Welding cost

[J_J]

Welding cost, have never figured out how they figure out the price for welding..

About 10 years ago, I ordered a BH bucket from Metkit. It was a kit with all parts cut to fit. 15 in bucket, and thought it was a good price.

MetKit Corp - Home Page

I tacked all the parts together and bent the back plate.

I had a friend that did all my serious welding, so I took the bucket to him and asked him to weld it up for me.

When I went to pick it up, I got a price sticker shock. He wanted about $350 for the job. After arguing for a while, I reluctantly paid $325. I just could not see that much time and labor in the job.

His explanation was in the inches of weld, type rod, and time to weld.

He figured about 160 in of weld.

I don't know for sure, but I think the price was way above normal, and he was supposed to be a friend.

Just how does one charge for welding, by hours, inches of weld, time, type material, What all is included?

 

[MMagis]

I’m not a welder, but from a purely business standpoint, the price should include all of those factors. My guess is he spent more than half a day welding everything up right. $350 is certainly reasonable for half a day’s shop rates, plus material.
I think all small businesses should hang the sign that says “I apologize for making money from my friends, but my enemies take their business elsewhere”. While it’s not right for a business owner to cheat a friend, it’s also not right for the friend to expect a “deal”. I know that’s not what you’re saying, but it was probably in the back of your mind like it would be for most. I’m sure he charged you a fair rate.

 

[wdchyd]

Welding charges have always been a relative thing.....if it's for a relative then it's automatically done for free....:laughing:

No seriously, welding charges vary in my shop.....it has to be charged by the hour if anything was to be done right......the longer it takes , the better job you get

A repetitive job will always be easier the second time around but onesy-twosy stuff is more time consuming to set up.....some jobs ya just have to charge a discounted price whatever the traffic will bear without killing yourself cuz the job ain't worth it

Factoring in welding equipment, materials and experience can make the job look easy if the person has all the toys......if the welder doesn't have all the junk at his fingertips then it will take longer to do with less, thus he's not worth as much per hour

I found over the years (when I used to farm out welding) if I feel like I got burned then I would be sure to DIY the next time.......the learning curve is worth the trouble in the long run but costly in start-up cost

 

[20 20]

J J; your story is exactly why I bought a welder, I believe some of the folks out there think they're work is worth diamonds I have done some smaller jobs for folks and usually undercharge all the "pro's" by more then half. I am no pro by any means and never do anything I feel I can't handle. I quess it boils down to ethics, job being done, and honesty of hrs worked, materials being used etc.... From what you wrote it looks like you did most of the headache work and the guy took advantage(??) of a friendship. Some of the odd welds may be worth more example cast iron, but I still quess it is up to the guy running the welder.

 

[J_J]

I知 not a welder, but from a purely business standpoint, the price should include all of those factors. My guess is he spent more than half a day welding everything up right. $350 is certainly reasonable for half a day痴 shop rates, plus material.
I think all small businesses should hang the sign that says çš„ apologize for making money from my friends, but my enemies take their business elsewhere? While itç—´ not right for a business owner to cheat a friend, itç—´ also not right for the friend to expect a é›»eal? I know thatç—´ not what youæ±*e saying, but it was probably in the back of your mind like it would be for most. I知 sure he charged you a fair rate.

Friends always get a deal in my book, and I would expect no less from them.

Being a friend I did not even ask for a estimate.

 

[LD1]

I have never paid to have welding done. I have always had a welder, so I cannot comment on that aspect.

What I can comment on is time frame and materials.

"assuming" you had everything prepped and fitted properly and to his liking, and all he had to do was burn it in.....

If he mig welded it, even accounting for flipping/rotating/jockeying the peice around, should have been able to do ~8 inches/minute. That would be ~20-30 minutes max. And maybe $20 worth of consumables.

Stick welding it probabally would have taken a bit longer, But I say no more than an hour TOPS and $20/material is a conservative #.

Do you know weather he stick welded it or mig welded it?

Again, I am not a welder by trade. But my job requires me to be a proficient welder and have always had welders at the house. And IMO, you were overcharged by your "friend". Hindsights 20/20, but you should have agreed to a price BEFORE hand. As it is now, you probabally could have bought a bucket for what you have in it now.

And whenever I do work for friends, I never charge other than material. And sometimes not even that if I have it laying around. We call it trading favors. There are times when I need favors from them.

 

[jake98]

Ten years ago $350 was more $ too. I don't think he did you any favors. My guesstimate would be half that. Maybe he took it all apart and beveled everything?

 

[MMagis]

Friends always get a deal in my book, and I would expect no less from them.

Expecting a discount isn't being much of a friend, in my opinion.

 

[radioman]

ouch!! that really hurts. I just do know that its a cost of per inch.
your friend should've had courtesy to let you know the ballpark price before leaving if he know its would b over 100 bucks.....

 

[J_J]

I have another friend who is a professional welder, and he always ask if I have any welding that needs done. That is a true friend.

I could take him all my welding stuff, and he would not charge me a dime. I don't take advantage of him, and I try and weld the small stuff myself.

