The Forestry Forum

I sell lumber and most of the time customers want rough material.  However, I have had demand for 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 finished 4 sides or 1 x 10 board and batten planed one side.  I was wondering what people charge for surfacing lumber one side, two sides, three sides and four sides.  Do you charge by the linear foot?  Or by the hour?  I'm thinking mainly softwood, but I'd be interested in comments on hardwood as well.

i charge by the board foot, it dosent matter if its 1 side or 4 side  the price is the same, its still only one pass thru the planer.
softwoods is .16 cents per b.f.
hardwoods is .25 cents per b.f.

I get 60 or 70 an hour for custom work

planing or joint, rip and or mold

60 for what I think will be repeat customers and 70 for one timers

nails are extra

Specialty work is better charged by the hour I believe.  Unless you factor in the time to move the boards(loading/un-loading etc.), it's far easier by the hour than having to calculate the board footage.
The Only time I would ever consider charging by the board foot is if drying services are requested.  In that case an hourly rate isn't acceptable.

I typically charge by the manhour ($65.00), but my standard prices for low volume (less than 100 bd ft) are:

Joint/planing (1 pass both sides) .40 bd ft
Wide boards (2 passes both sides) .50 bd ft.

SLR - first edge:  .15
SLR both edges:  .40

Anything non-standard (such as a slab) is based upon the actual time spent and has a $20.00 minimum.


I use an Oliver Strait-o-plane that joints and planes in one pass.  Firing up the Jointer/planer or Mattison SLR requires me to run the generator and large dust collection system, and it adds about 4 minutes to the overall process.

I don't feel that my labor rate is too high; if anything it is too low, as I am covering not only labor but generator fuel and all equipment maintenance out of the hourly charge.  A typical mechanics garage charges $80.00 - $95.00 around here, and I have at least as much invested in my operation as a garage does.