Interior costs

Tom-D

Tom-D

Taxi to Parking
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Feb 23, 2005
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Tom-D
It's been a while since I've done one, what should a nice wool and leather interior cost for a C-170-

Customer is asking for a bid.
 
I had all leather seats, repair of plastic and removed ashtrays and repainted, and headliner covered in leather, and new carpets and seatbelts for $7200 in a Mooney. No embroidery and the glare shield and yokes were already in good shape.
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teejayevans said:
I had all leather seats, repair of plastic and removed ashtrays and repainted, and headliner covered in leather, and new carpets and seatbelts for $7200 in a Mooney. No embroidery and the glare shield and yokes were already in good shape.
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Wow. I had a quote for $20 grand to re-do the Bonanza in Leather. That included just about everything except the control wheels and seat belts, which were both relatively recent. Shoulder harnesses were the first things I added after purchasing it almost 3 years ago.
 
JOhnH said:
Wow. I had a quote for $20 grand to re-do the Bonanza in Leather. That included just about everything except the control wheels and seat belts, which were both relatively recent. Shoulder harnesses were the first things I added after purchasing it almost 3 years ago.
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Wow, I’ve heard quotes of $12K, but 20? I guess they know you Bo drivers are rich
BTW, the new seats are more than just cosmetic, new foam made them more comfortable, I’ve done 9-11 hour days.
 
I knew the prices would probably be up, but OMG 20k ?
 
installed.jpg installed3.jpg I bought 2 hides, enough to do the side panels, and front seats in my Cherokee, for ~$230. I have the sides completed, and waiting on Dad to bring it back so I can complete the seats. I'll be replacing the seat foam at a cost of about $175 for confer foam. Add in a hundred or so for various and sundry other items, (sculpting foam, sew foam, etc) Carpet is still on the back burner, but Airtex quoted about $700 for the carpet IIRC.
 
bluerooster said:
View attachment 66865 View attachment 66866 I bought 2 hides, enough to do the side panels, and front seats in my Cherokee, for ~$230. I have the sides completed, and waiting on Dad to bring it back so I can complete the seats. I'll be replacing the seat foam at a cost of about $175 for confer foam. Add in a hundred or so for various and sundry other items, (sculpting foam, sew foam, etc) Carpet is still on the back burner, but Airtex quoted about $700 for the carpet IIRC.
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I truly admire people like you that can do that work yourself. But it would cost me even more if you gave me all the materials for free and I attempted it on my own. I would wind up having to pay someone to rip it all out and do it over/right. It would cost more that way because I am sure he would charge me extra to keep him from laughing at my botched job.

There are things I can do and there are things I can't. This is one of the "can'ts?

Someone on this board used to have a signature that I liked:
"Identify the things in life you don't do well; then don't do those things". (or something like that).
 
I didn't know if I could or not. But found out that with a little time, and effort, I could do an acceptable (to me) job.
 
I recall the story of a fellow who used to frequent this board when he refurbished the interior of his 177. The job was eormous, especially because he had to deal with some corrosion and a few other airframe issues while he had the interior out. There are shops that specialize in this for good reason, I wouldn’t expect an A&P to be particularly adept with upholstery. As far as the OPs quandary, I don’t know how you give a quote for such a project before you dig into it. That said, if the OP can’t even figure out how long the project might take and what it would entail, perhaps he should send this particular aircraft elsewhere.
 
steingar said:
I recall the story of a fellow who used to frequent this board when he refurbished the interior of his 177. The job was eormous, especially because he had to deal with some corrosion and a few other airframe issues while he had the interior out. There are shops that specialize in this for good reason, I wouldn’t expect an A&P to be particularly adept with upholstery. As far as the OPs quandary, I don’t know how you give a quote for such a project before you dig into it. That said, if the OP can’t even figure out how long the project might take and what it would entail, perhaps he should send this particular aircraft elsewhere.
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I don't think the scope of work is Tom's question. I think he is more interested in what such a job brings in under today's economy.

