What is the going rate or cost for a contractor or a laborer

a good one? atleast $25 an hour.....there are cheaper, but the work is never guaranteed

As a contractor, I can say that $70 is about average. He has to pay his laborers, himself, his insurance, workman's comp, overhead, and hopefully profit if he is lucky. Here in NJ, the average is $120 per hour and that only covers a margin for 10% profit. In other words, on a $5000, I can expect to make $500 for the business to bank after everything else is paid.

We've just been quoted for replacing 3 of our windows. The contractor says he has passed through the costs of the window, without mark-up, but has estimated a crew of 4 guys a full day of labor, plus 2 guys for a half day to finish up.

If my calculations are right, that's 5-man days of labor. The estimate on the written quote is for $2800 for labor + the cost of windows and $500 for nails, chalk etc. Again, if my calculations are right, he wants us to pay $70/hour for this install.

Doesn't that sound unreasonably high to everyone? We are located in the Boston area.

Let me know. Thanks

Chris

really depends on location and the job market-right now with winter and the housing industry in a real slump you should be able to do very well for your area-couldnt give an accurate figure just because of to many varibles location being the largest-sorry to not be of more help here-have some points for a good question-smile and enjoy the day

Depends on the area. IT can vary widely. For laborers that actually KNOW something and are capable of doing the work, I'd say $20-26 an hour, even more in big cities. Contractors usually don't go by the hour, they go by the job.