mobile welders

[trevwelder]

if i get a call that one of my welds broke then I would repair it at no cost. If it was brought to me to fix then my normal rate would be 60$ hour.

[mattbrissey]

Hey how bout this, all i heard the guy ask is a simple question. is that a high price? then all you welders who have the nice shops want to rip the guy a new one! dont get me wrong i am a pipe welder by profession and have not been in it for long. and i do understand about prices. gas,rods grinding discs, ect. and i dont believe in charging someone for equipment you dont use. it is like putting pipe in a trench but charging rent on a 50 ft jlg boom lift. all im saying if i found out that that one of the local welders talked like that about a novice welder i would not use him. not professional.. lets act like adults here. has turned into a circus.

[vin-man welding]

i had to ad the price of consumables to my jobs and now i find i still don't charge enough to really get ahead. i feel bad and want to help people out and most of the time a get a good tip when they see the quality of my work.
so I'm thinking if there tipping me i should have charged more to begin with but my customers come back and bring Friends. and if i tell them i'm slow they'll find me work. i didn't F them and they 'll help me out if i need it.

[cat]

1. I am not a "guy"
2. I have been welding since 1987. I quit my engineering job to become an artist full time in 1992.
3. I'm on my second mig welder and 2nd and 3rd plasma cutters (am usually too busy to allow down time for repairs). I also have a band saw, pipe bender, drill press and a roller.
4. I do live in north Scottsdale in a private golf development where the average home price is over $2 million. Of the 600 lots in the development, I have done metal work for over 50 of them from fixing a broken weld on patio furniture to entry gates, f/p screens, lighting, and art pieces and more. Because I do not screw my "rich" clients, they keep introducing me to their neighbors. I have also made tee markers for the golf course for specific tournaments.
5. If anybody was curious enough, you could have looked in the Miller projects section to see some of my work.
6. I was a finalist in the Miller Challenge 2 years ago.
7. The glass person in the project that started this whole discussion is my "partner". We do a few joint projects with metal and fused glass. Her husband (a retired mover) packed the project and shipped it UPS. It was damaged in shipping. My partner offered to pay half the repair cost because she didn't want the hassle of going after UPS for damage. The piece had been made, handled thru powder coat, hauled around and packed. The weld was fine before it was shipped.
8. Thanks to the few who really did answer my question.
cat

[Broccoli1]

I did look- you don't charge enough for your work

[crawdaddy]

IMO you guys all undercharge your customers, while the cost of living is going up It doesnt seem like your charges are that high to cover your costs and make money. Before I get flamed here I will tell you I am in the plumbing related field and dont weld for a living but I will charge $250.00 just to write an estimate if I have to crawl under the house.Call me out after hours for an emergency and by the time the job is done you will be looking at at least a grand or more. Before you call me a price gouger, I charge the going standard rates in my area of CA and thankfully we dont have a lot of people trying to undercut each other and ruin it for everyone. As for Cat I if indeed she lives in a 2 Mil + home then she is most likely somewhat financially successful then I cant understand the complaints over a lousy couple hundred bucks to make a customer happy especially with all the frustration they had to go through for the repair.Mike

[Broccoli1]

Lawyer calls a Plumber- Plumber fixes problem and hands the bill to the Lawyer:

Lawyer:
"$400.00!!!!???? You were only here a 1/2 hour. I don't even make that much money"

Plumber:
"Either did I when I was a Lawyer"

[crawdaddy]

Lawyer calls a Plumber- Plumber fixes problem and hands the bill to the Lawyer:

Lawyer:
"$400.00!!!!???? You were only here a 1/2 hour. I don't even make that much money"

Plumber:
"Either did I when I was a Lawyer"

I had a surgeon in Orinda tell me the same joke while I was working on a project for them. Instead of lawyer he used the word doctor.I am a believer in charging the most you can for your work,Why should a tradesperson not be able to live comfortably or become wealthy from their hard work? I remember a job I did in Walnut Creek the guy was an Advertising executive,I remember the look and response when he asked how much will this cost? I said about $10,000 his jaw dropped then he said how long will it take? I said about 3 days he shook his head in disbelief and said no one in his neighborhood makes that kind of money.That reaction was priceless and I still get a kick when I think about it.BTW I did get that job it was one of my first jobs when I decided to make a go on my own Mike

[FusionKing]

I have a question for all you mobile welders-what is a typical charge for labor and travel?

This is the charge: $150 labor (includes $25 travel fee) plus $5 in material costs and this is what they did: grind the old weld, spot weld in 4 spots and spray paint.
Is this a realistic charge? Seems ridiculous to me.
cat

When you asked a question such as this on an open forum, and then state something like saying it is ridiculous right up front before even getting your answer...well let's just say you were asking for it
I remembered your stuff but couldn't remember if you was a guy or not. And I admit I was too lazy to go back and look.
One thing you NEED to realize this is the internet not some private line that you own. You ask a question or whatever and you are gonna get all sorts of answers. You are not in charge of anything. Not even the thread you started.
People can say whatever they feel.
So your constant referring to thanking those who answered your question and stayed on topic and didn't annoy you with the facts means very little to me.
SO in light of that I will state that I charge $100 per hr when I begin working...not driving or deciding if I will do the job or not.
This includes all consumables. I more than likely would have gotten $100 for that job. But I doubt I would have done it.
Oh and CAT, BTW...I somehow knew you couldn't resist coming back for the encore (sort'a fun ain't it? maybe yer skin is gittin' thicker all the while. Stick around and these guys will toughen you up even more)

[SundownIII]

Cat seems to want to disregard the "lost opportunity cost" for doing mobile work. Mobile work is inherently "less cost effective" than the same job done in the shop, with all the right tools, and other work ongoing.

From what CAT states (lives in a 2M community), I suspect she (and her girlfriend/partner) both "married well". She's not paying the tab to live there charging $1,300 for her work. I suspect her other half (notice I didn't say better half) is a professional and is doing quite well.

Big difference when you're working for "play money" and when you're trying to pay the bills and keep food on the table for a family.

Just my .02 (And it didn't cost a cent)