This is likely to be an unusual pricing question. It's related to the thread regarding "2,500 ft. of walnut flooring, shellac, and what not to do."

I'm not a floor finisher. I'm an architectural finisher, applying decorative plasters and faux painting surfaces, mostly walls. Prior to that, I was a studio woodworker, turning out small furniture projects with figured hardwoods and simple but elegant finishes -- mostly shellac and wax, or oil/poly.

As mentioned in the other thread, I stopped a mass-murder of about 3,000 sq. ft. of walnut; the GC wanted to stain all the boards with a dark, almost black MinWax stain. Over the past weeks, the client became convinced that my proposal of Bysahki shellac and wax would give his Tuscany castle remodel a much better look. Now that we have two coats of shellac down, and one section with four coats and wax, the results are clearly superior; the floor looks off-the-hook good.

I led the project. I and two other goons attacked the floor with 2.5" ox-hair brushes (the planks are V-grooved, which helped matters.) Other applicators we tried didn't work out well in test sections... at all. It only took about 5 hours for two coats.

The floor is now covered and protected with plywood while more heavy trades move in. Later, when they're out, we'll unwrap the floor, apply two or three more coats, then top it with two coats of wax. All layers will require hands & knees, TLC application ('cause it's my butt on the line for this, and that's how I know how to do it perfectly.)

Question is: Since I'm not a pro floor finisher, how much should I charge for this job???

The client is certainly not hurting for money. And this finish was a kick-save, which surely counts for something, but, of course, I do want to be fair.

Part of me wants to just show the client the original, crappy sample, alongside my sample and ask, "What's this worth to you?" But, that seems a pretty lame approach.

Thanks for any insight you pros can provide. I'd really appreciate it!

Rob

PS: I'm gonna call this a one-of-a-kind finish, 'cause I'm not likely to volunteer for THAT again!

Did you sand this floor s well? Or just apply the finish(es)?
I didn't notice any mention of sanding having been done by you so lets look at a fair price for the application of the finishes in a manner fair to the home-owner, and acknowledging your level of expertise as well.
Add the following elements together for final figure:
Cost of all materials supplied by you, including test samples etc. Multiply this figure by 1.25 to arrive at a reasonable markup to cover handling.
Calculate total number of hours spent in preparing samples, testing on site, time spent in meetings, and amount of time spent by you in direct application. Establish an amount per hour that reflects what you would normaly make in your chosen field and do the math.
Calculate your costs in paying out your grunts that assisted, and add a value in excess of that that reflects what you should reasonably expect to profit from providing labour on site. (We usually upcharge about 50%; i.e. if I am paying a person $30.00 per hour, we would charge out at $45.00 plus add travel time.
Now add all these figures together, and it if appears fair, submit your invoice.
Keep in mind that pricing for this type of work should reflect the quality provided by you; and there are quality levels to finishing.
We charge as little as $2.00 per foot to re-finish rental apartments, and as much as (and sometimes more than) $15.00 per foot to finish custom flooring with specialty products that require a lot of handwork.
These prices do include sanding as well as finish application.

Hope this helps.

Dennis --

Thanks for your reply! I'm on the way out the door now, but it looks like something I can work with.

To quickly answer a couple of questions:

-- No, I did not sand the floor. (But if I had, it would've been better. I witnessed guys just letting the orbitals run free; I know they skipped grits in a few places, etc.)

-- Someone else paid for the grunts, although I greased them a 50 each before starting. Got their attention...

-- I feel that this is a high-quality, hand-applied, and hand-rubbed finish, not unlike what I'd do for furniture. The GC keeps pushing for speed, and I keep pushing for quality at the sacrifice of speed. ("Good/Fast/Cheap: Pick any two.") Considering that this is an ultra high-end residence (the roof alone cost over a million!), I feel the floor deserves the best treatment it can get.

Thanks again. Any more insight appreciated, but in the meanwhile, I'll run some numbers based on your insights.

Rob