A coworker has asked to hire me for some carpentry work. It's not my full-time job so I don't really have a bearing on what kind of labor rates are typical. I'll be replacing baseboards throughout the house. It will involve the measuring and shopping time, removal of old baseboards, painting/cutting/installation of new boards. I'll also be doing some work in a closet... perhaps installing custom wood shelves. Not quite sure.

I'll likely charge by the hour on the closet part. But what do I do for baseboards... hourly rate or charge by the foot? And the removal of old boards and painting of new ones?

I live in a Philadelphia suburb and will have to drive 40 minutes each way to her house in New Jersey.

Thanks for the help!

Charge by the hour for all of it. Whenever someone isn't sure about what they are going to want especially. And you don't know how much she is going to want to stop to talk about the project, or changes, or additions, or the next thing she wants done. You don't know if there is rot or termite damage. You don't know how flat the floors and walls are. Or what kind of baseboard she wants, and how high it will be. Baseboards can be a real pain. They might be below the level of the flooring, or even if it's just carpeting, you have to not damage the carpet. They can be toenailed at the bottom, and you need to either split the wood horizontally, or have a oscillating tool with a blade that can cut the nail while the baseboard is tilted away from the wall.

So many questions.

I would charge $30/hr, assuming you are somewhat experienced and have a good bunch of tools - chop saw will be important, and different sizes of pry bars, etc. Nail gun would be good. The more tools you have, the more you charge.

A friend of mine in CT charges 45 and is very experienced, but his rates are cheap around here. So I think for your level and travel time, 30 is fine.

Make sure she understands that the clock is ticking every minute you are talking. And that this is going to be quite a bit of time. 'Throughout the house' alone sounds like a lot.

Write 2 or 3 sentences about your terms on paper and both sign it, and keep it, and give her a copy.
Of course, first run all the terms by her in case she is clueless and thinks this will all cost her a third of what it will...