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How much do you charge to pull a permit for a customer? The city permit fee is $10. The sign will be a 4x6 aluminum and they require a layout of the sign etc, which i will only have to print and take to city hall. I figure maybe $15??
I've never had to pull one before.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7409 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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what is your hourly rate? $30 an hour, say then you bill the customer the time it takes you to go to the county, stand in line, pay for permit, get back to shop. dont think you can do it for $5 unless your right next door to the permit office.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I don't know how smooth your permit office runs, but around here county permits usually take a couple trips. The permit runs about $70. We charge about $250 for our time.
You have to figure not only the time it takes to print it out, but also the time it takes to drive to the office, fill out the forms, explain it to the idiot that has to sign it, and then sometimes you still have to come back the next day to pick it up.
Time is money, whether you are in your shop building or driving to the permit office.
The county permits around here can be pulled by the customers as long as they have our license info, etc. to include. We will usually encourage them to handle the permitting themselves to save some money. After they do it once, they find out why we charge so much to handle it.
-------------------- Joe Endicott NEXCOM (Navy Exchange Service Command) Signing Programs Specialist Virginia Beach, VA jeendicott@msn.com
"I want to be Stereotyped....I want to be Classified." Posts: 681 | From: Virginia Beach, VA USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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Wayne, when you go to get the permit, sometimes there's a line and you stand around 30 to 45 minutes to do 10 minutes work. Or, in the real small offices, the only person that can help you is out doing something else and you STILL wind up standing around for half an hour. There's no such thing as an appointment for small jobs in most municipalities.
I tried to build all of the permit drawings into the cost of the sign and encourage the client to carry the papers. If they wanted me to do it, it was $125 for a simple permit, and hourly rate if it got complicated. Actually, Joe's $250 is a good number. It's just easier to hide it in the sign than try to explain it to most people. Just my way of doing things. Vic G
-------------------- Victor Georgiou Danville, CA , USA Posts: 1746 | From: Danville, CA , USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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Hey guys, Thanks for the replies. I spoke with the "code enforcement officer" today and he said that even though the client already has a sign, she would need a permit for the replacement one. He assured me that I would be in and out of his office in 5 minutes. That's probably stretching the truth a little but, in this small town, I doubt there will be any line.
I will get the code man to send me a copy of the form/s Monday, to see how involved they are, and judge it accordingly. I'm certain that I can't charge that much $$ to pull a permit for a $400 sign. I do intend to be compensated for the amount of time actually involved with the permit.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7409 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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We get $100.00+ to file for a sign permit here in Jackson. I have photo copies of the the application that I give to customers and encourage them to file themselves but if they want us to file for them it's a $100.00 unless there are problems and then it goes up from there at $65.00/hr.
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To pull a sign permit in Jacksonville you must have a specialty contractor's license, provide a survey of the property in question to scale with the sign placement showing correct setbacks for ground signs from property lines, an elevation drawing with specs, sketches, forms, yada yada yada. I don't touch them for less than $250.
-------------------- Jean Shimp Shimp Sign & Design Co. Jacksonville Beach, Fl Posts: 1293 | From: Jacksonville Beach, Fl. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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In Gainesville,and also Alachua county, you must have scale drawing of sign, site plan for the property showing sign, letter of permission from the landlord or property owner, and a legal description of the property. Also a detail of the mounting method. All this in duplicate. That's for 32 sq ft or less. Anything larger that is going in the ground requires an engineers stamp on the plans, along with wind load calculations. If you build a wall as part of the sign, that requires a separate building permit , along with stamped footer plans and a separate footer inspection. Also need separate electrical permit for sign if you put a light on it. Have to use licensed electrician for that and have another inspection. So all sign permits are not created equal. I would charge $100. plus permit fee for a sign 32' or less, and more like $200. on up for other signs depending on the complexity of the job. Lots of time can be wasted finding legal descriptions, permission letters, etc., so I always ask the customer to do that much.
Can you see why I prefer to work out of town in the surrounding rural towns?? This permitting process is getting worse all the time. Sometimes you can't get two people in the same permit office to agree on what is allowed for a particular site.
Oh ,I almost forgot...don't forget your city and county business license, liability insurance coverage, workman's comp waiver, certificate of competancy card, and performance bond. It's enough to make you wish you were back with nothing but your kitbox and the open road, I swear!!
[ October 18, 2002, 11:48 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Ogden ]
-------------------- Jeff Ogden 8727 NE 68 Terr. Gainesville FL, 32609 Posts: 2138 | From: 8827 NE 68 Terr Gainesville Fl 32609 | Registered: Aug 2002
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