What is the daily wage rate for general skilled labor

[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!