How much does a contractor cost per hour

[saraha]

We are looking at hiring a guy to tear off our small covered porch and replace it. We live in a low cost of living area and he is a self employed friend of a friend. What would you expect to pay per hour for labor?

[Melissa in Australia]

A minimum of $100per hour in a low cost of living area. 

[QueenCat]

They don't charge by the hour here. They give a quote for the project. 

[Melissa in Australia]

14 minutes ago, QueenCat said:

They don't charge by the hour here. They give a quote for the project. 

Same

But when you get the quote it states how much per hour plus how much for every single item

[saraha]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Same

But when you get the quote it states how much per hour plus how much for every single item

This is what we will be getting too, materials plus labor itemized. We’ve never hired anyone to do anything before so just wanted to see what other’s experiences were 

[Tap]

It will vary drastically. It could be as low as $20 an hour for someone doing work under the table up to $120+ for someone with special skills like and electrician/plumber/concrete/sprinklers etc.  The depth of skill required will make a difference too. My covered porch required an architect drawn plan submitted for permits. We needed permits for concrete, structure and electrical work. We needed someone who could do all of those things without sub contracting them all out.  The needs for vents, gutters and pitch of the roof will also affect the price of roofing labor which may be done by the contractor or sub'd out especially in very hot areas.

It really depends on the level of handyman they are. Someone who is just doing random side jobs will likely charge less that someone who can do commercial or certification level work.  

[gardenmom5]

we've had a lot of handyman work done.  We've always paid by the project, not per hour.  For most things, we have a 'general' handyman type.  for somethings, we have more specialized.

 Before you go hiring a "friend of a friend" - is he *licensed, bonded, and insured*????  if not - I wouldn't even bother talking to him.

Then, get some bids.  if he is licensed/etc. - I'd let him submit a bid.  Then I'd go with who I thought would do the best job for the money.  (which doesn't necessarily mean the lowest bid - or the highest.)

[vonfirmath]

$95-$120/hr. But there is generally a minimum charge.

[Tanaqui]

You get what you pay for. I wouldn't hire somebody who isn't licensed. My mother used to do that, and we got burned that way, and now I hire all the contractors for her as needed. They always come in and comment on the idiot who messed up whatever job they're fixing. It's like, yes, we know, the man was hired on the cheap.

[Scarlett]

4 hours ago, saraha said:

We are looking at hiring a guy to tear off our small covered porch and replace it. We live in a low cost of living area and he is a self employed friend of a friend. What would you expect to pay per hour for labor?

In my low cost of living area……Skilled labor for small jobs is hard to find. Even still  the few I know charge between $30 and  $40 per hour.

[TechWife]

Don’t pay by the hour, pay by the job. 

[TechWife]

5 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Same

But when you get the quote it states how much per hour plus how much for every single item

Here labor is a stated fee for the total of the job. We get itemized bills for supplies and then a “labor & installation“ price. It’s typically almost equal to that of the supplies.  Paying per job prevents dawdling and paying for the workers to fix any mistakes they make along the way. They could spend two hours doing something only to realize that they did it incorrectly, spend an hour tearing it out and then another two hours doing it right.  That’s five hours of labor for a two hour job and the homeowner is none the wiser. 

[Scarlett]

You can pay by the job and it is usually better for somewhat bigger (yet small) jobs, but I personally like to know what that is likely to mean per hour, roughly.  But then again, if we hire something it is a trade off as to whether dh can do it....if he has to pay more per hour than he makes at his job he is highly unlikely to hire it done.   Most people probably don't operate like that though. 

My parents did a 50K kitchen remodel and the labor was no where near $150 per hour.  

[saraha]

You guys are great, he came over and looked at it and said he would get us a bid in a couple of days. Dh could’ve done the job himself, but he’s has multiple surgeries this summer rendering him “useless” and a leak has developed and brought down the ceiling, so now it is something that can’t wait for dh to be back to himself. We are trying to estimate on our minds how much  it will cost, dh could easily figure out the materials but we had no idea what to estimate with labor.

you guys are so helpful!!!