I know this acquaintance who wants his 800 sq ft. basement finished. He wants to shop around and I told him I can contract out this project, since I have experience with finishing out two basements. I told him I'd mark him up 20% for building materials and 18% for subcontracting an electrician. That'll essentially pay for my labor. He thought I was trying to screw him.
I'm pretty sure most contractors go up to 30% markup and other bullshit costs, plus if they're really cheap that means they're going to be cutting corners. I'm a little insulted that he thinks I'm trying to rip him off. This would require cutting out my weekends for the next month or so and doing work for an acquaintance (not like he's my best buddy or anything). And I wouldn't fuck him over on buying super-expensive materials either (or saying they're super-expensive when they're actually dirt cheap, like a lot of contractors do).
If he changes his mind should I just tell him to fuck off? Is this even a good idea? I'm not sure if I want to end up with the typical contractor headaches of not getting paid at the end of a job, the bitchy wife not liking the paint she picked out, etc... Especially since this is NOT my day job. I could use some spare cash though (around 3 grand) off of around 8 days of work (weekends).
#2
Chibibar
I would do what my Dad do. He use to be part time handy man and fix a ton of stuff (he was electrician by trade in Taiwan) and very handy with tools. He usually itemize stuff and give that to client so everything is transparent. He also let the people pick out their colors and even advise them if it is good or bad (or get another opinion) that way everything is approve by the person giving the job. Of course you would need a clause or some agreement that any changes in MID project (it happen) that the people will be out on the cost of materials and percentage on labor.
But that is how my dad work and did well for years before he retire and do other stuff.