Perhaps he could do the work in x hours and the materials will cost him Y dollars. From that, and using his regular rate will give a dollar figure, but that may or may not reflect what such a job fetches in the open market. He could be way low or way high causing him to leave money on the table, or maybe lose the job altogether. Customers don't really care how hard a job is or how much the materials cost. They base their decisions on their perception of value, and that perception is based on what others pay for a similar job.

At least that's my take on it.
 
JOhnH said:
I don't think the scope of work is Tom's question. I think he is more interested in what such a job brings in under today's economy.

Perhaps he could do the work in x hours and the materials will cost him Y dollars. From that, and using his regular rate will give a dollar figure, but that may or may not reflect what such a job fetches in the open market. He could be way low or way high causing him to leave money on the table, or maybe lose the job altogether. Customers don't really care how hard a job is or how much the materials cost. They base their decisions on their perception of value, and that perception is based on what others pay for a similar job.

At least that's my take on it.
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I think the scope of work is very important to answer the question. Someone going too far from their area of expertise might need extra time to complete the tasks, which will reduce their profitability. They will be paid less for their time than tasks within their skill set. There is also potentially opportunity lost- if a lot of time is required for this job, he can't do other jobs which could be completed more quickly, and allow him to do more jobs. While customers don't care how hard a job is, or how much the materials cost, they do expect their job to be completed within a certain time. The specialized shops mentioned by @steingar have the tools and experience to do the job quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively. This isn't a jab at anyone, it is simply a fact. I suppose he could outsource the upholstering to the experts and deal with any airframe issues himself.
 
I don’t have the skills or the equipment so it was an easy decision. I personally didn’t want the old fashion welt seems, but preferred the french seems, to give a modern look.
As an owner you should spend time understanding what’s possible, so you know what to ask for.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
I think the scope of work is very important to answer the question. Someone going too far from their area of expertise might need extra time to complete the tasks, which will reduce their profitability. They will be paid less for their time than tasks within their skill set. There is also potentially opportunity lost- if a lot of time is required for this job, he can't do other jobs which could be completed more quickly, and allow him to do more jobs. While customers don't care how hard a job is, or how much the materials cost, they do expect their job to be completed within a certain time. The specialized shops mentioned by @steingar have the tools and experience to do the job quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively. This isn't a jab at anyone, it is simply a fact. I suppose he could outsource the upholstering to the experts and deal with any airframe issues himself.
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I don't disagree with that at all. But if Tom finds out that the "market cost" of such a job would be less than he could do the job for, then he may want to turn the job down.
 
JOhnH said:
I truly admire people like you that can do that work yourself. But it would cost me even more if you gave me all the materials for free and I attempted it on my own. I would wind up having to pay someone to rip it all out and do it over/right. It would cost more that way because I am sure he would charge me extra to keep him from laughing at my botched job.

There are things I can do and there are things I can't. This is one of the "can'ts?

Someone on this board used to have a signature that I liked:
"Identify the things in life you don't do well; then don't do those things". (or something like that).
Click to expand...

Saving 18 grand could be an incentive to learn. I bought my leather hides as well, three of them to be exact for the seats and the side panels. I had a local upholstery shop so the seats while I cut out the new templates for the side panels. They rebuilt the seats to add bolsters on the sides and back and they stitched and glued the leather to the side panels to my specifications, all french seams. They outsourced a local shop to embroidery the Piper logo on the backs of the seats. Total cost for materials, less than $500. Labor for the shop, $750 for the seats and $500 for the sides. I did the installation which was free. So around $1750.
 
For a 4 seat I’d expect 6-8k in full leather
 
JOhnH said:
I don't think the scope of work is Tom's question. I think he is more interested in what such a job brings in under today's economy.
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Ahh ! finally some one understands the question.
 
Tom-D said:
How about a very plane Jane, tail dragger that going to get used?
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Get a quote from your local rod and custom shop

Think there is one in Bremerton
 
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