Installers who work for a flooring distributor or large building company often get paid under a contract arrangement, rather than by the hour.

This means that their pay is determined by the size of the project and the type of work they're doing, as opposed to how long the job takes to complete.

The advantage of a contract rate to the installer is that they can work very hard and earn good money - because the more efficient they are, the more jobs they'll complete each week.

The advantage to the supplier is that they can rely on a set price for the job, without having to build in allowances for hold-ups or slow workers.

The main caution is that they need to be sure the contractors will maintain a high quality of workmanship, and not take shortcuts to finish jobs quickly.

Example of a quotation using contract rates

Let's say you've asked a contractor to lay sheet vinyl on a concrete subfloor with the specifications shown below.

Room size: 5950 x 8500

Vinyl floor covering: 2 metre wide roll

Underlayment: smoothing compound skim coat.


The installer will be paid at the following rates:

       

Lay and weld sheet vinyl:	$8.00 per square metre (including cost of weld rod and vinyl adhesive)
Install skim coat underlayment:	$6.00 per square metre (including cost of smoothing compound)

The cost of the vinyl flooring is $50 per metre, and the delivery price is $70. Your profit mark-up is 30%.

What will your quotation price be? Have a look at the calculations below.