[TheForge] Prices

[Woolley]

Hello,

Of course it is hard to say without seeing the design but 250-300 a foot 
for railing is not a bad price for the maker.  I know I could get beaten 
up for saying that if it was a real elaborate piece.  How do you price 
installation generally? What part of the country are you working in?  My 
attitude toward material is similar until you start working with 
stainless or bronze.  Then the price of the materials becomes more of a 
factor. It certainly bumps up the labor cost as well due to various 
processes involved.

Regards,
Bill Woolley





Cindy and James wrote:
> I price railings by the foot, then look at the work and decide it a 
> "fudge" factor is needed, either up or down.  Now, that's on a 
> commission for which price has NOT been discussed... and I do quite a 
> few of those.  An outdoor (upstairs) balcony railing installed this 
> week was billed to the client at $4500 (not including installation 
> costs) and was 17 feet long.  That is probably NOT high enough for the 
> work involved, but this client paid me almost $25000 last year.
> I realize that MOST work is priced before you begin.  In my opinion, 
> the cost of materials is negligible at best, at least when it comes to 
> what we consider as art.  The most important part is DESIGN, followed 
> closely by craftsmanship and attention to detail.  Crappy work = low 
> price.
>
> When someone asks how much it costs to build something and inquires 
> about the cost of materials, we usually tell them that the cost for 
> materials is a minor part of the bill.  We do not do anything for less 
> than $100, and prefer not to do anything for less than $1000.  I wind 
> up spending as much time trying to work out some dinkly little object 
> somebody wants (who bitches about the cost) as I do on real 
> fabrication, i.e. railings, beds, etc.  (I did that today on 2 little 
> coat racks that my wife sold for $100 each... I lost money!  Oh well.)
>
> One of the problems WE (as in WE as artist blacksmiths) have in common 
> is that we do a lot of ONESEY'S.  At least I do.  I build 1 of this 
> and 3 of that, etc.  Every one is a prototype and the prototype is a 
> finished product.  Someone in this thread commented that if you were 
> doing 100, by the time you did 80 you would have it figured out, and 
> he is right!  If you (we) are going to to ORIGINAL ARTWORK, which is 
> by my definition 1 of a kind stuff, we need to start out high enough 
> to make at LEAST $50 to $75 an hour - or more.
>
> In my shop that runs off lots of folks, and that is fine with me.  If 
> they are looking for a deal, or a steal, they need to go elsewhere.  
> And I won't cut corners, the client is told that up front.  If a code 
> is involved, it is adhered to regardless of the client's wishes, etc. 
> (Just went thru that with another railing client who didn't want the 
> 4" code met.)  He relented and agreed to our terms.
>
> We don't try to be horses-a**es, but you have to look out for yourself 
> AND the client too.  It is a 2 way street.
>
> JA
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