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Author	Comments
scott moss Posted: Aug 18, 2009 09:43 PM	estimating jobs I heard different ways of bidding jobs and was curious what the going rate per board foot of open cell and closed cell foam are going for. I've had alot of people ask me what I get a board foot for foam, builders mostly and I couldn't answer the question.
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Aug 23, 2009 02:34 PM	I recommend that you charge as much as humanly possible. :)
scott moss Posted: Aug 30, 2009 10:50 AM	what I mean is how much do you get per board foot of cc and oc. is there a round about number you use
Eric Sparks Posted: Sep 01, 2009 01:01 PM	Sounds like you got about the same training I received when I started.A board foot is 12"x12" and 1" thick. Your best bet is to find out what someone else in your area is charging and go from there. Best of luck
Posted: Sep 01, 2009 10:25 PM	I like to just throw a number out there. Makes me feel good sometimes when I am having a bad day! The customers think I know what I am doing! On a more serious note, Open Cell is running between $.35 and $.50 per board ft (3 1/2" mimimum which puts you at $1.25 on the low side and $1.75 on the high side at 3.5 inches) and closed cell is around $1.00 to $1.25 a board ft in our area (2 inch minimum). We do more roofing than insulation and only do new construction or commercial on the insulation side. We quote at the top and tout our service, but we do run up against those numbers all of the time. I guess it just depends on your competition level. Louisiana probably has close to 100 applicators now.
scott moss Posted: Sep 02, 2009 09:08 PM	thanks for the numbers and advice. now I can maybe look at a set of plans and come up with a rough estimate for these people when they ask.
Eric Sparks Posted: Sep 03, 2009 12:34 PM	Bayouboy so for two in cc your getting around 2.50 at 2"? What are you getting at 3"?
Terrance Harris Posted: Sep 03, 2009 10:40 PM	New Guy. Please don't take this as a smart a-- reply. I'm close to 40 years in this business, ten as an applicator and 30 as a contractor/applicator. Actually, I encourage new people to come into this industry as the more people selling and installing good work is good advertising for all of us. However, I am curious as to why you would outlay the money for a spray rig and other related start up costs and not know how much to charge for your product.
Posted: Sep 03, 2009 11:29 PM	,,with all the new guys out here in the cornfield,,, we have lowered our prices to closed cell $0.50/brd ft and open cell to $0.25/brd ft... if you cant beat em...beat em,,, ..burma shave
Posted: Sep 04, 2009 10:36 AM	Hi Sparky Let me further clarify the closed Cell. The majority of the work we do is for goverment entities, which include City, Parish and State. Once you put up a 5% Bid Bond, 100% Payment and Performance Bond and then wait 30 days for your money, you don't have a choice but to add those additional cost into your prices. Residential pricing does range between $1.00 and $1.25 per board ft in our area on closed cell. Some applicators do go under $1.00 per bf. We are fortunate not to have to match every low price out there. On the other hand, when I first started, I did have to match every price or risk losing the job. Once you begin to get enough work and you are booked for several weeks out there in advance all the time, then you can be a little more critical of the pricing and the jobs that you do take.
scott moss Posted: Sep 11, 2009 09:12 PM	well as for why I got into the business with no knowledge of spray foam me and my father are building new houses for ourselves and decided to insulate using spayfoam. I'm actually a fire fighter by trade and wanted to do something no one else on our department did. So I bought the machine and have been getting some on the job training with our two homes and doing alot of reading and asking questions, and I appreciate all the info and knowledge.
Posted: Sep 11, 2009 10:06 PM	your local real spray foam dude thanks you for takeing away his work,,, he hopes you learn about your equipment, your product, and more importantly building science before you try to confuse his potential customers any more than you already have,,, he thanks the vendor who sold you the equipment,,a real professional group with the best intrest of the sprayfoam industry for sure!!! he appreciates your service to the world as a firefighter,,,, ps: if you want to try something no one else in the department did,,why not a sex change or sumpin like that which will only effect you...lol,,sorry i had too!!
Posted: Sep 11, 2009 10:36 PM	I got into it because I didn't want to spend $250K on a new spray foam roof on my fathers Cold Storage Facility after Hurricane Lili in 98 or 99. My local real spray foam dude wasn't to concerned about me. Dude, they are popping up all around my area with new foam guys. My old supplier SomethingPI could care less about me or you or anyone else for that matter. I was their only roofer in Louisiana and they gave every lead coming in to the wall foam guys who didn't have a clue. I was pissed for a while, but could care less now. I guess we were all new at one point unless you were born into it, which I wasn't. I would rather be spray foam than fighting fires if I had a choice!
Ron McMullin Posted: Sep 23, 2009 04:03 PM	I have a 700.00 minimum and that is not enough. I charge 1.25 for one inch, 2.125 for two inches, and 3.oo for 3 inches, and 1 dollar for every board foot after that. You should expect about a 17% profit or less after you count all of your expenses, this includes association fees, insurance gas, bribes, graft, and protection (just kidding about the last three.) If you give much of a discount, you are giving away your money and working for wages. We are already bidding against cheap insulation, fiberglass and cellulose, so the margins are already tight. good luck.
scott moss Posted: Sep 28, 2009 10:27 PM	I appreciate all the help, even from the grumpy old foam dude. any time you think of any thing a newby should know feel free to let me know

Author

Comments

scott moss

Posted: Aug 18, 2009 09:43 PM

estimating jobs

I heard different ways of bidding jobs and was curious what the going rate per board foot of open cell and closed cell foam are going for. I've had alot of people ask me what I get a board foot for foam, builders mostly and I couldn't answer the question.

