One of the worst thing you CAN do is unit pricing, aka "square foot pricing".
All our jobs are priced based on materials and estimated time.
Lets back up here, first. Rad said he needs 1376 pavers. Ok, take that number and add 10% to that quantity to compensate for the 'waste factor'. Its a lot easier to have left overs than it is to spend drive time going to the supplier for 15 more pavers.
Also, no need to excavate 9-10" deep, and 6" is too shallow, assuming its a perfectly level grade. Do exactly eight inches and you'll be perfect. (5" for crusher run base, 1" for bedding sand, 2 3/8" for thickness of pavers) Do not use electric conduit for screeding. It BOWS!!! Use a ridgid pipe. We use 1" od steel. We do not want divits, bird baths or unintentional swails in our pavements. It should be perfectly level and consistant.
Back to pricing.
Since it sounds as if this is your first job, you will probably not make much profit. You'll have to do MANY jobs to get through the learning curve.
Especially being that u have to wheel-barr the materials, you need to estimate how long it will take you tp perform each task.
With paverwork, even a simple patio, there are a ton of variables. Look, here we are talking about a small patio and it requires all wheel barrowing! There is always something. Whether its access, staging, burial of roof down spouts / sump pump lines, and so on.
Each individual jobs needs the following accounted for:
-Equipment load time at yard/shop
-Equipment unload time at job site
-Travel time to and from, per employee, per day
-Each and Every particle of material
-Time for removing and re-installing the owners section of fence
-Time for laying out the patio with marking paint
-Time for excavating. if the job has a walk out basement...that means they have a hill going to the front. If its fall or spring...that will will be a greasy muddy, mess. that hill will eat time.
-Time for installing aggragate base. Can the aggregate be brought in on a tandem, or is access and staging so tight that you must bring it in on your truck and hovel it off?
-Time for laying pavers and cutting
-Time for regrading/seeding
-Time for daily clean up. Usually takes one man about an hr to clean the trash and shovel soil/mud off the street.
-Time loading and unloading equipment when job is complete.
The landscape and hardscape industry IS ALL ABOUT TIME TIME TIME. We are SELLING TIME! If there are any Vanderkoi seminars in your area, I highly urge everyone to attend
Sure many of these tasks are routine and do not vary much from job to job. But as a thorough and conscienous business person, you really need to itemize the estimated production hrs of each task when calculating job cost.
And this way, if you encounter a problem, you can see exactly where you fell short on your estimating and then you'll know where to improve on, whether its in the job costing sector or field production.
Many veretan guys may know their averages. But it took them many years and many jobs to gather this intelligence. So for people that are new...its best to price a job based on estimated materials and production hrs. heck, I been doing hardscapes for 9 years and thats the only way we do it!
