Maine rates

[BOC Contracting]

Hello all,
I've been addicted to this forum for some time now, but this is my first posting. I've been an apprentice to a production trimmer for the past three years and am now trying to go it alone. Right now I'm in the Albany, NY area, but will soon be relocating to Portland, ME. I know the issue of going rates has been hashed and re-hashed, but given the specifics of my location, I thought someone might have some helpful info. We run almost all paint-grade (mdf) 3 1/2" casing and 5 1/4" speed base. Doors are prehung but do not come with precuts. For basic trim (doors, windows--picture framed, and base) we bill out one of two ways: (1) straight square footage at $1.25/ft; or (2) piecework--$30/door, $35/cased opening, $40/window, $.75/ft base. Crown, chairail, cabinets, etc are extra. Some builders prefer the square footage billing, while others want it broken down to the piecework. These houses are mostly in the $300-600K range. Does anyone have specific info on going rates in the greater Portland, ME area? Ideally I'd be trimming in the $200-$400K price range. I've done a couple such houses solo and right now that's about the limit of my comfort zone. Thanks so much.

Ben O'Connell

[Dancing Dan]

I guess I draw short straw. Feel free to e-mail or PM me - I've been in the trades here for 20 years almost. The short answer is I have no idea what the rates are but I could give you some names of builders who might.

The long answer is I'm not sure what the market is for that stuff - I'm not sure what the new house market is like here these days. I'm mostly doing renovation, so I'm hardly ever in new houses, but I don't see a huge amount of speed base going in. I think you'll probably need to branch out some and offer a wider variety of services - crown, built-ins, etc. My sense is that it's hard to make it as a specialist here unless you're at the very top of the market. So you may want to try getting a job when you arrive at one of the bigger outfits - again, I can give you some names.

[Dick Seibert]

Dan:

As a Portland expatriot I am curious, is there cheap tract housing going up on the outskirts of Portland? Are their gated McMansion developments, or infill McMansions being built in Maine at all? Do you still drink Moxie?

[Dancing Dan]

Most of the crappy houses are going up one at a time. Lots of boring little developments eating up whatever woods are left. The McMansions aren't too bad, at least not by the standards of the rest of the east and west coasts. And I open a can of Moxie only when my truck is running low on oil.

[Dick Seibert]

Dan:

So tract builders haven't invaded yet? One at a time should be great, you should be able to still get some. How long does it take to get a permit for a new home (including all approvals)? That Moxie can be pretty foul stuff, does anybody still drink it? I last drank it on a trip back there in 1945, about 20 years ago I was able to order a case of it shipped here for my mother, she loves it.

[Derrell Day]

The permitting process has really slowed here. It takes nearly three weeks.

[BOC Contracting]

It's not that I spend my nights dreaming of running trim in tract houses. They've been an excellent way of building a solid set of measuring, cutting, and installation skills in a short period of time. Some would regard this sort of work as below them. but cluster developments and townhouses can be good ideas. Done well, they can be a better use of space and more affordable to someone who can't swing 5 acres and a custom house. My job is to do a quality job installing the doors and trim.
Dan, thanks for the offer to contact you directly. I'll drop you an email. I can't wait to get to Maine! Worth a visit, worth a lifetime.
--Ben

[contented]

ben.....congratulations on u r move to maine. i used to travel the country doing carpentry work and lived in an airstream travel trailer but when it came time to raise a family i moved to deer isle, maine. i can't really help you specifically about portland but i can tell you that there is still a lot of work going on on the coast thats done on a handshake with agreed upon rates and markups. my advice there however is to stay away from clients who are lawyers, doctors or industrialists and stick the more human types out of academia.
best of luck
richard