Business

Pricing strategy for hidden fastener labor on large Ipe installs

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Chloe Barnett

Hey guys, I'm looking for some input on how you're bidding labor for hidden fasteners on high-end Ipe jobs. Recently wrapped up a 900sqft deck using the Ipe Clip Extreme system and realized my flat-rate square footage price didn't account for the massive amount of extra time spent centering clips on 20-foot boards. Between the precise pre-drilling and the fiddly nature of the stainless steel inserts, the labor hours blew past my initial estimate by about 25%. Are you guys charging a premium per-square-foot for hidden fasteners specifically, or are you just building a 'complexity multiplier' into the base bid? I'm currently sitting at $14/sqft for install only, but thinking I need to bump it to $18 for these clips if I want to maintain my margins. What's the standard practice for you all when dealing with hardwoods this dense?

2 Replies

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Grant Ellison

Grant Ellison here. I stopped bidding hidden fasteners by the square foot years ago for that exact reason. Ipe is unforgiving, and those clips turn a three-day job into a five-day slog if you’re not careful. I started charging a flat per-clip install fee on top of the base labor to cover the pre-drilling and the time spent fighting those stainless inserts. For jobs requiring that level of precision, I now include a 1.5x complexity multiplier in my estimate. Once you factor in the bit wear and the patience required for 20-footers, moving toward that $18/sqft mark isn't just reasonable—it’s necessary to keep the lights on.

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Dana Kowalski

Dana Kowalski here. I agree with the others on the pricing, but I’d also look at your workflow. On those 20-footers, I switched to using a dedicated biscuit jointer for slotting rather than relying solely on the clips' tolerances. It saves massive time and reduces the wear on those expensive carbide bits. I also started charging a separate 'site management' line item specifically for managing the moisture content checks and acclimation process on Ipe, which is often where the hidden delays creep in. If you aren't accounting for the extra time spent checking gaps on those long runs, you're definitely leaving money on the table.

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