I was approached by a prospective client asking what it would cost to reupholster her Thomasville Sleeper Sofa. She inquired if she could help do something to lower the cost (before getting my price).
My first thought was, she can't afford me.
My second thought was, do I even want a client that is already trying to cut costs?
My third thought is, hmm....sleeper sofa! I haven't done one of those YET. What an opportunity!
Fourth, what could she help me with that would be the most timeconsuming part ....Teardown!
I know sometimes people may bring you DIY projects they realized were over their heads - so this could be considered one of those jobs. Let her tear down, I reupholster. If I did that, what would you cut in terms of price/savings?
The cost to me would be learning how it was originally constructed.
Would appreciate an experienced upholster's thoughts on this? I know I'm going to hear this over and over again from prospective clients and should develop a standard going forward.
Thank you!
Tear down is only going to save an hour or 2.
I'd prefer the customer not "assist" me.
Even if they do, they still pay full price.
Ditto on Sofa Docs response. If it would take 2 hrs for you it may take 4 for her if she gets through it.
It is a losing situation on your part.
Ditto, ditto. Striping down furniture isn't as easy as it looks. Whenever I hire someone to do this it usually takes 4 or 5 weeks before they are proficient at their job. Just building up the callouses takes at least this long.
Sleepers are usually fairly easy. The hardest part is getting the sleeper back in without ruining the fabric. We can talk you through this step. Take the job without the help.
Just for fun
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1179.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fx386%2FEdwinNorthuis%2Fth_shop%2520rate.jpg&hash=1dc90fa1be7e20a0cf6074d607315dae) (http://s1179.photobucket.com/user/EdwinNorthuis/media/shop%20rate.jpg.html)
Thank you all,
I will heed the advice and decline her offer.
Kodydog, love the pic and totally agree!
If you allow the customer to help you figure out ways to cut their costs, they won't stop until they have YOU writing THEM a check at the end of the job.
A customer once asked my grandmother if she could have a discount.
She said "I've already stripped it down, and that seemed like the hardest part".
My grandmother (in her backwood country dialect) replied "Darlin', if you think THAT was the hardest part, yer fixin' to learn pootin' from sneezin".
You'll loose out on the benefit of seeing the way it was originally covered and using the old panel for pattern . Also although panels get loosened you don't always remove them until you cover the adjacent panel to keep the cotton and padding from getting in your way - it's not a service on their part that will help you
SA
SteveA, great point and completely agree.
Thank you
I asked my car mechanic if I could get a discount on new brakes if I brought my car in with the tires already taken off.
I asked my banker if I could get a discount on a loan if I brought in my own loan agreement.
I asked the aluminum siding guys if I could get a discount if I threw hand fulls of nails all over my yard so they would not have to.
I asked my proctologist if I could get a discount on a colonoscopy if I... Well, you get the point. (Pun intended.)
Taking off the old fabric may or may not be the hardest part of upholstery. But it is most certainly the funnest part. If a customer wants to make my job less fun then I should be charging them more money.
gene
Gene, LOL....
Quote from: kodydog on July 15, 2017, 05:56:14 pm
Sleepers are usually fairly easy. The hardest part is getting the sleeper back in without ruining the fabric.
Since I seldom have help, I don't remove the sleeper mechanism. You can't tell by this pic, but the sleeper mech is not removed, but just extended out. I turn the frame sideways to straddle the table so I can crawl up under and staple the new cover around the mech.
The most important thing to remember, is to make sure that your stapler is full before you crawl up under.
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi775.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy33%2Fsofadoc%2Fth_image_1.jpeg&hash=31e4724d17d67fb2f32e6e7498807366) (http://s775.photobucket.com/user/sofadoc/media/image_1.jpeg.html)
K-dog:
Quote from: kodydog on July 15, 2017, 06:10:48 pm
Just for fun
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1179.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fx386%2FEdwinNorthuis%2Fth_shop%2520rate.jpg&hash=1dc90fa1be7e20a0cf6074d607315dae) (http://s1179.photobucket.com/user/EdwinNorthuis/media/shop%20rate.jpg.html)
I know that you've complained about your Photobucket account lately. When I clicked on your thumbnail link on my I-phone or I-pad, all I got were ads. When I click on it on my desktop, I get this:
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi775.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy33%2Fsofadoc%2Fth_2CBF39A6-1301-43BC-8E1D-7E658CB23D72.jpg&hash=cd6c4b16df7dd4a97da613a2f47152ee) (http://s775.photobucket.com/user/sofadoc/media/2CBF39A6-1301-43BC-8E1D-7E658CB23D72.jpg.html)
Are you guys able to see my PB links? Or just ads?
SofaDoc I was able to see your pic, but a couple ads popped up and I had to click "continue to site" at one point. Great tip on the sleeper mechanism.
The prospective client forwarded a pic of the sleeper sofa. It is a full-size bed. This isn't going to be light to transport. (Maybe I should have her remove the sleeper 😬)
I'm curious what time a seasoned upholsterer would spend redoing this? Solid color, tufted back, no skirt but add nailhead to rolled arms. Piping as well. She also wants to change out the feet.
Time for tufting will depend on how many tufts she ultimately wants to go with as will the amount of nailhead work but i'm curious what others would see this taking in terms of overall time for this type of reupholstery?
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_b-s34UOXi1VVZnR0JXX2JfS1U
Thanks,
Deana
Photobucket is still working for me -I have better luck using IE. I find that after the adds open and you x out of them you can get to the posters photo but it takes some navigating. I can do it on my phone as well. I think PB has somewhat backed off their threat to demand a fee.
