Waterproofing subcontractors carry overhead driven by specialized chemical systems, manufacturer certification requirements, and the warranty administration that waterproofing guarantees require.
These benchmarks are drawn from SPM's work with commercial waterproofing contractors and industry data. Calculate your actual overhead rate — total G&A expenses divided by total revenue for the trailing 12 months — and compare to your revenue band below.
How to use this data: If you're above the top of the range, specific categories need review. If you're below the bottom, you may be underinvesting in systems and staff. Use the benchmark as a target range, not a single number.
Trade note for Waterproofing Contractors: Below-grade waterproofing contractors carry different overhead profiles than roofing waterproofing contractors. Below-grade work involves more substrate preparation and drainage composite system complexity. Roofing waterproofing involves more weather-dependent scheduling and warranty administration. Both carry premium overhead relative to trade averages due to the performance guarantee expectations associated with waterproofing systems.
Maintaining applicator certifications across multiple waterproofing system manufacturers — BASF, Tremco, Grace, Henry — involves training, certification fees, and continuing education that's often scattered rather than consolidated.
Waterproofing manufacturers require post-installation inspections, documentation, and certification before issuing warranties. This warranty administration overhead is a real cost that must be priced into bids — not absorbed after the job closes.
Waterproofing chemical storage requirements — temperature control, hazmat compliance, shelf life management — create overhead that's often underestimated in overhead rate calculations for smaller operations.
SPM tracks all manufacturer certification and training costs as a consolidated overhead category in ControlQore — giving clear visibility into the true cost of maintaining multi-manufacturer applicator capability.
Post-installation inspection labor, warranty documentation preparation, and manufacturer certification fees for specific projects are coded to those jobs in ControlQore — not to overhead. Warranty administration is a project-specific cost.
Chemical storage, temperature control, and hazmat compliance costs are tracked as a dedicated overhead category — supporting accurate chemical handling overhead pricing in bids and revealing the true cost of maintaining chemical storage compliance.
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