How to price concrete forms separate from the slab
Same square feet, two and a half times the forms
The patio and the walk landed on the same estimate. A 20 by 20 patio out back, and a 4 by 100 walk from the driveway to the front door.
Same square footage, 400 each. Same thickness, 4 inches. Same concrete, about 4.9 yards each.
So you price them the same per square foot. That's where it goes wrong.
Walk around the patio and it's 80 feet. Walk around the walk and it's 208. Every one of those feet is a form board you set, stake, check for grade, and strip the next day.
The walk takes more than two and a half times the forms the patio does. Same square feet.
Price concrete per square foot off your patios and you'll lose money on every walk and every driveway apron. Price it off your walks and nobody hires you for a patio.
Price the slab by the square foot and the forms by the foot
Split it. The patio comes out where it should, and a long skinny walk pays for the boards it actually takes.
While you're at it, check the order. That patio needs 4.9 yards in the forms. Kevin Goodwin, a contractor in Alabama who helped build Yardstick, orders half a yard over, and his plant only sells whole yards. 4.9 plus a half is 5.4, so he orders six.