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I thought I recently heard someone talking about doing sandblasted signs for $60 per sq ft.
At this moment, I'm figuring a bid on a 4.5 ft wide by 3 ft tall sandblasted sign. It has a little full color pictoral in the middle. All hand crafted.
My calculations, with every last thing figured in, come to 21.5 hours labor, at $35 per, equals $752.5. Add $495 for materials, plus $75 for design, it comes to $1322.5 plus tax.
That's $97.96 per sq. ft. Am I high on materials? Am I high at all? It just struck me as odd. Thanks for any help.
P.S. It's single sided.
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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Thanks Steve, that's a bit of reassurance right before I fax this price package . It's got go tonight so they can review it before a commitee tomorow (sp?) (sp?)
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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There is no set price. It all comes down to what you need to charge in order to operate your business and what a potential client is willing to pay. I would say that your calculated price is very reasonable but I know there are shops who would eagerly sell the same sign for $45.00 a square foot and thats not your fault or any reflection on what you yourself should charge.
Some clients are less concerned about what you charge and more concerned about other hidden variables that go into a selling price such as service, professionalism, and quality..
Its a tough busniness climate out there.
Oops, spelled climate wrong before the edit
[ June 12, 2003, 10:10 PM: Message edited by: Bob Stephens ]
-------------------- Bob Stephens Skywatch Signs Zephyrhills, FL
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I used to be able to use a rough guide of $100/sq.ft as an estimate for a one sided carved sign. But I cant use it anymore - materials and every other cost have gone up too much. Maybe on a really big sign it could work out, but I have had to start using a figure more like $150. Still only for estimates though, to qualify a prospective customer's budget reality. If they want a custom 20sq.ft sign and don't gasp at spending $3,000 for it, I know I can be pretty liberal in designing it. It's a great reality check. I still always price out the final bid like you do, T&M with butt covering margins and profit added.
Your shop rate seems low to me. It's none of my business, but have you compared it to what your local plumbers, telephone and cable guys, or appliance repairmen get for service work? I figure I'm very cheap at $60/hr when my cable man gets $75/hr to staple a wire to the outside on my building and drill a hole through the wall.
SONGPAINTER Original Sign Music by Sign People NOW AVAILABLE on CD and the proceeds go to Letterville's favorite charity! Click Here for Sound Clips! Posts: 1974 | From: Orleans, MA, Cape Cod, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thanks for the replies. This area is Appalachia. In some ways it's 10 or 20 years behind other parts of the country. Which is not all that bad. You can meet people with good values, and criminals aren't as devious as other places. But when I figure up a price, including every last little 15 minute step, people still get sticker shock. I don't know what the other service people are getting, but this has to be approached cautiously, as this really isn't "letterhead country". That could change, they'll be seeing more of that kind of work. I've got a good feeling about it.
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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James, I'm quoting, and getting $95.00 to 150.00 per square foot here. Consider upping your labour rate, and your design fee in your calculations.
I've been successful with charging folks separately for design now. Two of my most recent sign system design jobs came in at $350.00. That's above the sign cost. I get a moderate sketch deposit before drawing anything up, then upon approval of the layout, I request a deposit towards the actual fabrication.
Like Joe, I've been realizing the need to up my prices as my own bills seem to be increasing at an unbelievable rate.
I think your price is indeed fair.
Good luck with the job James, and let us know how it goes! Nettie
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
Your comment caught my attention: "this really isn't "letterhead country". That could change, they'll be seeing more of that kind of work. I've got a good feeling about it."
Keep that good feeling about it. Here's a personal example:
Before I moved out here to Arizona to fry my brain, I was in a small city in central Pennsylvania - a real blue collar type place with a poor economy. When I started in the sign business there, the quality of signage in the area was poor at best. I came to realize that customers "settled for" that low level of quality because they just didn't know that anything else was possible.
I had no desire to be known for that type of work, and I wanted to "raise the bar". So right from the start, I tried to make sure that my designs were better than anything else that was being done in our town.
I started out doing just vinyl work, but learned early on how to do special effects with paint and would try to incorporate that whenever I could. As I began to learn more about the business, I developed an real appreciation for carved, gold leaf signs. But, I thought that no one in my area would ever pay that kind of money for a sign. Well, despite my lack of faith in our business community, I taught myself how to hand carve HDU, how to finish and then how to gild. I did a sample for the showroom and then got the opportunity to do one for a client. It was only the second such sign to ever be done in this town. Before I knew it, I was getting calls from other businesses that wanted "one of those gold signs".
Some did have sticker shock, but others went for it right away because it wasn't the price that was determining their decision, it was the quality of the finished product. They didn't want another "me too" vinyl sign.
Several years later, I had a customer walk into the shop and say, "I've been seeing a lot of great looking signs around town and when I ask around about them, your name comes up almost all the time. I want you do my fleet of vans." This same customer had walked out of my shop a year earlier after telling me that I was too expensive.
Long story short, even in the middle of Appalachia, you can raise the standard and there are people who will want what you have to offer. It's not likely that every sign you do will be a "portfolio" piece, but you will become known as the one to go to for the "good stuff".
-------------------- Brian Hinkle Hincor/Sign Blue Book Mesa, Arizona Posts: 13 | From: Mesa, Arizona | Registered: Jun 2003
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My former boss & good friend Al Lorio, who is a sandblasted redwood guru in my opinion, just uped his price to $120.00 a square foot per side.
He does pretty well, & doesn't do too many signs other than sandblasted redwood. A little vinyl/aluminum, vinyl on vehicles, some blasted HDU & a handpainted MDO once in a blue moon.
Some guys in Baton Rouge go as little as $75 sq/ft.. most are around exactly what you figured: $90 to $100 p sq/ft..
However, I doubt any of them double it for a double faced sign. Al won't blast 2 sides of a piece of redwood over 10 sq/ft or so & I guess he figures a smaller sign is more labor per sq/ft.
Al is definitely the highest price shop in town, for redwood anyway... but his quality is unparalelled. Most people who buy his redwood are fully aware that his price is the highest around.
Sandblasted redwood is pretty popular here.
The price for wood is getting out of hand though. $18 a foot for 2x12s & they are getting harder & harder.
-------------------- Glenn S. Harris
....back in the sign trade full time. Posts: 293 | From: Baton Rouge, LA, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
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