I made this TV Stand for the family that bought the coffee table that I made before. I loosely based the design from a medley of things on the site, but ended up drawing up plans myself in Sketchup.
This took a while because I had to think through alot of the design things - like how to best do the glass panel doors and how to compensate in the plans for some bowing in the plywood.
It is basically a plywood box, trimmed out like most of the things we DIYers do.
My biggest challenge in this project was cost... I severely underestimated how much it would cost me to build it, so I ended up with only $50 profit on the job... Does anyone have suggestion.. if you are building things to sell them how do you price your products? Just curious.
Comments
spiceylg
Mon, 05/21/2012 - 09:42
NICE!
Love this, really great job! As for pricing, I wish I could give you great advice, but I know there can be a lot of variables, such as cost, hours spent, overhead, etc. I know you should at least price the cost of materials and double it at the very least. If you want to consider your time spent, etc, it would go from there. There are some good articles available on-line.
Bunnie1978
Mon, 05/21/2012 - 18:35
Thank you!!
I will do some research online. For quotes I've been giving since I realized that I was not going to profit on this work was exactly that... take a complete materials cost breakdown and just double it. I'm finding though that I have much more work available to be done than I'm ever going to have time to do....so I think that I will start going a little higher once I start needing more work. Really what I need is more time to do the work. I think I could do well if my son were in school but he isn't yet, so the only time I can work on these projects is during the weekends when he is gone. That means I need to get about $200 profit from one weekends worth of work to pay my bills. :)
Tasha Cordel (not verified)
Mon, 05/21/2012 - 08:34
Cost and finish
Amazing work. I agree, cost is a tough one. I always figure out my materials and charge for full sheets and lengths, then add 20% to cover screws, glue and anything I missed (kind of a OH cover). I figure out my hours, and charge those back at whatever "rate" I would be charging for the piece....try your best to pad these a bit too. I worked in estimating for several years; so you kind of get a feel for it after awhile. Good Luck!
I LOVE the finish on this and your coffee table; mind sharing your technique??
Bunnie1978
Mon, 05/21/2012 - 18:45
Yes
There are more factors than just materials... also have to consider how much money I need to make within the month to pay rent. :)
For the finish, I sand everything down completely working my way up to 220 grit. I used Minwax Golden Pecan with a thin layer using a foam brush. I let that dry completely, without removing the excess. Then I use a cloth and my finger tip with Minwax Red Oak and dip the cloth in my stain, then rub it slowly onto the edges, rounding them out a bit. I go slowly so I can blend it in because I don't want any sharp lines. I also use the darker color to accent some of the knots. My basic idea is that each board has darker ends/edges and is lighter in the middle. This part of the job is the "artistry" - the rest is all pretty straightforward. The poly is the hardest part for me.
By the way, I advertise my work with that coffee table, and I have had a tremendous response to it - in large part due to the finish. Everyone loves the finish.
I got the idea from the 20 second tidy up table here on this site.
What I love about it is that it ties together all the other different wood colors in my living room. You know when you go get a rug with multiple colors or a pattern to tie everything together that would otherwise seem mismatched? THAT is what this finish does for a room. :)