for a $20 an hour job. Wow. If you're paying help 20 bucks an hour, I can't imagine your labor costs for an estimate.
Prices in New Jersey must be totally crazy, if the prices in Minnesota are such.
Good info!!
seems like it always ends up being cost of labor and materials times 1.5. i set a goal for material and labor times 2 so if i have to go down a bit i can and still be at or above the 50% profit margin. ive worked for a guy that always went straight for about a 10% margin and ripped himself off soo much and i told him to bid for more and he told me he wont because hes afraid he wont get the job. well there is not point getting the job if you are breaking even cuz then you are wasting time. could you imagine charging $600 for a job that costs $450 in labor and material? well he did and all it did was create stress for the employees that had to hustle until they were broken and encouraged cutting corners so he could try and squeeze in a few extra bucks.
The market price for residential pavers in Central Florida 7 to $10 a square foot
Central Florida WHAT!
Central Florida what about Texas?
@M R maybe some illegal immigration is to blame, but remember, it's not the immigrants that are starting the business. Blame the owner for using the labor that they provide. Maybe if the owner was willing to take less overall profit they could afford to pay their workers a real rate. Not relying on illegal immigrants (and then the same owners cry when their work force gets deported)
@M R I agree. Also, if they're gonna give it to immigrants why not give it to everyone! Or no one.
But, that is life I guess.
@M R Marxist, communist ideology is to blame. The idea has been responsible for over 100 million deaths since the 1900. Ideas will never die and it will be responsible for another large war in the future.
All we can do is be aware that both left and right ideologies lead to genocide if they are pushed far enough. We are humans and we should not be making legislation based off a right leaning or left leaning ideology.
Thank you Stanley it's one of the best explanation of how to make deal. Ps. You know you cut the branch on which you sit .
Thanks- I love that saying-bout don't quite understand it. Would you mind explaining it?
Wez Pope - I think it is great what these professional small business Men and Women are doing for other small businesses or potential businesses.
I would argue that it actually defines Stan as the expert and allows for a more level playing field for the trades. Contractors have been in a battle of skilled and non skilled contractors trying to compete each other which is driving consumers away from Contractors.
Stan is leveling that playing field and giving up and coming or experienced tradesman an insight to do better for everyone.
I think you should refer to his video on making money from competition and his video on helping your competition. Doing trade off.
Im a Master Plumber and working on getting my business off the ground. Even though he specializes in landscape and Excavation, the business insight is so valuable to me and my trade.
Hey i 'AM' going to start a land clearing business and i was wonder what should i buy first a track loader 953 or a excavator? I have been working for my dads logging company since i was 7 yrs old and most of the customers are wanting all the brush cleared and stumps removed,so i know i will have business. Also we work on our own equipment, so therefore i can fix any problem i would encounter.
If you are repairing a paver patio and reusing existing pavers how is that priced re grading is done
You’re the best. Videos are always great. My question is....How much does it cost for a 21”
x 21” column 30” high with a 24” ledgestone cap?
Thank you Stan
can you talk a little about prospecting and marketing? i know you're at a point most of your business is by referral. how do you go about prospecting and marketing / generating new business for a new company. thanks again for all you do
For your $1 per sq ft per inch formula, does that final price include the cost of materials, or is that just for the labor and you invoice out the materials as well? I think you answered this in the video but I just wanted to clarify. Also great vids man, subscribed and will be checking out your website
Don’t even worry about what they think your purchase price is include everything in invoice as materials,cutting pavers is labor add it as linear ft cut .service autopilot lol.