Opportunity abounds in the hardscape industry.
It’s quite possible for a young entrepreneur, upon mastering the sound installation of segmental retaining walls and pavers, to rent equipment, and install these features by themselves. Of course, there are risks, but the income potential is remarkable. For example, it’s very possible for a sole proprietor hardscaper to figure their labor at over $120 per hour and still keep their charge per square foot within national averages.
For example, costimates.com says the average cost for a paver patio is between $12-$35 per square foot. Reader, at $25 per square foot an 800 sq ft patio would cost $20,000. Let’s break down what an individual could potentially make on such a project. To do that we will need to forecast total install hours. I will use a rate of 6 minutes of install time per square foot. 800 sq ft x 6 minutes = 4800 minutes / 60 minutes = 80 hours.
Now materials I would put it at $5600. Below is a picture showing the breakdown of how I came to that number.
Then equipment rental cost I would put at 2,900. Again, a breakdown picture is below.
Subtract the $5,600 materials and the $2,900 rental from the 20,000 total and that leaves $11,500 for labor. Divide that by 80 hours and that comes to a rate of $143.75 per hour. For this example let’s use rough numbers and say $20 of that will go towards taxes and $20 towards overhead. That leaves $103.75 per hour for take-home pay.
If a sole proprietor was able to line up projects like this 40 weeks of the year at 35 hours per week, that puts take-home pay potential at $145,250 per year. Again, there are risks, but the math is encouraging. Estimating how long a job will take and how much the materials and equipment are very important responsibilities of the sole proprietor. ScapeCubed Spreadsheets can assist hardscapers with the important job of forecasting labor hours, material cost, equipment rental, as well as tax and overhead allotments.
Link to the Paver Estimating Spreadsheet product- https://www.scapecubed.com/products/paver-project-planning-estimating-spreadsheet-with-estimated-production-rates
Link to Retaining Wall Estimating Spreadsheet product- https://www.scapecubed.com/products/retaining-wall-estimating-and-planning-spreadsheet
Link to the Hourly Rate / Overhead Spreadsheet product- https://www.scapecubed.com/products/overhead-calculator-spreadsheet-solopreneur