VCT and other waxed flooring.

Recently I bought out a not so local, floor guy. He sold me his burnisher, pads, applicator system (Rubbermaid) and some other misc. stuff.
I am not looking to go after large accounts. Likely under 5K feet and less.

Where is the pricing range/scale on this? Or maybe the way to ask is, after expenses, what dollar amount per hour should I try to target?
I don't have employees, nor do I want any right now.

I just sent out a mailing to local businesses, and yes, I put a drop of tropical on the business card (thanks for the tip Joe). Some of them have CGD carpet, some have VCT.

I would like to at least pick up a few floor jobs, but I am not about to work for free either. Hence, why I asked about hourly profits.

I plan on offering strip/wax, and monthly (or however often I can get them to pay for) maintenance of the floors. Just unsure of where to price it at this point.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Should ask the guy you bought out and add 25% to start with.

It was always more work than I was willing to do for the money in this area. You had to be very efficient to make any money, and I wasn't. Have not done one in years as a result.

Not that I don't have competition here, but where I bought the equipment, was a MUCH MUCH larger market. His price would be irrelevant to my market.

He did mostly office type work. Not many offices here with tile. Most here are CGD.
I do have an auto scrubber that I bought in an auction. Needs a new cable on the squeegee that I haven't replaced yet. Machine works fine other than that. Never had a reason to use it yet.

Just want a general idea of what I should make/charge.

milspec6 wrote:
It was always more work than I was willing to do for the money in this area.  

I've got the same problem here. There is no lack of competition, driving the price down to get the work, illegals mostly. Wiling to work for way less than I can or will. To give you an example, I've seen them in the .30-.40 sq ft range for stripping and waxing VCT.
And from my limited experience it takes 3-5 coats of wax to give VCT a nice lasting shine. Each coat takes 30 min to dry before being able to re-coat. That to me is a lot of standing around time watching wax dry for so little money, not to mention the labor and materials cost.

I do a VCT job every once in awhile, if they're willing to pay what I quote. Which is $1 sq ft or so depending on total sq footage....If not, I'm out.

If you don't have too much competition in your area maybe you can make it work. Hopefully that gives you some kind of an idea, but of course that's just my take biased on the market here.

Here's how I do it... First, know your productivity levels. I am comfortable stripping at a rate of 300 sq/ft per hour and finishing at about 1000 sq/ft per hour. Second, know your costs. On average I spend $25/gal for floor finish that covers 2000 sq/ft, and $15/gal for stripper that covers 2000 sq/ft. Third, know how much you want to earn. I am typically happy with $400/day ($50/hr) on these jobs. If I am bidding a 5000 sq/ft job....

Time to strip - 17 man hours (5000 divided by 300sq/ft/hr)
Time to finish - 25 man hours (5000 x 5 coats divided by 1000sq/ft/hr)
Stripper - 3 gallons - $45 (5000sq/ft divided by 2000 coverage [rounded up])
Finish - 13 gallons - $325 (5000sq/ft times 5 coats divided by 2000 coverage [round up])
Supplies - mops, pads, scrapers, etc. - $100

This job would take me approx 42 man hours... If time is not a major consideration, I can split this up over four days, and competition is light I would bid the following.

$50/hr times 42hrs = $2100 plus stripper, finish, & supplies $470 = $2570 or $0.51/hr

If time and budget (competition) are major factors. I can have it done in a day with four of us working...

$50/hr times 10hrs = $500 (for me)
$20/hr times 32hrs = $640 ($15/hr for helpers plus my fee)
$470 stripper, finish, supplies
Total = $1610 or $.32/sq/ft

This is what works for me. Obviously you need to figure out how much you want per hour and what your competition level on each job is. Hope this helps.

PS. If it is a job a really don't care if I get I'll bid $.75 - $1.00/hr. Usually don't get them, but if I do they end up being worth it.

Joe G.

Nice breakdown.

Pro Touch wrote:Nice breakdown.

Thanks Eric. BTW - the last lines should read $.75-$1.00/sq/ft (not /hr)... 

carpetdaddy wrote:

Pro Touch wrote:Nice breakdown.

Thanks Eric. BTW - the last lines should read $.75-$1.00/sq/ft (not /hr)... 

FYI in the upper right of your post you should see an "edit" button, that you can use to go back and make changes if you want. Not saying you need to, just letting you know for future reference.  

BTW, Joe great breakdown and info you posted!!!

Thanks for the great response carpetdaddy