How Much do General Contractors Charge for Hourly Rates?
3 pros!
Typically the hourly rate that contractors charge runs from $ 45.00 to 85.00 per hour.
Question: Homeowners want to know what charges or hourly rate they would expect to pay when hiring a general contractor to do work on their home?
Answer: There is no standard rate for general contractors, as it differs from state to state, cities, and counties, but generally, the range that one would expect to pay is between $25.00 - $85.00 per hour.
General Contractor Hourly Rates
You'll be hard pressed to find a reputable contractor that charges hourly except in very rare cases. The ones you do find you probably don't want working on your home anyway. Handymen, however, are a different story but aren't generally someone who would be qualified to remodel your home. Find someone who will provide a bid or estimate. Estimates are the fairest route because there are so many unknowns when it comes to tearing apart your home. The caveat to that is you have to make sure to screen your contractor first to find the right one who is fair, knowledgable, and honest. Price should be your last factor unless you are looking to set yourself up to get shoddy work, a half-completed job, or worse.
As the last answer said, you can easily expect $50 - $100 per hour for a contractor and $40 - $50 per hour for a helper if you can find one willing to work at that rate. be wary of anyone working hourly though because most that do will drag a job out to get the most money possible. A job that should take 5 hours can be drug out to a full 8 or even 9. Handymen can sometimes be found for as little as $20 - $25 per hour. Their business overhead costs are much lower but they often play the hour games I just mentioned.
In small towns, these rates are contested vigorously by customers who still believe carpenters and such should be paid $10.00 per hour. Also, most small town people don't realize that if you're not operating under the table, then it's a business, and like other businesses, they have fixed costs, i.e. insurance, vehicles, capital expenses, tools, bits, blades, fuel, maintenance of equipment, bookkeeping, advertising, taxes etc. All of these factor into hourly rates. If the contractor doesn't mark up the prices of the materials, then expect the hourly rates to be higher.
Contractor Daily Rates
A more likely scenario, though one to still watch carefully, is to pay a daily rate. A contractor will probably charge $300 - $500 a day for himself, possibly more, and $150 - $250 a day per helper or laborer. That covers his overhead expense costs as well as his profit.
Whenever possible, get an estimate or bid in writing. Then, whatever unforeseen circumstances arise can be amended and added as long as they are truly unforeseeable. Bad wiring, or plumbing, or mold in a wall is unforeseeable. Having to remove a toilet to replace tile but forgetting to account for the time and cost to do it in the estimate isn't.
Some general contractors prefer to work by bids only so customers don't know how much they are making per hour.
