How long would it take you to build these gates?

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Hi everyone. I was asked to quote building 2 of these gates for the back of a trailer. The frame is 2x2 1/8 wall tubing. The bottom is sheeted with 16g and the top covered with expanded metal. It has 3 fabricated hinges on the one side. the top hinge would also require a match on the trailer. I quoted it at 5 hours to fabricate and install.Thanks in advance for any help.Miller 180SDLincoln weld pak 180Hobart 250ciMill Lathe
Reply:Depends how your tooled up but I'd say your shy about 3hrs I always take my first thought of hrs on a job and add 25% for anything custom one off stuff like this
Reply:mnrjohnsonI would have '5 hours' in sourcing and cutting the parts alone - after a justified design was produced.Then there is fabrication and installation. Coating?Design, detailing, sourcing materials, fabrication, and installation - for a quality product - this is a twoday project; over multiple days.Opus
Reply:Thanks guys I quoted the guy $475 for material and labour. He thought it was way too high. But it seems it may have been good to low.ThanksRyanMiller 180SDLincoln weld pak 180Hobart 250ciMill Lathe
Reply:I think you are pretty close.
Reply:Originally Posted by mnrjohnsonThanks guys I quoted the guy $475 for material and labour. He thought it was way too high. But it seems it may have been good to low.ThanksRyan
Reply:I'm not in the profession, just a hobby guy.That dudes HIGH if he thinks $475 is HIGH for TWO of those.  Shooting from the hip as a consumer as well as a hobby guy that knows steel prices, I'd say $800 for the two, and that's a good price.Guy has to be joking if he thinks $237 each for a professionally made custom gate is alot of money.
Reply:Originally Posted by mnrjohnsonThanks guys I quoted the guy $475 for material and labour. He thought it was way too high. But it seems it may have been good to low.ThanksRyan
Reply:something Lincoln has in their estimating costs literature is "operating factor"  Basically it is a ratio between actual welding time and the total time.  Worst cases are as much as 20 %.  In other words if your time hood down is 30 minutes then the actual time would be 150 minutes.  This is not unusual for stick where there is a lot of rod handling, chipping and cleaning as well as turning the weldment over and back.    I was told by a man that had done years of estimating in large structural shops that only 25% of the time on a job was fabricating and welding.  The rest was unloading material and storing, pulling stock, cleaning, painting, and loading the finaished material on trucks or railcar.  The point of his little lecture was that companies wasted time and effort worrying about the welding speed when the real gains were to be made on organization of handling equipment like forklifts, cranes racking and general work flow through the shop.   450 per gate would be high but for two gates I think it is highway robbery.  I am hoping for your sake you miss this bullet.
Reply:The guy picked up the trailer and is going to build wood gates. I'm glad I wasn't high on the price. People just don't understand  the cost of metal work.RyanM&R JohnsonMiller 180SDLincoln weld pak 180Hobart 250ciMill Lathe
Reply:Yea it's kinda a problem I try and take my time to explain to customers about the process to go through getting everything and how much stuff actually costs some have no idea what it cost to have all the tools and buy mat to do the job and after that if they still think it's to much I walk they're usually the customers that want it done as cheap as possible with Kia priceing and BMW finishing doesn't work and not worth the headach
Reply:I priced out just the material from local supplier came to $304.78 if I pick up.  could save a little by buying a full sheet of expanded metal, and finding something in the drop pile.  It would take me at least one day to pickup, cut, and weld (8 hrs X $20.00) I have to agree $475 is not at all out of the ballpark.  good luck and I think this was one that wasn't worth doing at the price quoted.   Clifton
Reply:People want something for nothing nowadays.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Mr Arc that is a very correct statement and it makes it very hard for the craftsman to provide.  In another thread recently someone was talking about wether to do a job with no profit just to get the work.  After many years I just as soon these tight wads just pass me by  Clifton
Reply:Yes some people are just Cheap and want some want some thing for next to nothing,but I do think there is a large segment of the population,  that just do not have the money, but need things fixed,  and can not afford new, and do not know how to build or fix things them self,
Reply:Originally Posted by abecYea it's kinda a problem I try and take my time to explain to customers about the process to go through getting everything and how much stuff actually costs some have no idea what it cost to have all the tools and buy mat to do the job and after that if they still think it's to much I walk they're usually the customers that want it done as cheap as possible with Kia priceing and BMW finishing doesn't work and not worth the headach
Reply:Originally Posted by Farmerboybut I do think there is a large segment of the population,  that just do not have the money, but need things fixed,  and can not afford new, and do not know how to build or fix things them self,
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawThe cheapest ones are usually the ones who walk out your door and get into a brand new $80k BMWSent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Reply:A guy want me to make a shelving unit for him. I told him the price and he said he could buy it for less. I told him to go buy it. He then said that they don't have one the size he needs.   Yep just like SUPERARC STATED, ''People want something for nothing nowadays.''You can't even find free scrap these day and EVERYTHING has price increase.
Reply:Back a few years ago before I got into welding I had a fab shop give me a quote on building a ramp for a trailer and thought the same way 'huh that seems like a lot'. Not so long ago picked up the steel and built my own and had the ole light bulb moment eight ours later (working by my self) with a working fold down ramp for mowers to load and unload on. Bottom line is quality takes time and costs.Ranger 250 thick stuffHobart Handler 140 not thick stuffthe pane and oxy setup