What to charge to build oven?

[JAG]

Hey all,

I have been asked to build an oven for a family member this spring. I was wondering from all of you pro brickies and masons what would be a fair charge to build a 42" igloo shaped oven. They are not sure if they want a brick dome or an FB cast oven yet. I will try to talk them into cast to cut down on the work hours. They live 90min. away and I could only work on weekends.

It would be a ground up build with dry stacked stand, ceramic blanket insulation with a layer of vermicrete and a layer of STO Powerflex stucco. Any insight on how to charge for this build would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

JG

[Laurentius]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

It would depends on how close of a family member. Mother, father, sister, brother, no charge, they pay all materials and expenses up front, provide help when needed, no supervising, no bitching, get an invite to all cook out, when talking ovens, mention your name in every other sentence, and always remember that they owe you a favor. If they insist that you be paid, increase the charge by 50%, because they are family your brain will be picked forever.

[edsiajb]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

The "family" element is definitely a curve ball. If I were to charge my family members, I would be considered a scoundrel! But I know others who have family members that should be charged MORE than the norm because they would be very difficult to please...

Good Luck!

[nissanneill]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

Why not negotiate an hour for hour deal, where thy come and work for you, mowing, cleaning, painting etc, you know all those jobs that build up and you never have enough time to do them justice.

[Gulf]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

JAG,

You are getting some great advice. Though, I am afraid that you are addressing your question to the wrong audience in this particular scenario. You are asking professional brick layers for a price range. A pro will get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time than you will. I’m not saying that it will be built better, just quicker. A pro would get up early, drive the 90 minutes, eat a sack lunch, work late, and drive back home. Day in and day out until the job was finished. Probably, near a week. You, on the other hand, will most likely take the spring and summer of weekends and vacations to finish.

You mentioned building for family. You will tire of the drive, they won’t hear of you staying in a motel, and will insist that you eat with them. How do you figure that in .

If you want the thrill of another build, and help a relative out, go for it, by all means. But, if you want to recoup your expenses and save them money, forget it.

just say'n

[JAG]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

Thanks everyone for the great input, definitely a slippery slope working for a family member. I guess we will just have to sit down where we can both voice our concerns and try to hammer out an amicable deal that we both will feel comfortable with. Thanks again.

JG

[DavidApp]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

Hello JG

Did you enjoy doing your build? I know I did and almost felt a little sad when I had finished the brick work. Really happy with the way it came out.

Get them to pay for your gas to travel to their place and let you stay there over the weekend and you get to do a free build.

David

[Les]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

My neighbor is a mason contractor - he told me that he would charge 15 grand for my island, that doesn't count the oven ( just the BBQ). I would convince them to go the kit route. It will be a LOT faster and keep any future finger pointing to a minimum. JMO

[dakzaag]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

What you charge and what it is worth are two very different things. I agree, it will be a slow build compared to a mason doing it. If you value the relationship, I would tread very carefully. One disagreement on look, finish, location, size, money, and all of a sudden it is no longer a friendly agreement.
I work for a lot of good friends, and it can get weird when my expectation and their's don't line up. They might want to cut corners that you know are important, or they might get all bent out of shape over something minor that you don't even think about.

I find it really helps to be the expert and my word is final. If a client has a problem with that attitude, we try to separate our ways before the project ever starts. Since your not a mason, the expert thing is a bit more of a negotiation and that can be problematic.

They won't save much money and I can promise you, a 90 minute commute will prevent you from earning much money. (Start the conversation at $100/hr and see how far it goes.)

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

Perhaps get a quote from a mason with experience building pompeii ovens and share it with your client, er, family member. If they're ok with it, you have a starting point on cost. If not, go the precast route, adjust the quote downwards (a little) and you're both happy.

[Tscarborough]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

Build it in your dirveway and then move it over and place it on the stand you either have built there or they build.

[JAG]

Re: What to charge to build oven?

Great advice all, Tscarborough, good thought, never really thought about something like that. I think finding a mason in their area and having the stand and concrete pads done by locals makes most sense and I'll do the oven associated work myself. I have read a few horror stories of masons with no knowledge of ovens trying to do the complete job and totally FUBARing some aspect of the critical insulation steps.