Price list Carpentry & trim
How much to charge to install a stair handrail
Start from your own shop rate, not a national average. The True Rate kit's Price Book puts this task at 2–3 hours per run (2.5 h starter) plus $20 of supplies. At a $90 shop rate (the kit's worked example) that's a flat price of $250 per run, or $205–$295 across the typical range, before trip and minimum charges.
- Typical time
- 2–3 hours per run
- Kit starter
- 2.5 h per run
- Supplies
- $20 per run
- At $90/hr
- $250 per run
This task, priced
An estimate from the numbers above, not a quote. Materials and fixtures the customer picks (the faucet, the fan, the door) are billed separately, at your materials markup.
What gets left off this estimate
From the kit's "Did you forget?" list, the lines that apply to this job, and where the kit bills each one:
- Consumables (caulk, screws, blades, tape, anchors). Make sure Supplies isn't $0 on tasks that use them.
- "While you're here…" extras. Don't do them free. Text a change order first (Get Paid Texts, #1).
Before you send the number
- Confirm that the posts are plumb and the rail attachment points are secure to reduce re-work time.
- When the existing rail requires additional support or modification, pause and provide a new estimate.
Starting points, not a price list to copy
These numbers are the True Rate kit's starter hours and supplies for a solo tradesperson with a few years in, on an ordinary house. They are not industry data, a survey of what others charge, or a promise of how long the job takes you. Edit the hours for your market and your own speed: an old house, a seized nut or a fussy customer changes the job.
The $90 shop rate is only the kit's worked example ($2,870 a month overhead, $60,000 pay goal, 62% of hours billable, 20% margin). Your rate comes from your costs.
Does that include a trip charge or minimum?
No. The flat price is the task alone. In the kit's Price This Job sheet, a ticket with only this task adds a $35 trip charge, a 15% small-job buffer (the whole job is under 4 hours) and a 5% contingency. At $90 an hour that's $339 for this task on its own. Those are the kit's starter settings; set your own.
Where do these hours come from?
They're the True Rate kit's starter hours for a solo tradesperson with a few years in, working on an ordinary house: tools out, work, clean up. Drive time isn't in them. They're not industry data or a survey of your market. Old houses and tight spaces take longer; log your real times and edit them.
Price the whole ticket, not one task
The True Rate kit is a spreadsheet that does this for all 80 jobs from your own rate, then adds materials, trip and minimum charges on one Price This Job sheet and shows the margin before you send the number. One-time $39, Google Sheets or Excel.