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Camborio · Sep 25, 2008, 08:24 PM

In MN what is a reasonable price to charge someone to just stain their medium to large deck. I spoke with my father and he said when insurance covered to have the deck power washed and restained after a storm it was over $800.
My boyfriend is going to do this for a coworker of mine and I don't want to offend her by charging her too much I was thinking between $250 to $300, and if she wanted it powerwashed before maybe $350, or is $200 a good fair price.
I don't want to over charge her and offend her because I have to work with her every day, but I don't want my boyfriend doing hard work and not getting what he is worth for it.
Any suggestions would be appreciated... she also may have him put a fire place together for her.

hkstroud · Sep 25, 2008, 08:48 PM

Introduce your boyfriend and your co-worker and let them negotiate the deal. Otherwise one or both will be mad at you.

Camborio · Sep 26, 2008, 10:30 AM

I'm am planning on doing that I just wanted a ballpark figure on where to start the discussion.

wildandblue · Sep 26, 2008, 10:39 AM

Unless you have marks on it I don't think staining is any more difficult than painting the same size area, go by the square footage. Be sure he allows enough time between washing and staining for the wood to properly dry out or the color may look uneven, they won't be happy if that happens. If it's a darker color of stain you probably could just sweep it with a broom instead or wash it by mixing a solution of bleach and water in a bucket and swishing that around with a broom.

rtw_travel · Sep 26, 2008, 11:57 AM

I'm with Harold on this one. But if you want to get more involved, how about suggesting they use an hourly rate with materials at cost. Assuming your boyfriend is handy, hardworking, and honest, then this may be the best way.

Hopefully we won't see the follow-up post to this in the 'relationships' category. :-)

Camborio · Sep 26, 2008, 02:25 PM

LOL that is funny but I've talked with people at work and they seem to think that $200 to $250 is a fair price if she buys the stain or sealer and he doesnt't have to wash it... I just found out he will have to wash the deck.

hkstroud · Sep 26, 2008, 06:49 PM

Well you just prove my point. You don't know anything about this job, what has to be done, how long it will take or how much work it will be. You don't know what the going rate for this type of work is. Now you go around asking other people that don't know and have decided for your boyfriend and you co-worker what one should earn and the other should pay.
Your boyfriend should look at the job, decide how long it will take and how much work it will be. He can then decide how much he is willing to do the job for. He must of course charge a price is fair in order to get the job. You co-worker can then decide if that price is fair and can accept or refuse it. If your co-worker doesn't know, he/she must do his/her on research.

Suppose your boyfriend takes the job at the price you think is fair and it turns out to be twice as much work as he thought. He then blames you. Or suppose he feels like he's not being paid a fair price and does a lousy job. Your co-worker then blames you. Or suppose your co-worker finds out he/she could have gotten it done cheaper. He/she then blames you.

If you boyfriend knows how to do this work, he will have a better idea of how to charge. If he makes a mistake, it's his mistake, not your. Why do you think you have to decide this? Your boyfriend is going to be doing the work, let him make the decision of how much to charge. That's part of the job. If his price is not acceptable to your co-worker he/she can look somewhere else.

Introduce them and leave it at that. How much to charge is just not your decision.

Fr_Chuck · Sep 26, 2008, 08:46 PM

I will throw one out, first about the last thing any professional will do is pressure wash a wood deck, not with any high pressue, it will damage the wood very very easy. Actually using cleaning chemicals for deck, scrubbing and rinse with a hose is much more preferred over a pressure washer for real professional pressure washers.
Of they will lower their pressure to at least under 700 to 500 PSI. Go at a deck with 3000 and you will have groves ( even the best full time washer will)

Next what is already on the deck, has it been sealed, is the sealer still "fair" will it keep the wood from taking the stain,

Worn wood will not stain evenly, so the owner will need to be shown areas that will normally stain darker

Camborio · Sep 29, 2008, 02:28 PM

Thanks. He is either going to sand or power wash the deck and then stain it the color she wants and reseal it.
The deck is in poor condition and hasn't been stained in awhile he also has to reinforce the railing in areas since is wobly. He is going to get one of his friends to help him and is thinking of charging her $250 or $300.
I have see this deck it has old stain on it and it would be easier to sand the old stain off and restain and seal it.

magprob · Sep 29, 2008, 06:03 PM

I charge $3.00 a square foot but I completely sand it first. That is the only way to do a professional job. Chemicals are nice to have sometimes, but you must sand first.

mikedem7 · Sep 30, 2008, 03:25 AM

I would suggest to your friend to get prices from other contractors to compare to your boyfriend's .

Camborio · Sep 30, 2008, 03:18 PM

I know she wants it done fast and she just wants to get it done. I think that $250 to $300 is more than a fair enough price from what I've been researching. She wants him to sand the deck if she can rent a sander I'm going to let her know how much Ricardo will charge her and will let you know tomorrow. Thanks for the $3 per sq foot answer it really helped a lot.

jon123 · Nov 10, 2009, 04:30 PM

I just finished a small 10x6 balcony with rail cap ballesters and it was four hrs no breaks.. I used my 24 ft ladder for the outsides.. it was tedious and my labor fee was 250.00.. I am insured/licensed in the state of nj and advertise as a handyman in local paper. I took it to keep busy but I think it was worth at least 350.00 for today's prep and stain.. oh she supplied the stain. Hope this helps those wondering.. you need good 4 inch brush.. 2 inch brush roller/paint pan tarps etc. so 250 was cheap in my opinion.. 350 is a good labor fee for small balconies.. I gave her a deal cause she agreed to 250.00 next time for the small porch in the front on the ground.. I should finish that in about a half a day too.