 

[Jim in ICT]

While the cost of filler metals is high and continues to go up, labor is generally the highest expense of a weld shop's costs. You didn't say what kind of rod was used, whether your friend had it in his shop, or had to purchase some specifically for your job. Remember, he has a business to run and has to remain profitable to keep the doors open. If he has to buy materials specific to your job, all of the cost of that rod could have gone into your repair.
Also, how busy was the shop, and did he move your job ahead of others, or drop what he was doing to work on your bucket?
I think that you would have been wise to shop around with other weld shops for an estimate before taking it to a friend. Then, ask him for an informal estimate and you can decide then to leave it with him or walk.
You may have done more damage to your friendship by haggling over the $25.00 reduction in the price. You should have paid it in full, bitten your tongue and look for another weld shop if you felt taken advantage of.

If memory serves me correct, didn't you have an issue with the cost of car repairs vs. the amount of time spent on that repair?

 

[LD1]

your friend should've had courtesy to let you know the ballpark price before leaving if he know its would b over 100 bucks.....

Agreed.

And it seems he is "charging" $2 per inch. That just sounds high to me. Especially for a job that was already prepped and tacked. Just needed burned.

I'd hate to know what he would have charged if JJ didnt prep/tack everything.

And heck, assuming JJ used ~20 tacks, and each of them tacks was ~1/2", thats $1 PER TACK.

JJ: just curious, if you were able to tack yourself, why not just weld the whole thing?

 

[J_J]

Vision is not so good anymore. Macular degeneration is part of the problem.

I could have welded the bucket, but I would not be so proud of the job. I wanted it to last and look good,

Like a lot of people, I can stick something together, and I weld maybe once a month, but that about it. If I had to weld for a living and did it many hours a day, things would improve.

 

[EddieWalker]

I can't speak for what he should have charged you for his time, but as a contractor, my living is based on what I charge others. I have friends and family members who want me to do things for them and then ask for a discount in my rates. I explain to them that my rates are what I feel my time is worth, and that I will make that amount working for somebody else. Doing it for less means that I'm losing money, or it's costing me money.

I will do a favor for free and enjoy doing it, but if they want to hire me to do something and I take the time to do it, I will give them the very best job possible and go out of my way to make sure it's what they want, but I'm going to charge what my time is worth.

Eddie

 

[Shield Arc]

I wouldn't dream of charging a friend for anything. Thank God I don't have many friends! :laughing:

 

[murphy1244]

I wouldn't dream of charging a friend for anything. Thank God I don't have many friends! :laughing:

I like it!!!:laughing::thumbsup:

 

[ericher69]

Friends always get a deal in my book, and I would expect no less from them.

Being a friend I did not even ask for a estimate.

Not always in my books JJ...

If the friends reciprocate no problem but some "friends" always take and don't give back!

I don't do favors for friends counting hours spent doing whatever it is but I have distanced myself from some of these so called "friends"

And with the associated cost of power/consumables/gases I don't think it's too much to ask friends to pay for these items

 

[wdchyd]

I had an opposite thing happen to me last month....

An aquaintance from another website wanted welding done and was advertising he'd pay.....

I told him I could do it only if he helped cut, grind,fit up and I'd weldit.....the bugger shows up with his 6 yr old kid during the work day......I told him that kids are not allowed in shop area so the plan was for me to do it and call him when done...

He was crying about how the part was not avail to purchase (which was my first option for him).......

When all was finished he offered to pay me for an exchange in something he makes at home.......never heard word from him since

and the kicker was that the part he wanted was avail for $74.95 over the internet.....

evidently my 3 hrs and $20 worth of materials was not worth anything

Lesson learned (again)..........I would have been better off the just go home and watch the boob-tube....

Not saying JJ that it is the same as your problem, with friends I sometimes just don't have the coconuts to just say.....$$$$$, Pay up sucker

 

[hodge]

Life is seldom black and white- I see both sides of this. While I can appreciate anyone who is willing to do a friend a favor, which I have done my whole life, I also believe FIRMLY that it was very inappropriate to expect your friend to give you a break- he makes his living doing this, he pays for business licenses, taxes, overhead, power, etc.- it costs just as much to work for free as it does to charge a customer, and you are taking money out of his pocket when you expect a favor. Favors should be given, not expected. They also tell the character of a person.
Once, a co-worker asked me to come to his house and install carpet. He was a salesman, I was an installer, my father was the company owner. I chose not to give him a price- I told him to pay me what it was worth to him.
I drove 40+ miles, one way, after work, spent all evening (about 6 hours) installing the carpet, while he watched, then drove back home. I got home way after midnight, and had to be at work the next morning. He paid me $50.
Plain and simple- when given the option to pay me what he chose, he grossly took advantage of me. That was a real slam, but it really clued me in to his character.
I never expect favors from friends who are in business- I go willing to pay the regular price, and sometimes they give me a break. The break shows respect to me, paying regular price shows respect to them. That's how I feel about it.

 

[Shield Arc]

I take it as most of you boys are not retired and bored out of your mind as I' am! I don't have to do this for a living, so I don't mind helping friends and neighbors, my labor means nothing, I'm just glad when they pay for consumables. One of the first projects I did once my shop was built, and I got my bridge crane built, was mount a backhoe on one of the neighbor's tractor, I also built him a 24-inch bucket for it. Didn't charge him a dime. He did buy me a Drill Doctor.

I built this gooseneck adapter for a friend, didn't charge him a dime.