Value vs. Price
We don’t underpay employees to provide you the best rates. The Greater Vancouver is one of the most expensive places in the world to live in, and we feel that providing you with premium service means making sure our employees’ needs are also met. We do this by factoring in beyond a living wage for our employees, which provides them, among other things, a roof over their heads, food, transportation, and a bit of comfort in their everyday lives. A few extra dollars does not mean our staff are flying 1st class and taking luxury vacations–it does mean that they’re not starving on the streets.
In exchange, we’re providing you with expertise honed from various industries. Mounting a TV, for example, is not just hanging a TV with hooks. We have the know-how to make measurements, check the specifications of the bracket you purchased or help you make the proper purchase, check your wall for studs and what type they are, ensure they’re spaced correctly, ensure you have the right set of screws, and have the proper tools to drill through your wall without hitting anything. We can advise you on what’s possible based on the budget you’ve provided, and point you in the right direction should we lack the skills necessary for what you want.
This also means that we can get things done efficiently. We don’t necessarily prioritize speed–but we will try our hardest to ensure the tasks you’ve requested are completed safely in a reasonable time. This is why we emphasize that our quotes on a per-task basis offer you the best bang for your buck. Trying to micromanage tasks to the cheapest per-hour basis is a recipe for disaster, no matter which company you end up hiring.
We’re also extremely flexible. We’ll take small jobs and let you bundle them up and provide discounts. We can make changes to the original scope of work so as long as each change order is documented, the quote recalculated, and you, the client, approves each step.
Most importantly, we guarantee that our interactions with you will remain professional, friendly, and solution-oriented. We’ll work with you to solve problems, and if things don’t work out, no harm, no foul.
Instant Estimate
Please visit our One-stop Shop to get a cost estimate of the most common tasks. We offer discounts for bundling up services, starting with the first $500. Bundling up tasks saves you money and time.
Free Estimate
All phone/online consultations are free. We can give a rough estimate of the project based on photographs or videos. Alternatively, visit our One-Stop Shop to request estimates on various projects.
Site Visits and Written Quote
We charge $50 for site visits, plus a $25 fuel surcharge, for a written quote plus proposal package. This fee will be deducted from the total cost of your job if you hire us. Complex projects require a site visit for an accurate quote. Please note that discounts and promotions do not apply to site visits.
Hourly Rates
Most of our services are billed at a per task basis, which protects our clients from charges over unforeseen circumstances. Our hourly rates are generally reserved for open-ended tasks without a fixed bid, troubleshooting, change orders, or minor updates or requests to existing projects. We can accommodate per hour billing, but clients need to be aware that each project is complex and we can only offer an estimate of billable hours for a project, not a guarantee. Our rate for a skilled technician is $75 per hour and $125 per hour for a technician plus apprentice with a minimum two hour charge for all jobs. Rates for cleaning and moving/delivery jobs are separate.
There will be extra charges for rush jobs, emergency, and off-hours call outs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are your hourly rates so high?! I can get my neighbour/friend/co-worker to do it for half the price!
Please refer to this section of the page. We’re happy to let you get your neighbour/friend/co-worker to carry out your project for you. We suggest getting them a few boxes of pizza and a six-pack of beer (or pop if they don’t drink alcohol), and hope you have a great time! We’ve finished many of our own personal projects this way, with some great memories besides. We’re always happy when our clients find the solutions that best fit their budget. Just remember that your time is important, too, and if you’re not getting joy from your project, there’s nothing wrong with freeing up your time and getting someone else to do the heavy lifting! And if things go south and you need extra help to complete your project, don’t hesitate to give us a call back.
Can I get someone else to do part of the project and then call you in for hourly so you only do X amount of hours?
You could get someone else to start a project for sure, but keep in mind a few things. We’ll have to reorient ourselves with the project if we’re coming in there partway, which will take some extra time if you want us to complete the project correctly. You won’t actually save on the hourly bill especially if the person who worked on the project previously made errors we have to rectify. If we make errors on the job ourselves, we won’t bill you for deficiency work.
I have a limited budget. Can you get started and I can finish the work myself?
Yes! We do this a lot for clients. We can work on a solution that gets the bulk of the hard work out of the way. Call us with your concerns.
Can I design and buy the hardware myself?
Most definitely! Just keep in mind that if you or someone else does the design and purchasing of the products, you’re hiring us just for the install/build. We will install every piece as specified by the manufacturer, but if you or your designer made mistakes, we will have to bill hourly for the extra time it took to rectify those mistakes. We also can’t guarantee a product will “look” a certain way if you make a mistake with the purchase.
Can you do the design then?
We can do cosmetic design to a limited degree for additional hours. Our design rates are billed at the same hourly rates as our skilled technician rates. Call us to let you know what you need.
Can you customize the design of an existing product?
We can, with some reservations. Cosmetic customization is possible but will be billed at an hourly rate in addition to your cost estimate. We will otherwise contact the manufacturer or designer for their recommendations. Anything beyond cosmetic customization, as long as it is reasonable and safe, will need to be signed off by the customer for liability reasons. We have every right to refuse project changes that will endanger our workers and the general public.
Can you bill me hourly AND can you work fast so that I don’t have to pay so much?
We factor in the average time it takes to complete a task when we price things out on a per item basis. This compensates both our employees (for the time they spent on site) and protects our customers if we make errors during the job. The only way to track hourly work is from the moment we pick up a tool on site to when we leave, and we will not rush work in an unsafe manner or to subpar results. This means that if you insist on an hourly rate, you may end up actually paying more in the long run–especially if you micromanage tasks or keep changing the work as we go along. If you feel a certain task should only take X amount of hours, we invite you to try it out yourself–but keep in mind that your time is also valuable! We feel everyone’s labour should be compensated fairly.
Is there any way to drop your hourly rates?
Definitely! Call us and we can discuss scheduled maintenance for your property. Our hourly rates get a massive discount for recurring projects and frequent customers.
Why is your invoice higher than your quote?
Our quotes are just an estimate based on ideal conditions, and a clause in the bottom states that it will change based on site conditions and to account for additional requests made by the customer. We alert customers every time we encounter an element that will result in an increase to the quote. Some scenarios that will result in higher-than-expected costs:
- There are massive boulders and rocks underneath the ground while digging for fence posts. Any extra work or tools necessary to go through them will increase the costs.
- The site was not prepared properly by the customer. We will have to bill at an hourly rate to prep the site and fix an unsafe work environment. If you need a room to be painted, for example, we expect all the furniture and items inside to be removed or covered up. If there are items everywhere, we won’t paint over them and risk damage to your furniture or worker injury–but we will charge for the cleanup.
- The customer requests additional work to be done on site.
- The customer requests additional work…and then halfway through, changes their mind. We will still have to bill for the additional hours we spent on the task.
- The customer insists on a faulty design that requires us to fiddle with it endlessly on site.