Just curious, what state do you live? I’m not trying to be a wise ass, but you have to know where I’m at to understand how things are here. This region is somewhat affluent. Parents here in general don’t raise their children to be bricklayers, mechanics or just tradesmen in any respect. There’s much more demand for services than there are people that do the work. There’s very little competition it seems that every business around here constantly tests what they can charge and stipulate their demands and if you don’t like it - they don’t care. I’m a member of the County Chamber of Commerce and 3 months out of the year they collect statistics on members and non members alike for what are considered “average“ charges for their services. When we submit this data to the State and Federal commerce committiees we can see a map of the US and listings by zip code. My area consistently shows us at 87.9% higher than the national average for service providers and contractors and the stats vary greatly throughout the state.Inquire into a welding/ machine shop.