Bricks are bid by the square feet. But be careful when you are bidding a job for your client that you take all factors into consideration.
A client calls you to ask what you charge per square feet for bricks, and you give your basic price. What that client may have not told you is that the brick paver work is not accessible to you with any machines. What if the project is at the bottom of a large hill and your crew would have to use wheel barrows or even worse, buckets? What do you do now?
You had already opened the door for that client to think that the price you gave is applicable to all situations and conditions. Remember, excavating in sandy soil is much faster than digging in clay soil. You must have a good idea of how long it takes one laborer to dig 3′ x 3′ x 8″ – that is 9 square feet and 8″ is the minimum depth for brick pavers. If the soil is a loam, it takes one of my laborers an average of 20 minutes to dig this size area.
Then you must know how long it takes to install and compact the gravel base, you must answer this based on your employees. With mine, the average is about 20 minutes for one laborer.
For my company, I must get $10.50 per square foot to excavate and install the base and sand and lay the bricks. And I keep my overhead low. This number applies to the easy access job and using typical brick pavers, meaning an average size brick – no really big or odd sizes, like the Euro paver.
The client then chooses her bricks and those run $2.00 to $8.50 per square foot.
When the conditions are not easy access or difficult soils, I increase my price based on the additional man hours I think it will take to complete the project.
It is cut throat sometimes, bidding landscape jobs against competitors who are desperate to turn dollars and will bid brick jobs at a price that no one can stay in business for. Don’t fall into this trap. It hurts the client when you cut corners in order to try and make money off a too-low bid. Do the job right, be proud of what you do and expect that your client will value your expertise and quality craftsmanship. Clients consider their landscape projects long-term investments, and so should their landscaper.
