Did the math on a commission I finished last week. Made $4.27 an hour.
Finished a welded steel piece for a lawyer's office lobby. Took longer than I estimated because he wanted changes mid-stream. Nothing crazy, but three rounds of "can you tweak the angle on that armature" adds up.
Charged $3,800. That's what I quoted.
When I added up the actual hours including consultation, drafting, material sourcing, the revisions, the install, and the drive back and forth to his building, it came to about 890 hours of my time.
$4.27 an hour.
I know the mistake was my estimate. I know I should have written the contract tighter. I know I'm the one who agreed to the changes without adjusting the price. All of that is on me.
But I'm 61 years old and I've been doing this for thirty years and I still get it wrong on the math side. You'd think that would get easier. It doesn't. The work part gets easier. The money part stays the same trap it always was.
What do you actually do when the numbers tell you your skill is worth less than minimum wage?
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Yeah, that's a gut punch. I've done this long enough to have a few of those calculations in my head that I still won't do again on purpose.
The thing that gets me is 890 hours. That's not bad estimating. That's the revisions turning a piece into a different piece while calling it the same piece. The "small tweak" that isn't small. Three rounds of angle adjustments on an armature, that's basically re-engineering the thing each time.
You already know what you'd do different on the contract side. But the part nobody tells you is that some clients just cost more than they pay, and you only find out after. A lawyer should know that better than anyone.
Hope you get the next one in a job with a client who stays out of the armature.
The 890 is what got me too. I kept looking at it thinking that can't be right. But I went back through my notebook and it was there.
You're right about the small tweak thing. Each one felt reasonable at the time. None of them felt like starting over. But an armature change means the balance shifts, which means the base might need reworking, which means the weld points change. Before you know it you've remade half the piece and you're still calling it a revision.
The thing that sticks with me is I'll know better next time and there'll still be some new way to screw myself I haven't thought of yet.