Pro tip: I picked a flat rate over hourly for a tricky bathroom job and it paid off

I had a bathroom remodel in Phoenix last month where the client wanted a full tile shower but the walls were way out of plumb. The big choice was giving them an hourly rate or a fixed price for the whole tile work. Hourly felt safer for me with the unknown problems, but the fixed price was about 20% higher total. I went with the flat rate, which was a gamble because fixing those walls added a full day of work with extra mortar and leveling clips. Honestly, it was stressful watching the clock, but in the end I still came out ahead because I priced the risk in. If I'd gone hourly, I would have made less and the client might have gotten nervous seeing the hours stack up. Has anyone else taken the flat fee route on a job with hidden problems? How do you decide when to do it?

2 comments

2 Comments

colemartinez10d ago

Flat rates can backfire hard in my experience. You got lucky this time, but pricing unknown problems is just guessing. An hourly rate with clear communication protects you when the job goes south. Clients appreciate honesty about extra time needed for bad walls. That trust is worth more than a risky twenty percent bump. I've seen too many guys lose their shirts on a fixed price when they find rotten studs or bad plumbing.

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eva_garcia569d ago

Tell me about it... lost a whole week's pay on one bad plumbing job that way.