What is the daily wage rate for general skilled labor

[pete501]

I am going to be cleaning up my family property which will consist of tree trimming and yard debris removal. This is to facilitate the sale of the family estate house/property. I have set a side a week in which to do the work. There will be multiple trips to the land fill, I cannot burn or chip any of the debris. Tree trimming will consist of maybe 30% of the time spent to clean up the property. I am using my own tools and truck. Property location is Southern California.

My question is: How much do I charge for my services? A days work will start around 7 A.M. and include the commute to and from the landfill. End of the day will be to 5 or 6 P.M.. I do not want to be paid by the hour but by the day.

[D Crockett]

number of $ per hour x hours worked = day rate of pay + use of truck that is what I would think D Crockett

[OS OK]

$150/day

[MT Gianni]

I would describe that as unskilled or average manual tasks. Figure in the distance to the landfill, pay your self according to saw time at one rate, stacking and hauling at another, commute time at a third. Base it on an 8 hour work day with the commute extra. 2 hours saw time with furnishing saw and fuel $20 minimum $30 max. Stacking and loading $12-$15 hour same for driving,6 hours. @ $14 hr for 6 hrs $84, $50 for saw time. Add 55 cents per mile per truck which should include fuel.
I would swing by Home Depot and hire a couple of hands at $10 to do all stacking and loading which should keep you at the saw the most time, but that's me.

[blackthorn]

If you are taking time off from work---whatever your pay works out to in an hourly wage, plus the cost value any benefit package you are losing times the hours worked, plus costs for use of your equipment. Circumstances will dictate if you need/want add on to make a profit.

[MT Gianni]

I retired at $46 an hour for skilled labor, and would not expect my family to pay that rate.

[Hogtamer]

Pays better than my reloading skills I hope!

[Smoke4320]

at least $150-200 per day

just remember the cost of gas for truck for all those trips, saw with gas, oils, sharpening ect .. It starts to add up quick

[RogerDat]

IRS provides a mileage figure for the driving. Or at least gas money to cover the mileage driven. Start with full tank, fill when done, keep receipts. You could always call a landscaping company and ask them what they would charge to have a person come out to trim and load debris into truck or trailer for your disposal. Reduce what the landscaping company would charge per hour or for an 8 hour day by an amount that seems fair to you since you are doing it for family.

It is tricky when it is family and an estate. Finding out the "commercial" price and reducing it from there seems to me the best approach. Priced so you don't feel like you are being taken advantage of and family doesn't feel like you are milking the estate can be a bit tricky. Makes it easier if you can say commercial place would have charged $xxx and I charged the estate 60% of that amount. Or some other percentage that works for you.

[salpal48]

Where I come From we generally don't Charge family .unless you don't care for them

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I would charge $100 per hour while working on the site and the unloading of brush at the landfill (or compost site?).
I wouldn't include driving time at that rate...if driving time is significant, that would be 50¢ per mile plus $15 hour.

[WILCO]

Where I come From we generally don't Charge family .unless you don't care for them

Everything has a cost. Highly doubt you'd work for free on anything of value.
Small jobs are a wash with family, bigger jobs require some form of compensation.
That's just common sense where I come from.

[375supermag]

Everything has a cost. Highly doubt you'd work for free on anything of value.
Small jobs are a wash with family, bigger jobs require some form of compensation.
That's just common sense where I come from.

Golly, Mom... I'd like to rebuild your deck for no charge but it's a big job, so you need to pay me an hourly rate.
I don't know where you come from but I would never charge a family member for any task that I took on.
Family is more important than getting some cash.

[gnostic]

Get an estimate from a company that does, the service in question. That way, if for any reason, the cost becomes an issue, you'll be able to justify your price.

[lefty o]

what your labor is worth depends on what part of the country your standing in. i agree with you dont charge family, but working to sell an estate is different, unless everyone else is helping.

[zymguy]

If your charging then you need to take the liability risk. Around here a fair portion of what folks charge for chainsaw work is to cover there insurance.

[RogerDat]

One of the kids is a journeyman electrician. His time and work have value. We asked another electrician what he would charge for a job we had in mind, he told us commercial price and "friends & family" price. We asked the son who is electrician would he do the job for between the two prices, he offered lower than F & F price, we countered with higher. Ended up pretty close to the F&F price we were told by a third party. He didn't want to charge us for "helping" beyond parts cost. He has two kids and a wife so his time off has value aside from the skilled trade value.

So yes you give family a break, as much as you personally feel is warranted given the situation. Getting house ready for sale as part of estate the entire family will benefit from sprucing the place up before sale. Seems fair that they either pitch in labor or funds toward gaining that extra sales value from the property after sprucing up.

[dverna]

I am with the group that would not make a profit helping out family. And if my expenses were minimal (my Husky is not bad on fuel, and I sharpen my chain myself) I would not charge anything for that either.

I understand there are some “family” members that may deserve a special rate. $30/hr should send them a clear message.

