Gutting a business for pipes...how much to charge?

So I have been asked by the owner of an apartment building that is being gutted and revamped how much I would charge to remove all the piping from the existing configuration. The building is in Detroit and is probably 100 years old. It had steam heat and they want me to remove all plumbing including bathtubs and sinks. I already took out the boiler and extremely large hot water tank today!

And yes, I am going to charge for this, I certainly am not going to do it for the scrap value alone.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

those old steel pipes burn up a lot of blades

You may be able to resell the bathtubs, sinks etc

Originally Posted by hobo finds

asbestos?

I do not believe there is any asbestos involved. I have not seen the entire building, but there was no asbestos wrap on the pipes going to the boiler or water heater that we already took out, or in the single apartment that I looked at.

This customer is going to want a flat price, not an hourly rate. So I'll have to figure out how many hours this will take. The good news is I think I will be the only bidder. (Unless I'm not.)

From what I have seen the pipes are all steel, no copper or lead. Pipes do not appear to be painted anywhere, so I don't believe I'll be violating any EPA rules. I took an RRP class once, but I never applied for the certification to the gov. (Bummer.)

The owner is actin as the general contractor.

Originally Posted by MattInTheHat

those old steel pipes burn up a lot of blades

You may be able to resell the bathtubs, sinks etc

I will look into the sale of the bathtubs and sinks. I believe toilets are already gone. I am going back to walk the building today and will seen what is involved in more detail.

And I'll have to figure out what the blades are going to cost me. You are absolutely correct, I ate a lot of blades getting the boiler and water heater out.

Originally Posted by nutpie

What kind of apartment building? Townhouses, condos, or or the big multi floor ones? How many apartments? What is the square footage? Are you taking pipes, sinks, etc. only? How far do you have to drive? How many people do you have to pay for helping? How many days are you going to have to spend there? How much would you estimate the scrap is worth? If it is really only the pipes and other cast iron you are removing, I would charge about .30 - .50 per square foot. Of course these prices are only guesses as I can't see the building itself.

All EXCELLENT questions, nutpie! The multi-floor brick construction building has a number of small apartments on each floor, and I have yet to measure square footage, but I would estimate the building has a 60 foot frontage and is probably 130 feet deep with about six floors. so about 47,000 square feet would be a rough guess. If I was to charge by square foot going by your prices that would be up to $23,400 for the job.

A lot of these pipes are up by the ceilings so there will be much up and down on ladders. THANK YOU for that input!!!

If you have not sold the water tank yet, it may be worth cutting a hole in it or something. I have heard of the ancient ones having a copper liner in them.

advice on blade saving.

cut the pipe into movable pieces and sell as long steel/unprepared

movable pieces depend on size of transport, weight of material, and obstacles between location and transport

doorways, walls, stairwells all count as obstacle.

Sounds like a big job.......Unless you are desperate to keep your guys working I would bid high and if I didn't get it OH WELL.........when I was doing demo and larger salvage jobs if I ran into something I really didn't want to do I just threw out an outrageous BID and usually never heard from them again........Worst case scenario they hire you and you make BANK

also, look into a roll off from the scrap yard.

is there enough scrap for it?

can you get permission to drop one?

Is the location secure enough, or can you finish it fast enough to avoid theft

With a building of that age it's more likely that they used either lead,galvanized, or black iron (steel) for the hot and cold water pipes.

The steam pipes were most likely black iron.

The sewer pipes were most likely cast iron with bell ends where they were fitted together. They used to chink the bell connections with a combination of wool like fiber & white lead. That old cast iron is harder than a boiled owl so it's useless to try and cut it with a sawzall. You can either smash it with a three pound maul like you would a bathtub -or- cut it with a 4" angle grinder that has a metal cutting wheel installed. Another thing that would work well in some situations is a circular saw with a metal cutting blade installed. When the blade wears down to a point that it's too small for the skill saw put it on the angle grinder. ( Saves a ton on blades cause you use em' twice !)

Looks like they've got carbide tipped sawzall blades out on the market now. They cost a bit more but might hold up better than the regular blades ? Haven't tried em' yet.

You might keep an eye open for copper sewer pipes. They're not that common, but some places were plumbed with it. The 4" - 6" diameter copper pipes with brass fittings would be a nice bonus on the job.