Id like to know what's the average cost that fair and ed realistic as I have a client who just need the custom skin and matching container

thanks in advance!

If it helps I've done a lot of skins now, and starting with just a layered PSD design file (I code the skins in html & css, I don't 'draw' the design) it averages about 40 hours to do a good, cross-browser safe, standards compliant, valid custom skin incl custom menu and about 4 or 5 containers.

Never takes less than 20 hours, and (as yet) never more than 60 hours, but as I say, most of them take very close to 40 hours, so that's always what I estimate as a ballpark figure for the client before having seen the PSD file, and then I refine to an upper or lower figure once I see what the designer has come up with. About 10 hours worth is always post-design 'client changes' :-/

It sounds like a lot of hours, especially when that's on top of the graphic design fee, but I've done 30+ site skins now, and that's how long it takes me to do them from go to woah. Most of the time is spent getting the CSS just right for all the browsers out there, and menus always take 5 or 6 hours. But to get a truly unique skin that looks and works just like a designer envisaged is a joy - it's why I love DNN, because unlike other CMS's (yeah, I'm looking at you SharePoint!) I really haven't found any limitations the DNN framework imposes on the design of a site, and it's really simple to implement design that is totally separated from content and functionality. Basically, if I can code it, DNN can use it :-)