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Aug 23, 2009 02:34 PM

I recommend that you charge as much as humanly possible.

:)

scott moss

Posted: Aug 30, 2009 10:50 AM

what I mean is how much do you get per board foot of cc and oc. is there a round about number you use

Eric Sparks

Posted: Sep 01, 2009 01:01 PM

Sounds like you got about the same training I received when I started.A board foot is 12"x12" and 1" thick. Your best bet is to find out what someone else in your area is charging and go from there.
Best of luck

Posted: Sep 01, 2009 10:25 PM

I like to just throw a number out there. Makes me feel good sometimes when I am having a bad day!
The customers think I know what I am doing!

On a more serious note, Open Cell is running between $.35 and $.50 per board ft (3 1/2" mimimum which puts you at $1.25 on the low side and $1.75 on the high side at 3.5 inches) and closed cell is around $1.00 to $1.25 a board ft in our area (2 inch minimum).

We do more roofing than insulation and only do new construction or commercial on the insulation side.

We quote at the top and tout our service, but we do run up against those numbers all of the time.

I guess it just depends on your competition level. Louisiana probably has close to 100 applicators now.

scott moss

Posted: Sep 02, 2009 09:08 PM

thanks for the numbers and advice. now I can maybe look at a set of plans and come up with a rough estimate for these people when they ask.

Eric Sparks

Posted: Sep 03, 2009 12:34 PM

Bayouboy so for two in cc your getting around 2.50 at 2"? What are you getting at 3"?

Terrance Harris

Posted: Sep 03, 2009 10:40 PM

New Guy. Please don't take this as a smart a-- reply. I'm close to 40 years in this business, ten as an applicator and 30 as a contractor/applicator. Actually, I encourage new people to come into this industry as the more people selling and installing good work is good advertising for all of us. However, I am curious as to why you would outlay the money for a spray rig and other related start up costs and not know how much to charge for your product.

Posted: Sep 03, 2009 11:29 PM

,,with all the new guys out here in the cornfield,,,
we have lowered our prices to
closed cell $0.50/brd ft
and open cell to $0.25/brd ft...
if you cant beat em...beat em,,,

..burma shave

Posted: Sep 04, 2009 10:36 AM

Hi Sparky

Let me further clarify the closed Cell. The majority of the work we do is for goverment entities, which include City, Parish and State.

Once you put up a 5% Bid Bond, 100% Payment and Performance Bond and then wait 30 days for your money, you don't have a choice but to add those additional cost into your prices.

Residential pricing does range between $1.00 and $1.25 per board ft in our area on closed cell. Some applicators do go under $1.00 per bf.

We are fortunate not to have to match every low price out there. On the other hand, when I first started, I did have to match every price or risk losing the job.

Once you begin to get enough work and you are booked for several weeks out there in advance all the time, then you can be a little more critical of the pricing and the jobs that you do take.

scott moss

Posted: Sep 11, 2009 09:12 PM

well as for why I got into the business with no knowledge of spray foam me and my father are building new houses for ourselves and decided to insulate using spayfoam. I'm actually a fire fighter by trade and wanted to do something no one else on our department did. So I bought the machine and have been getting some on the job training with our two homes and doing alot of reading and asking questions, and I appreciate all the info and knowledge.

Posted: Sep 11, 2009 10:06 PM

your local real spray foam dude thanks you for takeing away his work,,,
he hopes you learn about your equipment, your product, and more importantly building science before you try to confuse his potential customers any more than you already have,,,
he thanks the vendor who sold you the equipment,,a real professional group with the best intrest of the sprayfoam industry for sure!!!
he appreciates your service to the world as a firefighter,,,,

ps: if you want to try something no one else in the department did,,why not a sex change or sumpin like that which will only effect you...lol,,sorry i had too!!

Posted: Sep 11, 2009 10:36 PM

I got into it because I didn't want to spend $250K on a new spray foam roof on my fathers Cold Storage Facility after Hurricane Lili in 98 or 99.

My local real spray foam dude wasn't to concerned about me.

Dude, they are popping up all around my area with new foam guys. My old supplier SomethingPI could care less about me or you or anyone else for that matter.

I was their only roofer in Louisiana and they gave every lead coming in to the wall foam guys who didn't have a clue.

I was pissed for a while, but could care less now. I guess we were all new at one point unless you were born into it, which I wasn't.

I would rather be spray foam than fighting fires if I had a choice!

Ron McMullin

Posted: Sep 23, 2009 04:03 PM

I have a 700.00 minimum and that is not enough. I charge 1.25 for one inch, 2.125 for two inches, and 3.oo for 3 inches, and 1 dollar for every board foot after that. You should expect about a 17% profit or less after you count all of your expenses, this includes association fees, insurance gas, bribes, graft, and protection (just kidding about the last three.) If you give much of a discount, you are giving away your money and working for wages. We are already bidding against cheap insulation, fiberglass and cellulose, so the margins are already tight. good luck.

scott moss

Posted: Sep 28, 2009 10:27 PM

I appreciate all the help, even from the grumpy old foam dude. any time you think of any thing a newby should know feel free to let me know

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