How I haggled at Builders Merchants

SomeBozo

Hello all

I posted a while back in the "Is this quote fair" section of the board regarding how to haggle and deal with builders merchants to get the best price.

Unfortunatly I never got a response, so I did the best I can.

Background is I am having built a single storey kitchen extension, approx 8m x 4m.

I am project managing it myself and have my builders set up. I wanted to deal with all the building myself, so I wanted to arrange the builder, the electrician and the gas fitter. I also wanted to source the materials myself.

I saved myself, from what I can tell, £6000 on the materials. This is how I did it.

I first went to my local builders merchant with the plans. He listed all I would need for the extension and the price came back 10.2K inc Vat.

This quote included everything, from the paint to decorate it to the guttering.

I then took this quote to another builders merchant, who gave me a price for 9K all in.

I then got lots of letters from builders merchants as they must check the councils planning applications, offering to quote me for my job.

So I scanned in my 9K quote to the PC and removed all reference to price and who the merchant was.

I then distribruted this to merchants in my nearest town, and the closest city.

The best price I got back was 6K! I was over the moon. I went to meet the merchant and took my plans to check it all through.

Then I approached my local builder (not the one doing my job, his labour rates are too expensive!).

I showed him my quote and said if he can get me a saving of over £500, I would split the rest of the saving 50%.

That was last week. He has come to see me and given me a new price list, the total is 4.2K inc VAT!

I am astonished, happy and angry all at the same time!

I am astonished at the saving! I am angry at the local merchants who obviously saw a chance to shaft a non-builder-not-in-the-trade guy.. I am happy at my 5K plus saving.

You could argue the original quotes were overpriced (they were!) but I am happy with my lot. Plus I can deal/pay with the merchant and not reliant on the local builder.

Just a MSE tip for those who might need it?

Bozo

andyhop

But have you sacrificed quality for cheaper products, We can all supply cheaper items but most choose only to fit what we know works

Sometimes the cheapest isnt the best

SomeBozo

andyhop wrote: »

But have you sacrificed quality for cheaper products, We can all supply cheaper items but most choose only to fit what we know works

Sometimes the cheapest isnt the best

Ok, I'll listen to that.

So, I have London Tudor bricks. Sand. Cement. Footings. Ready mixed Concrete. Plaster board. Is that a much of a muchness?

What are the typically "cheaper" and inferior products in a build? The rooftiles? Trusses?

Enlighten me please! Because I will ask!

Bozo

GT60

Watching the post

27col

SomeBozo wrote: »

Ok, I'll listen to that.

So, I have London Tudor bricks. Sand. Cement. Footings. Ready mixed Concrete. Plaster board. Is that a much of a muchness?

What are the typically "cheaper" and inferior products in a build? The rooftiles? Trusses?

Enlighten me please! Because I will ask!

Bozo

A good point, well made. What is the answer? Anyone!

SomeBozo

Seems I have the attention and curiosity of a few here.

andyhop, not to put on the spot, but care to enlighten us?

Thanks in advance.

Bozo

andyhop

Anything from chinesse slate to welsh slate

Marley roof tiles to unbranded items

Standard plasterboard to dryline compared to insulated plasterboard

Internal fittings from light switches,sockets and windows

Its like comparing real butter to cheap margarine....both do the same job

Its easy to quote a cheaper figure but you are not comparing like for like. Building ma

Patrick20

Just came across this thread. Please keep it up.

@andyhop : I dont know about SomeBozo but post #7 didn't answer the question as well as I hoped. Make some example to see if Bozo actually got a good deal?

andyhop

As a kitchen and bathroom fitter i can supply materials right across the range

I can supply cheap tile adhesives from £6 a bag up to approx £30 a bag, Both products do the same job ,But i would prefer to stick to the mid-high range items that are proven to work

Pipe and fittings, i could use cheap pushfit,rather than Hep20, I could use endfeed instead of soldered

Sanitryware,B&Q, right up to sottini+villeroy and boch

If i was planning a extension i would have a bill of quanities and be specifiying by brand and product code of the materials you require so you can get a clear retail and trade price

sheslookinhot

Exactly right Andy.

B&Q will do a bathroom suite for £200. It was made in China and will cause no end of problems installing and using. I paid that for my WC pan alone. I paid more than £200 for my Bath Tap and Basin Tap. But I know I am getting a quality product and all fittings etc to British Standards

You get what you pay for. Its false economy to go for the cheapest materials. They will require replacing in next to no time.

SomeBozo

I get the bathroom equation, I really do.

My point is, my planning requires a certain brick to be used. That is London Tudor. The roof tiles have to exact too, and thats concrete something-or-other.

Then I have the raw building materials, such as sand. Then bags of concrete, like Castle or Portland. Then "washed sand".

My questions is, for those examples is there a variation in quality? Or is a bag of washed sand a bag of washed sand. Or a 25Kg bad of cement a 25Kg bag of cement?!

I get the idea about a B&Q bathtub vs a better quality one, but when 80% of my quote is standard building stuff, does this still apply?

This is the raw ingredients I am talking about, not the special finish.

Thanks.
Bozo