What is the hourly rate for general contractor maintenance man?

Answer 1

i get paid 19.00 per hour in n.y.

I doubt at $19.00 you are the real General Contractor. It sounds like you are a laborer of some type.

A general contractor plans and oversees the job from start to finish, hires all the subs and pays for all materials...and schedules everyone. Not to mention being the one person or company responsible for the entire job both financially and from and inspection and quality standpoint. And they should ensure that the person hiring them is protected from potential liabilities. They do that by having proper procedures in place that verify the licensing, bonding and proper insurance is held by all of those that work for them...and they usually have contracts with those entities.

That being said you had better figure in your insurance costs, which include course of construction and liability, and workers compensation costs, vehicle, travel time, tools, personal insurance, office time, etc. etc. You get the idea.

By the time you are done it could be well over $100 per hour as the fee a GC charges, but the pay they actually net is much less. The problem here is that often times a client thinks the only time you work on their project is while you are on the job site. And the truth is, the more you plan and schedule correctly (often times from an office), the less time you actually need on the job site.

A good GC will keep you within budget (and communicate with you about this often), on time and ensure the quality of the project...and they are worth every dime you pay them.

As an FYI, most quality contractors (those that do what is mentioned above and stay in business) charge about 22-28% on new home construction and 40-60% on remodels. In this market you can find many for less, but you will generally get what you pay for. Get referrals, check their track record financially and with regards to the experience on the type of project you have. There is no substitute for experience, and all too often in construction everyone thinks they can be a general contractor - just because they have worked on a construction crew.