I was once told that a company expects a pipe welder to weld, in position, a 6 inch shd. 40 joint in 1 hour. I am trying to come up with a reasonable bid for a mechanical contractor. Ive got about 1,055 feet (21 foot lengths) of 3 inch pipe to weld (there's a length or two of 4 inch in there too). So approximently 53 out-of-position welds in that 1,055 feet. Question is, would it be reasonable to say each out-of-position 3 inch weld would take about 1 hour? I d rather do this job hourly but these guys always want an in-the-ballpark figure just by looking at prints. Thank you for any input.
southernpride,
How will you access the pipe? Scissor lift, ladder? Will you be fitting the pipe or will it be fit by others? How big are the gaps? How bad are the tacks?
I'm not trying to be cynical but I have taken jobs (fit by others) some were very tight even butted up and some needed a plank to bridge the gap and the tacks...you could hang your hard hat on them. Torch cuts by helpers looked like an allegator rippid it into.
Even with a bad fit and tacks you should be able to get 2 or 3 welds in a hour with no problem. Are you using 6010+ root/7018 fill and cap uphill?
If they haven't fit it you can request the fit up you prefer.
One way to bid it is by the inch. That way they only pay for the inches you weld. If you weld slow, no skin off their hyde. If you weld fast, more money per hour for you.
For instance; if you charge $8.00/inch (diameter) you would get 24/for a 3" pipe joint.
Your site conditions will vary and price will need adjusting also.You have seen the job site so moving every 20' may be time consuming but 2-3 joints per hour should be doable unless you have to move the machine alot if you dont have lots of lead.
They just have to count the welds and do the math.
Don't forget to ask what NDE (inspection) if any is required and if you are responsible for a pressure test and factor that in your price if you are responsible.
With all the variables that swsweld posted in my opinion the fit up is still the most important. The mechanical contractor I do most of my small bore pipe welding for I can trust and if a joint happens to be bad I get extra. I would just state in your bid that you have priced the job within certain perimeters and they will incur extra cost if there fitters can't stay within them. This should keep every one happy and make the job more profitable for everyone involved.
Weld up a sample nipple and time it. Let's say it takes 1 hour for everything being "perfect". Than multiply the time by 3 or better 4. This will average out for the good, the bad and the ugly fitups. The "company" wants to know what the cost will be and budget accordingly. They don't care what you make. They want to know what it is going to cost them.
I just did a job with the worst fit ups it was 2 and 3 inch sch 40 pipe 74 joints all together inside all off lift and ladders and spanning over three levels of a water treatment plant hot as hell.... I averaged when all said and done 2 joints per hour me welding and cleaning and grinding my own one other guy fitting, moving leads and what ever else was needed to keep moving toward getting done.... I had 32 hours in job
My point here is smaller pipe more time cool time and other bull crap to deal with... I always bid it hourly they gave me 400 extra I finished the job sooner then they bid it for hours needed
You can get in trouble fast bidding pipe outside the hourly realm Don't get sucked in by the joint unless it is dam good moneys
Just a dumb ass welders opinion
it was 6010 root and fill and cap uphill 7018 all 3/32 rod
Just remember that everybody and their mother is working in the same hallway, chase opening etc at the same time you are. Plumbers, sparkies, rainmakers, etc etc. If all you have to do is weld then by the inch sounds reasonable for both parties and leaves out any gray area's. Good Luck.
JohnJohn
Well, submitted the pipe job bid today. I also have to drill holes for thread o lets so decided an hourly bid would be more appropriate. I figured the job would take about 5 days but added another 2 days for incidentals. Have a structural job monday for this same MC so well see how everything works out. JohnJohn, when you say by the inch, do you mean the ID of the pipe or the circumfrence of the OD of the pipe? Probably a dumb question but this pipe job bidding is new to me. Thanks to everyone for replies.
Holy crap where you live to be getting that much work need some help
I can't work more then 4 days at a time now been home for a week
Vantage, if I have more work id be happy to contact you. This is the most work ive had since late March.
I thank you for that and I will do the same thank you
Bear
I always carry a magnet to get the shavings or torch slag out of the pipes when cutting the TOL's. Yea, the added scope throws a monkey wrench in the by the inch rate. If you ever go with charging by the inch you can do it either way but I prefer charging by the diameter rather than circumference. Less math is the reason. When welding a four pipe system(CHWS/R, HWS/R) I try to charge by the inch when welding only. The welds are normally grouped together so you get good production. I make much more money that way and the MC doesn't have to worry if you are on the phone or spend too much time on the welds. They only have to count the welds and pay the welder.
I suggest picking up an estimators book called "page of nations" there is a lot of useful info and also difficulty factor formulas that can be used.
for what its worth the welders at the shop was charging by the inch as well ,price he gave me was on a 4 in pipe he said made 100.00 per weld from root to cap hope this helps with figurng your rates
thank you lonewolf. that sounds like a fair rate for that size. unfortunately these guys want some holes drilled for thread o lets too. I gave them a range of 50 - 75 hours for the entire job. roughly 55 3 inch joints and 23 3/4" holes and thread o lets.
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