hr / Rate per helper

[eecervantes83]

I've been thinking about getting some extra help on some of my larger jobs. I get from time to time. But have no clue on how to bill them out. Do I charge my full hourly rate per helper. Or do I prorate. I mean all they'll be doing is grinding and. Helping with setup / cleanups. It seams I'm stuck with this decision. Any help is appreciated.

[bababouy]

A good helper is worth their weight in gold. On a larger job or construction site, you should express it to your customer as a safety factor and having a helper may help with getting the job finished faster. A helper should start out with getting things set up like hooking up a water hose if needed, uncoiling your leads and finding a power source to plug in your battery packs if you are using cordless power tools. When welding on job sites, its a good idea to have sombody close incase something starts on fire or something can be ground on while the welder is doing his job. I would start at $12 an hour and bring them up to $15 after a few months if they are making your job easier. Plus it always helps to have someone drive you home after a long day.

[beamwalker]

Where do i sign up? Ill even weld some

[Portable Welder]

My hourly rate is 80.00 and when a helper goes out on the truck It varies depending on how much he is used, if its a job where he is constantly working I charge 55.00, If he's just holding and helping once in a while after every thing is set up then I only charge 45.00 hr.

[eecervantes83]

Thanks for your advice. It helps.

[Forger]

At minimum you should charge what you are paying him per hour X3 ,but it seems we welders are very good at short changing ourselfs,every heard the saying (we cheat the other guys and pass the sayings on to you)seems we are always the other guy,If you have a good employee don't cheat him out of a raise ( or yourself) so you can save your customer a buck.For what its worth.

[Portable Welder]

Forger, I agree, you have to charge at least 3x his hourly rate to pay for work comp insurance and all the time that he's getting paid on the days that we are fixing and maintaining equipment and not making money.

[Amc724]

Think about it like this.....
if your help wasn't there, who would grind, move steel, roll up, etc.... You and at what rate?

Charge the customer for the helpers time the same as yours.

[Portable Welder]

AMC724, If its portable welding, you cant charge the same rate for both men because you have one man and a truck figured at one rate, and then you can charge full rate for the second man but you need to back the truck out of the cost for the second man.

If its in the shop you charge full rate for the journeyman and if the 2nd guy is a helper you need to dicount his rate to the customer.

Plain and simple its a jugling act ( You want the customer to come back ) so you have to adjust accordingly.

[MMW]

Think about it like this.....
if your help wasn't there, who would grind, move steel, roll up, etc.... You and at what rate?

Charge the customer for the helpers time the same as yours.

Chances are if it was you doing the grunt work you would be doing it faster/better than a helper. That's why you get paid more. I agree a helper should be at a lower rate.

As a customer why would I want to pay the same rate for a helper as an experienced pro?

[eecervantes83]

Think about it like this.....
if your help wasn't there, who would grind, move steel, roll up, etc.... You and at what rate?

Charge the customer for the helpers time the same as yours.

Chances are if it was you doing the grunt work you would be doing it faster/better than a helper. That's why you get paid more. I agree a helper should be at a lower rate.

As a customer why would I want to pay the same rate for a helper as an experienced pro?

Exactly what I was thinking
Id say half of my going hourly rate for the helper should be fair enough.
I mean I'm doing all the critical layouts
Welding. Fitups and decisions.
While the help. Does take a beating. Grinding cutting.

[go2building]

hr / Rate per helper

I charge the same rate for a helper. If its a 2 man job, I charge for 2 men. If its a 1 man job I only charge 1 man. I don't get the luxury of doing hourly work though. My customers want it cut and dry, price per job.

[diamondfab]

Hey Guys,
In regards to billing out helpers, I look at them as general labourers. In Toronto a non union labourer gets billed at $55/hour. Time and material jobs are few and far between so the labour cost is always included in a lump sum price. I always send a helper on jobs, usually 1 helper for 2 welders. Most importantly they are there as fire watch, all my guys are trained in fire extinguisher training and fire watch protocols.

At the end of the day never feel bad about charging too much for a helper, the companies you are billing are usually making money hand over fist. As well, never let their stories of "losing money" affect your hourly rate or billing. If they are actually losing money its not your problem. Welding is a very specialized trade, bill your time and skill accordingly and make yourself a very healthy living.