[pete501]

All these responses and only two of you came up with an actual daily rate as asked for.

I asked my BIL who is a landscaper and he does it for $500 per day plus whatever the dump fee is.

The question of Charging Family and cost is not an issue here. The estate wants to pay for the service no matter who does the work.

I do this kind of work. I am the helper of an 82 year old tree trimmer. With an 82 year old doing most of the trimming and climbing, you must know how little work actually gets done. I am just the helper, loading brush, setting ladders, rope duty, etc. and I get $100 per day. I don't know what he charges customers, it varies from job to job.

I was thinking of $400, also I am traveling 800 miles with truck and tools just to get to the family house where I will be staying . I have allotted 1 weeks to complete the task.

[MUSTANG]

Davis bacon rate for Laborers in Southern California is $32.00 to $39.00 per hour. I would advocate since this is your work to prepare the Estate for Sale - Using that Rate (Certified by US Government and California for 2017 as "Fair Market" via Davis Bacon act) would be arguably valid to both the Estate Executor and the Government. I also would say that charging an additional Mileage Rate for your vehicle per the IRS schedule (54.5 cents for every mile of business travel driven) would be appropriate. Mileage should be Travel from home to Job site, all trips to dump etc.., and Travel Home each day. Sometimes family members and friends can view these as "excessive", but by using the Governments (Davis Bacon and IRS Mileage) rates it will provide sound reasoning on the figures, and reduce the validity of claims of "Excessive" charges to the estate.

[starnbar]

The thing is its family so I would just go with reimbursement for gas and dump expenses and whatever the minimum wage out there is unless the family is in a hardship position then in my family I don't ask for anything

[Minerat]

Find out what it would cost to have it done by a third party and offer to beat the cost by 10%. Then divide that by the number of beneficiaries and subtract your share since you are willing to do the work. You keep the firewood. Might talk them into including the cost for gas to get there and back since it is 800 miles. If there are 4 beneficiaries then this would be a 33% reduction for the job plus gas.

[pete501]

Davis Bacon, who doesn't like Bacon. If I figure the high end for labor in So Cal and don't take compensation for mileage, then a 10 hour day will be about what I thought. $400.

I am traveling there for a family event and don't need to be compensated for the 800 miles.

[mold maker]

A lot depends on whether you will profit from the property improvements.

[NWPilgrim]

Would it be cheaper to rent a dumpster for all the debris rather than multiple truck trips? They are usually fairly cheap around here.

Often used for roofing projects and property cleanups.

[tinsnips]

I have never charged any family member or my friends a dime . Sometimes it can be a big job like plumbing a new house for them they just pay for the parts.

[MyFlatline]

Davis Bacon, who doesn't like Bacon. If I figure the high end for labor in So Cal and don't take compensation for mileage, then a 10 hour day will be about what I thought. $400.

I am traveling there for a family event and don't need to be compensated for the 800 miles.

The Davis Bacon Wage act is based on Government jobs. Just lets you know why we have $400 hammers.

For those that are paying the $150 per hour, please let me know where to sign up. My current Liability Insurance is 1 Mil. and I hold a State Certification. Am willing to travel.

[MaryB]

Being family $20 an hour and eat the gas costs... since family will see a better gain on selling the house when this is done you should be paid for the cleanup.

When Mom sold the lake house after Dad died she paid us to come in and do some remodeling. I rebuilt the lakeside deck that had a lot of rotted timbers(north side of house, often wet from lake spray), my oldest sister redid the bathrooms with modern counter tops and new faucets, my older brother redid the kitchen... we all split up the jobs and Mom insisted on paying us because it increased the price she got on the house by $20k. She said it would have cost her twice as much to hire it out and since all of us kids grew up remodeling houses why not hire us and do it cheaper.

[472x1B/A]

Not trying to hijack your thread here pete501, or open up a can of worms, but what ever you decide on which path to take, make sure you get everything in writing/contract.

My half brother contracted to buy a convenience store/auto-boat repair shop. We, his son, him, and myself were to do all the work. In 2 years I received 1 ( ONE ) paycheck. No written contract, agreement, anything between us in regards to pay or benefits. Needless to say, the store portion went belly up. I ended up owing the bank $16,000.

[Handloader109]

I worked as grunt in MS fifteen yrs ago for a Benjamin a day. Your four is about right today. And it is an estate, not mom's deck or her gutters. Will be sold for profit. Get paid and get in writing

[fatelk]

I worked as grunt in MS fifteen yrs ago for a Benjamin a day. Your four is about right today. And it is an estate, not mom's deck or her gutters. Will be sold for profit. Get paid and get in writing
Me too, that exact same kind of work, except it was Oregon 20 years ago and it was more than a hundred for a long day of hard work. I worked for a friend and he charged a lot more than he paid me. Looking back I really enjoyed that time of my life. In SoCal, working your butt off for some long days, that's probably cheaper than they could get someone else to do it.

