What It Costs
No estimates-by-appointment, no mystery. Here are the numbers.
- Licensed & bonded
- WA L&I #SANJUJI741OT
- Insured
- Locally owned in Friday Harbor
On San Juan Island
- Minimum visitCovers up to two hours of work. Most single jobs fit inside it.
- $250
- After the first two hoursBilled in quarter-hour increments. No rounding up to the next hour.
- $85/hour
- MaterialsI don’t mark up materials. If I’m making a run to Browne’s for your job, that’s billable time, and I’ll batch it with other jobs where I can.
- Cost plus pickup
Ferry islands — Orcas, Lopez, Shaw
- Island dayTravel included. I run scheduled days on each island and take bookings for them. Get on the list and you pay the day rate, nothing more.
- $595 half / $995 full
- Dedicated tripIf you need me on your schedule rather than mine, that covers the crossing, the standby line, and the day it costs me.
- Day rate + $400
The inter-island ferry doesn’t take reservations for vehicles, so a two-hour job on Orcas is a full day of my life. Scheduled island days keep it affordable for everyone on them.
Outer islands — by boat
I run my own 16-foot skiff, so I can reach the islands the ferry never touches — Decatur, Blakely, Waldron, Stuart, Center, Crane, Henry, Johns, Brown. One number covers it.
- Boat dayAll in. The boat, the fuel, the crossing, and hauling my tools and small materials over and back. Nothing to itemize afterward.
- $1,295 per full day
- Half daysLaunching, crossing, tying up, and carrying gear up from the dock costs the same whether I work three hours or eight. A half day on a boat-access island doesn’t pencil out for either of us.
- Not offered
- MaterialsSame as everywhere else — no markup. Anything longer than 20 feet, or heavy in volume, goes on a barge or a chartered boat. I arrange it and bill the freight through at cost on top of the day rate.
- Cost
Every boat day is quoted before it is booked. You will know the number and roughly what I expect to get through before I untie. And a boat day can be shared: if two or three owners on the same island have work waiting, I’ll put them on one crossing, the same way I batch ferry island days.
What a 16-foot skiff can and can’t carry. Me, my tools, and small materials. Twenty feet is the honest ceiling on board length. Sheet goods in quantity, a decking load, appliances, a hot tub, windows and doors in bulk, or a dumpster’s worth of debris going out — those need a barge or a landing craft, not my boat. When a job is that size I book a local hauler or charter a bigger boat, and the freight is billed through to you at cost on top of the boat day. I’ll price that with you before anything is booked rather than make three trips pretending otherwise. Crossings are also weather-dependent, and winter dates are never guaranteed.
See which outer islands I run to →
Property care
One visit a month, from $300 per visit, quoted higher for larger or more complicated properties. Details on the property care and home watch page.
The fine print
- Washington sales tax applies to the total, including labor. 8.65% inside Friday Harbor town limits, 8.35% elsewhere in San Juan County.
- Invoices are sent by email and payable online.
- Payment due on receipt for jobs under $1,000. Larger projects get a deposit schedule.
- No charge for a phone consultation. Send photos and I’ll give you a ballpark for free.
Why there’s a minimum
Because a fifteen-minute fix still costs me the drive, the setup, and the parts run. The minimum is also why I encourage you to save up a list — once I’m there with the tools out, the second and third jobs are much better value than the first.
One thing the rate card doesn’t cover. Electrical and plumbing work needs a specialty license in Washington, which I don’t hold. I’ll bring in a licensed contractor and meet them at the house; you’re billed my time for the coordination, and theirs for the work.
Next step
Got a list?
Send it over and I’ll give you a straight answer on timing and a ballpark on cost. Call (360) 317-0203.
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