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$ per hour in new england Post New Topic | Post Reply

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Frank Bood Posted: May 07, 2009 10:59 PM	$ per hour in new england I have a few guys that spray for me and they all started at $20 an hour. I have hired a guy in the last few months thats a great sprayer better then all the guys i have now. I started him at $25 an hour based on his 6 year history and his knowledge of foam in general. He comes in today and says hes been offered $30 an hour by a local company and wants to know how i would like to handle this. I love having him hes a great addition to the company. But is $30 an hour worth keeping him. Does anyone pay there employees $30+ an hour? If so are they worth it? What is a fair wage for a good sprayer? Thanks in advance.
chad harris Posted: May 11, 2009 09:24 PM	If you have the work, and he's a excellent applicator along with the knowledge of troubleshooting equipment and getting it up and running quick, a.k.a. a true foam mechanic, ya, he's well worth it!
Frank Bood Posted: May 21, 2009 08:28 PM	Thanks for the input. I am wondering if its even a number anyone is paying and if so what is the top pay for a good sprayer. Should i expect my newer guys as they become better to expect this wage after i have paid for there training and learning on my dime? This high of a wage for me could cut into profits or i would be required to make higher bids.
Posted: May 21, 2009 10:24 PM	It must cost more to live up north! I thought $10 bucks was a lot and these guys can strip and clean a fusion no matter what the problem. Change barrels, filters, rebuild pumps even do electrical. They can spray spray flat,round, inverted, extraverted and none of them are converted. Glad to see you guys are doing your part in getting the economy going. $30.00 bucks, huh... I can even make sales calls. Let me know if you need any help up there!
Frank Bood Posted: May 22, 2009 06:33 PM	Its not cheap to live up here but no one that i know of in the area is paying less then $17hr for new guys. And about $22-$25hr for GOOD guys. With good reason, our good sprayers yeild a lot more board feet in a much faster time frame with a lot less waste. Which saves the company a lot of money. So in my eyes $22-25 an hr is well worth it for a good sprayer but $30 is a bit high. But again if the sprayer is great it can be worth it i guess. Im just looking to see if anyone up here is offering this much or if i am being hustled. $10 an hour for what you do my friend is just not a fair wage in my eyes. I dont care where you live. This stuff in not good for you and frankly sucks to spray. This is not a glam job by no means and should be paid for fairly.
chad harris Posted: May 26, 2009 10:38 PM	30 an hour is high, I agree, but on the flip side, If a guy can get jobs done quick and efficiently, then on to the next project, I believe it will all balance out. And $10.00 an hour in this industry is ludicrous I agree, sounds like someone is low-balling his prices just to make a weeks wages, in the mean time, they try to convince themselves and whomever they hire that $10.00 an hour is adequate. What a bunch of horse ******!
Posted: Jun 01, 2009 05:28 PM	No need to be a Jack ***** Shooter. I spray 100% on one of my rigs and rotate three sprayers on other rigs so they never have to stop. All will give your best guys a run for there money. They get $10.00 an hour and split 5% of the overall job if they are spraying. No problem if you want to pay your guys $1500.00 to $2500.00 per week. Just don't expect to compete against me in this area and then cry everyone is cheaper than you. Competition is tough out there!
Frank Bood Posted: Jun 01, 2009 06:51 PM	Im not sure what to say to that other then we have no problem getting loads of work and for a good amount of money.(7 trucks on the road daily 2 are dual rigs) As for the $10 an hour your no where near me in geographical terms. You cant eat up here for that money. But to each his own i guess. Where are you from?
Posted: Jun 01, 2009 07:32 PM	Louisiana Are you guys only paying them for the hours that they are spraying? I put the numbers to it on what we are working, if you are paying your guys $1500.00 to $2500.00 per week than they should worship the ground that you walk on. Once you add Federal and State taxes and Workers Comp, you are another $500.00 to $700.00 on top of that. Health Insurance add another 10%! $75K to $100K a year for applicators is a lot of money whether you are in Louisiana or New England. If they are running their own crew and you don't have to baby sit them, then maybe they are worth it if you have the business. If you have to transport them to the site and babysit, then you are just paying to pay. Sorry to disagree, but to many people are getting laid off and Louisiana's economy is much better than the rest of the country. We have no less than 25 applicators within 100 miles of me and they all will kill for the business that I am getting. If you pay those kind of numbers here and compete for the business, then you will find yourselves working for your employees and not the other way around. Do what you have to do, but you did ask for an opinion and as a business owner that did 20 million plus in sales in 2006, 2007 and 2008, I am just offering you good advice? My payroll was well over $800K in 2008. Don't overpay, it will come back to haunt you if business ever slows down and it eventually will not matter how good you are.