Yes it's just as important if not more so to get stuff in writing with family. I haven't had any troubles myself but I sure have seen some major misunderstandings resulting in serious family drama.

Not like you need the approval of anyone here, but personally I think your plan sounds good, so long as you're providing a good value and honest work compared to anyone else who would do it (sound like you are), whoever's in charge of the estate is good with it (sounds like they are), and there's not some other family in the woodwork who's jealous or thinks you should do it for free (wildcard).

I tend to refuse payment for helping family or friends, but taking time off work for a big job like that is different, especially under those circumstances.

A relative is a very good carpenter. His in-laws (SIL's parents) wanted him to come over on his vacation, hundreds of miles in another state, and build a fancy new covered deck with all the extras for them. He chuckled and said he politely declined, said they have "Champagne tastes on a Bud Lite budget". I suspect he'd have worked really hard, done a fantastic job, and would have been lucky to get gas money. It's really not reasonable to ask that kind of thing of someone. It's one thing to help family out of the goodness of your heart, and another to be taken advantage of.

[Plate plinker]

$250 per day (probably low foe SO.Cal) would not be out of line for that type of work. The family angle naturally changes things so thats to be considered. I know skilled people that donate one day out of the week for a family job, which I imagine is a exception to the norm. Also know of a guy who is charged full tilt by his own dad for work. Wrap your head around that little nugget.

[Lloyd Smale]

It would depend. If there all sitting at home sucking on a cold one while hes doing all the work then I sure wouldn't do it out of love of my family. I would say minimum 15 bucks an hour and 15 cents a mile. To be honest I wouldn't do it for that. you could even tell them that anytime 3 or more of you other family members show up to help I will work for free. My guess is you wont see a single one that's going to come out to save themselves a couple hundred bucks.
I am with the group that would not make a profit helping out family. And if my expenses were minimal (my Husky is not bad on fuel, and I sharpen my chain myself) I would not charge anything for that either.

I understand there are some “family” members that may deserve a special rate. $30/hr should send them a clear message.

[HATCH]

Your talking 11 hrs not including lunch
You didn’t mention how far you have to drive.
I don’t know California rates but your prob looking at about $150 per day depending on how much fuel is.
Figure $10 a hr x 11 hrs plus fuel



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[Hickok]

If all the family that are physically able to pitch in and help, or donate for gas/fees etc., then I would gladly give my time and equipment freely.

If the relatives sit back and just give "orders", dictate how things should be done and generally do nothing, I would tell them to go pay some professionals to do the work, then I would let them micro-manage the situation. That way, I could say, "Not my problem, you all wanted it this way."

[pete501]

Yes I will be the only sibling out of the eight of us doing the work. The trees need to be pruned to get the view back. The orchard had not been maintained for at least 25 years. That is 25 years of leafs that were not removed, shredding is not an option as they do not break down easily. The work will greatly increase the value of the property. Back when mom was alive the estimate for tree work was $10,000.

Thanks for all the help. I would do the work for free but the estate insists and rightly so, on paying for the work. The roll off dumpster idea may not pan out because they charge you for everyday it is on your property and its going to take some time to get it filled.

[lefty o]

as for the dumpster, make a pile next to where you will have the dumpster delivered, then fill the dumpster from the pile. faster than making trips to a dump.

[ih772]

Don't do work for friends or family. When the job is done there will always be someone who feels like they were taken advantage of.

[white eagle]

200 + expenses

[fatelk]

So there’s your answer, dozens of replies, and everything from do it free to a hundred bucks an hour. Take your pick, lots of stuff to wade through and come up with your own answer, but then it sounds like you’ve already done that.


Don't do work for friends or family. When the job is done there will always be someone who feels like they were taken advantage of.

There’s definitely some truth in that. Especially if you’ve got seven siblings, odds are someone’s bound to be jealous or upset at some point. Just so long as you’re aware of that, but you know them better than any of us do.

Best of luck with it. Hope it goes well for you!

[waksupi]

I'd ask for a few professional estimates, make an average in price. Then inform others involved of what you found on pricing, see what they say.

[Preacher Jim]

Always figured family free rest pay. Charging family and friends ends up war.

[OS OK]

What is it exactly that delineates a 'skilled laborer' over a 'laborer'?

[Lloyd Smale]

Ill give that a big amen. Id tell them to hire it out to someone else. Your just asking to get run through the ringer.
Don't do work for friends or family. When the job is done there will always be someone who feels like they were taken advantage of.

[pete501]

The executrix is tight with me, no question of receiving payment. As for upsetting the other siblings, most don't know I am doing the yard. They all should know the orchard needs professional help , not some guys from home depot. I am thinking they would appreciate me working. All did yard work when we lived there. Sibs are coming together to the family home for the last time before the property goes for sale. Trees have grown and blocked a beautiful view from the second floor level. The house was built for the view. Realtor said we need the view back. The only siblings that would have a problem with are the ones that I wouldn't care to see again.