Tried charging by the hour for a roofing job instead of flat rate. Lost money somehow.

I bid a 40 hour job on a small flat roof in Cleveland last month at $50 an hour expecting to make $2,000, but I took 52 hours because of rotten decking boards I had to replace. The guy paid me full time no complaints but my profit just vanished with the extra hours. Do you guys get burned by hourly pricing on unexpected repairs or does it still beat flat bids for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

davidshah7d agoTop Commenter

Yeah but did you add a clause for rot or unforeseen stuff? Tbh that's where hourly kills you if you don't have a buffer built into your bid. Flat rate lets you eat those surprises and still walk away clean.

sanchez.ivan5d ago

Flat rate's not exactly eating the surprises though, that's the thing. If you bid flat rate and hit rot you're eating the cost out of your own pocket, not walking away clean. You're either losing money or you're the one getting bit. The real trick is knowing your local rot patterns and padding the bid accordingly before you even start. That's how you stay clean on flat rate, not by pretending surprises don't touch you.

brian_hart7d ago

Man that's rough, especially when you think you've got it dialed in and then the rot shows up. Hourly can really bite you on those hidden repairs. Yeah flat rate lets you roll with the punches a lot smoother.