What should we charge for porch work?

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jmc220

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Our new landlords moved out of the country leaving us in charge of their beautiful home. Since me husband does part time carpentry work they asked if we would be interested in redoing the large (10'x30') front porch. This work entailed repairing some loose boards, filling areas that were beginning to rot, sanding and painting the entire area. They had received a high-end estimate of $800 and a low-end of $400. They said they would be happy if we stayed within that range.

There was a lot of time (for both my husband and I) invested in prep work including the cost of the sander rental and supplies. Now that the work is done the problem is that once the porch was sanded, there was more damage to the boards than expected. The homeowners did not want to replace any of the porch so we did the best we could and now that it's painted the job isn't as flawless as I'd like.

My question is considering all the above I'd like to know a fair price to charge the landlords for the work done. We will be presenting them with a flat fee as opposed to t&m.

Thanks
 
Welcome JMC:
I would write to them explaining the details and unexpected work, charge them the $800, and ask them to apply it to your rent. With a deal like that neither of you get stung too bad.
Glenn
 
Thank you for your response. We certainly do want to be fair, which is why I'm asking for advice. But I hate to charge the highest of the estimates for what probably wasn't quite the job the professional would have done. Either way the work will be deducted from the rent which, you are right, is a win-win for all of us.
 
Flat fee or not how much per hour is you and your husband's time worth? Calculate it out and add the materials. You shouldn't work for peanuts just because he had those other estimates.
 
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