SA
When I look at a photo on Photobucket I get garbage. And the other day I got a notice that I was infected and needed to do something. It was malware and I got that once before there. I wont be back to Photobucket.
Quote from: MinUph on July 17, 2017, 04:37:54 am
When I look at a photo on Photobucket I get garbage. And the other day I got a notice that I was infected and needed to do something. It was malware and I got that once before there. I wont be back to Photobucket.
I noticed that Deanna's pic was linked to Google drive. It opened just fine. When I tried to use Google drive here on this forum a couple weeks ago, everyone had to email me for permission to view it.
What did I do wrong? I'll be happy to use Google drive to post my pics here if it works better.
Quote from: D3Gilmore on July 16, 2017, 09:42:09 pm
It is a full-size bed. This isn't going to be light to transport. (Maybe I should have her remove the sleeper 😬)
If you remove the mattress and tie the mechanism (so it won't flop out when you tilt it through a doorway), then it really isn't any heavier than a normal sofa.
The customer might want to re-think no skirt. It's likely the mechanism will show. And on the sides of the sofa, the frame may taper off below the skirt line, so you would have to add wood. Make sure that your frame will accept nail heads everywhere you want to put them.
The feet are most likely screw-on, so changing them shouldn't be a problem.
Tufted back? Converting a plain back to a tufted one is a bit ambitious for a first-timer. You'll have to drill holes in the foam.
I could do that piece back just like it is now in 8-10 hours. Making all those changes could easily add another 4-5 hours.
Don't be intimidated because it's a sleeper. Since sleepers have no spring base to re-tie or re-work, they're actually quicker and easier than a regular sofa.
Consider how you will attach the legs. If they are some type of screw in leg (bun leg?) you will need a corner block to screw it into. Most hide-a-beds don't have corner blocks. If you are going to add corner blocks make sure they will not interfere with the motion of the bed.
As far as time. Its really hard to figure time for someone else without knowing how fast they are. But my best guess for that sofa without a skirt and not including P/U and delivery, not including the time for the estimate and not including any modifications. About 3-1/2 days.
Your just getting started and I bet your prices are still pretty low. If you estimate 5 days your price should still be competitive.
Doc - 8-10 hours .......... you're like Superman -
Takes me 4 days to do a foot stool
SA
SofaDoc, I have been using Google Docs over other photosharing apps because I use my phone for everything and I can upload my pics via a Google Drive App to my Google Drive and then access from all my devices. I need less pics on my phone, more in the cloud. It takes some navigating, but I'm getting the hang of it and can make only 1 photo sharable in a folder that has all my other pics that I may not necessarily want to share.
Kodydog, thank you for the input on the sofa. Definitely need to go look at it and make a more informed decision when I see it.
I have done a wingback that was tufted. It was my first major endeavor into upholstery so I'm not so intimidated by it - but it's definitely more work. I could use some refining of my skill so practice makes better practice!
Here's a few pics of that wingback for the heck of it....
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_b-s34UOXi1VFJMaFhKUVUwWWM/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_b-s34UOXi1YVJfV1FKLXlid1E/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_b-s34UOXi1MGpnRTNRWE14MUk/view?usp=sharing
I have an "hourly rate" I'm trying to stay at but if it takes me longer, I don't want to gouge the client since I'm learning on her dime. I would prefer not to tuft, but if I did, do you charge extra per tuft, or just based on time?
I typically charge $5/ft for nailhead or piping, $2/button. Is this reasonable or typically not broken down to the client?
On especially heavy sofa beds I like to drop the bed and carry the sofa and bed out as two separate units. Once the bed is removed the sofa is very light. Make sure to put a blanket under the sofa before dropping the bed to protect the floor.
When I pull a hide a bed mech I stand the sofa on it's arm and then take the mech out the bottom. On a rolled arm like that you may need to put a block of wood under the bottom of the arm to get it to stand up straight.
carrscorner.com has an article on figuring overhead and a chart showing times to reupholster.
gene
Quote from: Darren Henry on July 18, 2017, 04:38:05 am
When I pull a hide a bed mech I stand the sofa on it's arm and then take the mech out the bottom. On a rolled arm like that you may need to put a block of wood under the bottom of the arm to get it to stand up straight.
Me 2
I method I like for removing the spring on a sofa bed ......
Open the bed completely, remove the mattress. Lift the front leaf off the ground to a vertical position. Tip the sofa forward on its knees and there will be an opening where you can easily get to all the bolts
SA
Quote from: SteveA on July 20, 2017, 08:22:50 am
I method I like for removing the spring on a sofa bed ......
Open the bed completely, remove the mattress. Lift the front leaf off the ground to a vertical position. Tip the sofa forward on its knees and there will be an opening where you can easily get to all the bolts
SA
Yes we forgot to mention opening the mech one stage.
Deanna:
This is what I was talking about in regards to leaving the skirt off a previously skirted sleeper.
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi775.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy33%2Fsofadoc%2Fth_DSC05788_1.jpg&hash=01d4164fd186b346bee7b6497c77644f) (http://s775.photobucket.com/user/sofadoc/media/DSC05788_1.jpg.html)
The mechanism will be exposed. You'll have to add wood.
Sofadoc, great example. Thank you. I have an appointment to meet with the client next week and will raise this issue when I inspect the couch. I'm not holding my breath she will pay my price but I have gotten other work from clients once I came into the home.