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A dr i work with wanted new steps for his hot tub and the company wanted like $600 for them and it wasnt even real wood so he asked me if iwanted to make them…of course! This was my first paid job:) so he brought me the sides and i made them time consuming but easy. I had to round over all the tops and clamp and drill each peice bc i didnt want it to move or split. I forgot to take pics so he sent me pics of one side. A couple weeks later he brought me the corner peice…turned out to be more difficult than i expected and that it should have been. Since i had to make tuem withoout the sides or the hot tub for reference, i had to make 'them the exact same as the other set. So after tracing, cutting with my crappy band saw, and lots of sanding and the radius still being a tad off affter 4 tries, i got smart and realized i had a router bit 'hat i could use to flush trim it which worked on tje first try. Other than that, the eest was pretty easy. I also have a nice new made b me taper jig i had to make in the beginning. Did this on my phone so i apologize for all the bad spelling lol

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Nicely done! Is there going to be a finish of some kind on those? Personally I like it without.

Reminds me of a project I've been avoiding at home :)
 

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lol I left that decision to him. I figured if he wanted them stained it would take better if they were drier. I think he was going to put some kind of deck stain or something on it. It is treated so it really doesn't have to have anything on it. I started with 2×6's and the first time I bought the wood, I thought the wetter the better so it would not split when I put the screws in…well not so much. Ripping wet wood doesn't work. All the fibers tore instead of cutting so it looked really rough. Luckily I had bought extra so I saved the wet boards and used them for the corner peice. If it was my own project I'm pretty sure now I would avoid it too lol
 

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Very nicely done , Shelly : )
Is there a reason he didn't want to use Redwood or Cedar or Cypress for the top boards versus tracking the PT chemicals into the hot tub ?
 

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Thank you:) B/c he's cheap lol. I actually gave him the prices for cedar which was about 2x the price of the treated. Which still would have been alot cheaper than the hot tub company, which was asking over $600, and it wasn't even real wood. He paid me $240, and that included materials, which were half that price. So I made about $120 off of them…and I think I put alot more time in them than that, esp. the corner peice lol. But it was my first paid job, so I will learn as I go.
 

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I have trouble coming up with prices for stuff. What would you guys think would be a good price for this? There are 2 of the straight end peices even though you can only see one, and the corner piece…
 

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I would have charged him $599.00
 

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Never undersell your worth !
He asked you to do the job…don't you think your time and your tools are worth more than $120 ?
How many hours did it take you to complete them ? Did you go and get the lumber , or did he ?
Did you build them at your house or his ?
Transportation , electricity , tools , fasteners , all kinds of overhead to consider on your next job !
Looks like you do nice work and you should be paid accordingly : )
 

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Nicely done. Pricing is always difficult. It's also different if youre trying to make a living at it versus just a hobby with a few bucks on the side. If you want to make a business of it; plan to lose 10-15% of the jobs you bid based on price. If you get every job you bid on…you're too low. If its just a side gig, cover your materials and make a few bucks for fun.
 

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For now it is a side job, but I would like to make it my main job and nursing my side job. And yes, I spent more time on it than $120 worth, but I am a perfectionist so every little joint and curve had to be perfect, I got the lumber, I did it at my house…I was told by someone else that you charge double the price of materials, which is what I think he did, but I think in woodworking there need to be other factors lol. Thank you, I will definately take all those in to consideration on my next project!
 

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Great work, Billing for our time is always an issue. I have gotten better at charging more and not feeling bad or embarrased. Funny thing was the more I charged for cutting boards or other work, people were like OK I want it. We have the same Table saw. I added a router table and built a cabinet under it as well. Getting ready to buy a bigger saw. Getting an 8 inch 3Hp Jointer delivered tomarrow to replace smaller one. Blondie got it for me for X-mas.
Nice work.
 

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thanks:) yes, if i want this to take place of my nursing job i need to be okay with charging more lol. my main problem now is everything i am making and selling is to people i know, and i keep thinking "well, i will give them a good deal in hopes they will spread the word about my work", thinking it will bring me business lol. and i just feel bad charging people i know, but i need to get over it!! that was very nice of blondie:) that would be an awesome xmas gift!! i have thought about adding a router to it, but since i already have an ok router table it isnt at the top of my to do list. i also would love to have a bigger saw. my wish is to have a 3 hp saw stop:) i used one at wood craft about a yr ago and am still in love lol. hopefully in the next year or 2:)
 
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