CA Handyman (not Contractor) has started asking for $500 in Labor per job

[Account Closed]

Am a NY licensed contractor who moved out here to LA county barely a year ago.. my CA contractor license is still pending. So in the mean time, I been keeping busy with working on my own properties and a few small landscape and PM accounts. 

My handyman's son (in his early 30s) who had so far been reasonable for helping me with projects on my own home for the past several months, recently shared that fact that his father isn't getting any new jobs and so I gave him  (son, not father) a bunch of projects he can help out with, mostly outdoors/landscaping and exterior.

I never pay per hour, as that would materialize an employee-employer relationship. He works on his own time and schedule, with little supervision except time and time again I happen to be there to make sure he doesn't fall or get hurt, as well as just to help the project get done faster and move onto the next.

Sadly though, it seems since business has been so slow with his father (he metioned his father hasn't paid him for the little jobs they do (for other clients, not me) together these days). Yesterday he stated that he does not believe my budget for little projects around the house is 'fair' (even though it approaches near $2,000/mo for labor alone!) and printed up a list of projects that I want to get started on, and listed a labor fee for each. I think the list added up to like $5,000 in labor for projects that would get done in less than a month working just a few hours each day of the week.

For example, he listed painting the house exterior (stucco), and put $500 in labor next to it. 

He and I have discussed on several occasions that fact that current CSLB wording  that limits handymen $500 per project is the maximum for both materials AND labor per project and that that would be the basis for fairness sake especially since I give him the project but still end up helping alot anyways.   We've also discussed the fact that these are all optional, cosmetic things that if don't fit in the budget, simply won't be done or will be done at a later date on my own when I get around to it.

(He's also known for some time why I longer give his father new projects: because his father -also handyman, not a contractor - kept quoting thousands of dollars per project despite knowing the CSLB rules that govern handymen and their work in the state.)

How would you deal with this if you were in my shoes? (My gut instinct is just to do all other work which is just cosmetic and non-structural anyway, and all exterior, as I am accustomed to: on my own from here on out till I get my CSLB license and can then get insured and pay helpers by the hour and so on).

[Jeremy Pace]

This guy has got to go.  You're the one who pays, so you're the one who decides how much to pay.

I've had similar issues in the past with the people who do work for me.  Because of things like this, I now tell them upfront what the job will pay.  

For example, if I need a tub surround replaced, they get paid $125 (I supply all materials, so it's strictly labor).  They get half when they start, and if they haven't finished the work in two days, I'll never ask them to do anything for me again.  Every single time you let a day laborer set their hourly rate, you can be damned sure it'll take them all day.  In this particular case, the guy was upset I wasn't going to pay him more ... I just told him it was a great opportunity for him to get paid $60 an hour.