Home Improvement Today?

Looking for some opinions here... I have the opportunity to do some side work on a high end home in Phoenix for a friend of a coworker. They are looking for some built ins and custom touches as well as some detail touch ups for some shoddy sloppy work from a contractor they fired. One thing they want to do is create a feature wall behind their bed in the master bedroom. I'll basically be attaching lattice in a geometric pattern on the wall and then filling imperfections, and painting the entire wall one color so that it will have a 3D pattern on it. It's simple enough in theory but will require a lot of attention to detail and a lot of time making things perfect. They have a very high expectation for the finished product as far as making things perfect goes. The home sold for 1.8 million in July and they have invested a huge amount basically redoing the entire house. I do a lot of work like this but always for myself. Struggling to figure out what you would charge for a job like this. See pics below. Im thinking materials will be about 250 and don't want to struggle with the headache of all those angles for less than $500 or $600 but is 850 an absurd amount to charge someone to tack lattice to a wall? Any pros wanna weigh in on what they would charge or anyone else wanna weigh in on what they would pay??

 

How long do you think it will take you

 

2-3 days with the painting and everything

 

They know what they want - the design I showed - and they want everything 90 degrees and parallel.

 

Is that going on to drywall ? If so how do you plan to fix it on there and what material are you going to use for the battens ?

 

Yes. Was planning to use MDF lattice strips because they'll be smooth and straight. Attach with a finish nailer and some adhesive. Any recommendations?

 

I was going to say I would likely use MDF and Titebond 3 , I would find and mark all the studs too and get nails into them where your battens cross the studs . Use opposing angled pins in the field between studs .

Get a main pattern batten in and use a rip of MDF to step off the rest to get a consistent spacing and straight battens

Glue the butt joints as well

 

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking the same as far as mdf pattern pieces. Was going to create the largest "T" first where the chevrons hit the ladder thing and build out from there.

What is a fair price to charge for something like this?

 

Whats fair to charge varies a lot regionally , I don't usually get involved in that kind of conversation here

 

Fair enough. I appreciate the advice.

 

I think you’re a little low. Don’t forget the markup on materials. This will probably turn into a week of full time work (perfectionist). Just be sure you can deliver. I’m not a professional, just my 2 cents.

 

Not sure about Arizona but in Maryland side work hourly rates are pretty high. All my buddies who do Hvac, electrical, plumbing, etc look at it as overtime and price it as such.

 

I agree...

Same here. $50/hr or more for side work is a norm.

I'd look at what you get for overtime, or a union painter/carpenter in your area, and charge accordingly. Add some wiggle room too in case it takes you longer, and it usually does.

 

I should also point out that I’m not a pro contractor. I flip my own houses. I build custom furniture. I’m extremely meticulous and do a lot of this type of work to a higher standard than plenty of pro jobs I’ve seen but this is a side gig from my 9-5 office job pushing papers around. Does that change your opinion of what I can charge?

 

i still struggle w/ painting, ...have to build up the skill... use a synthetic bristle brush for the water-based latex paints, ..i typically use the better quality brushes by "purdy" or "wooster" (available at home centers, hw/ stores, etc..)... brush matters, paint matters, and so does the sheen level... here's some pics of recent trim project, i used:
- benjamin moore regal select, sheen: pearl (equiv. to "satin")
- purdy brush
- water (spray) bottle

...what i don't like about the newer water-based formulations (lower "VOC" = more PITA) is they dry way to quickly, ...hard to keep a wet edge you can go back and even out, drips, etc... what i did was spritz the paint in my paint cup w/ water from time to time to keep it thinner... you can't totally eliminate brush strokes, ...but you can keep it to a minimum, and a good paint/sheen will hide them view after you get a couple feet away...

 

your built-in looks excellent! great match, ..nice place!

 

Again, I agree. What you do during the day has no difference if you deliver a quality product after 5 pm.

 

Love being in the home stretch,

 

If u can deliver the goods and deal with the homeowners bs then charge what u want lol
The difference in the amounts you quoted is insignificant to someone that lives in a $2 million house

 

Truth...they probably wont give a hoot on price if the end product is professional looking and done in a reasonable amount of time.