Terry Adams Posted: Jun 02, 2009 01:37 AM	made 20 million and still spraying? 800,000 in wages past year, hmm, must be spraying for about 4 dollars a board foot. wish we could get that much. I'm in the region and pay by the job, works out from $20 to $30 per hours worked, about 7 to 10% of the pre tax. Tried the hourly thing, you don't get any savings just longer time on the job. Pay by the job gets them in and out faster. Quality doesn't suffer either.
Posted: Jun 02, 2009 08:51 AM	We are a manafacturing company that also does spray foam.
Terrance Harris Posted: Jun 05, 2009 05:20 PM	Anyone smart enough to get a rig to the job, trouble shoot the equipment if necessary, prep the job, understand the chemistry involved, proficiently spray and clean up the job, ain't dumb enough to work for $10.00 an hour. A trained foam mechanic is also a craftsman and should be paid accordingly. The first year I have 20 million in sales will be my last. I'll be in the Florida Keys on my 40 foot charter fishing boat.
chad harris Posted: Jun 05, 2009 06:25 PM	I'm thinking about retiring in Louisiana, gas must be .50 a gallon, milk .99, ribeye 1.79 lb., 2500 sq. ft. house $34,000.00. Life must be sweet! Just hackin' on ya BB, what's good for you, is good for you!
JohnPeters Posted: Jun 06, 2009 04:44 PM	It's funny how both parties are on such opposite ends of the spectrum, and they're in the same industry! $10 per hour is ludacrous for this kind of work. Especially in LA, the humid heat must be killer - I hope you have a fresh air system for your guys. No way I would be spraying an attic in LA with a respirator. I work in New England, and I cannot imagine paying a sprayer $30 per hour. Craziness...On the other hand, if you can sustain adequate margins to keep your company going while paying $30 per hour - go for it. You don't need us to rationalize what his pay should be. Personally I would apply a commission based pay system rather than stepping his pay up to $30 per/hr. The commission can be based on a calculation of material usage and time completion of the job. Obviously things that are out of the control of the sprayer should be taken into account (scheduling snafu's, additions or ommissions to scope of work, etc). While the concept of insulating with SPF has been around for decades we are really starting to see a solidification of the industry into modern construction practices - and all the cards have not fallen yet. Chances are, there is someone that will do what your doing for less money. That is the beauty and ugliness of the free market place economy. I am fairly confident that $30 per hour is not sustainable in the long term view of your business model. I actually insulated some homes in the New Orleans area a couple of years ago and found SPF contractors from all over the country migrated there to help in the re-building efforts after Katrina. I saw wacky prices and cut throat competitiveness. These nomadic contractors move in from county to county and completely f*$@ up expected market prices for SPF insulation. Keep an eye out. They could be coming to your town next. The more affordable they make this SPF equipment, the more players there are going to be. Never mind that DIY crap being pushed. This is a fun industry to be in - a lot of uncertain variables in the horizon; pricing, fire codes, improved DIY systems, etc,etc. Who knows what SPF sprayers will be making 10 years from now... Surely we'll see some stabilization in national pricing by then. How much do ya'll charge per bd/ft for 0.5 lb? We charge about $0.32 to $0.45 per bd/ft depending on the depth. More depth receives a larger discount.
Posted: Jun 06, 2009 07:16 PM	(what john said...)
Frank Bood Posted: Jun 06, 2009 07:30 PM	As i stated befor we charge at the high end of the scale.(.46+) I think we will be fine in years to come due to our size and the type of accounts we service. Not just any new joe can come in and bid the large jobs we usually do or cover 7 states like we do. large Condo units low income housing ect. Im not saying someone cant come take some business but they wont get it all. I have listened to all the comments and have come to this conclusion. Hes worth every penny we pay him and if i could clone him i would. I find it hard to belive you have employees that can match what he does for $10 an hour. If you do your blessed. I was only looking to see if anyone else was paying a wage in this range. Thanks for all the input.