How to Build a Kitchen Island - John Barnes 

Thank you Marcelo. I roughly estimated this would take me 18-20 hours of work and after I estimated the cost of materials to be $300, I decided to charge the customer $1,075. This number fit within the range I was seeing others charge, and I felt I could get the work done in the window I set… but it obviously took me much longer! If I were to make the same product again, I would definitely be quicker, but the cost of materials has gone up and I’d like to get closer to my desired hourly rate, so I’d lean closer to the $1,300 mark.

@@johnbarneswood Thanks lot.

I calculated it using the following: 1 - How long I thought this would take me 2 - The price of lumber/hardware 3 - The hourly rate I desired Unfortunately this took me roughly double the time to build, so my hourly rate was lower, but I know that the second time I do a project like this I’ll be more efficient

@@johnbarneswood I am newer to being on my own and still have trouble figuring out what to charge. Obviously I understand time plus materials but what is a reasonable hourly rate? And when it's something I haven't done I feel like I can't make the customer be responsible for paying me to learn. I have been doing overly custom cabinets for a detail oriented customer that it's too involved and keeps adding stuff to each cabinet. We agreed on bids with the understanding that it cna be more. Just don't know what others would charge. Can't decide if the price is right and I am too slow to make money or not charging enough. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly helpful.

The easiest thing to do when starting out is to look at what other woodworkers charge. For example, I found similar designs to this kitchen island online, ranging from $900 to $1,500. I roughly estimated this would take me 18-20 hours of work and I wanted my hourly rate to be $40 (which is on the low end of what you should aim for). After I estimated the cost of materials to be $300, I decided to charge the customer $1,075. This number fit within the range I was seeing others charge, and I felt I could get the work done in the window I set… but it obviously took me much longer! If I were to make the same product again, I would definitely be quicker, but the cost of materials has gone up and I’d like to get closer to my desired hourly rate, so I’d lean closer to the $1,300 mark.

Thank you!