Building works to incorporate Kitchen and downstairs toilet

m_penn76

I have just received this quote from a local company who will undertake the whole project from start to finish including supplying and fitting a new kitchen. The kitchen cost is coming out about 15k which is what I expected and the flooring including underfloor heating is about 3k. This then means that the building works (including labour and materials) is coming in at about 20k which seems very high to me. I'm live on the London/Essex boarder

I've got two more quotes due this week but these are for getting the work to a stage where a kitchen fitter can come in separately. I can do the decorating myself, but I'm not too sure how much that would actually save

Does this seem expensive or have I widely underestimated? Shoud I go back to the company and get them to break the quote down?

Kitchen/rear lounge area

Remove walls as per drawings and insert steels as required/instructed
Prepare opening for new rear patio doors (to be fitted by others)
Remove and block up doorway to dining room
Relocate doorway to kitchen as drawings
Plasterboard ceilings as required
Skim plaster walls and ceilings as required

Prepare/board floor for new covering

Supply and fit new skirting boards/architraves where required

Supply and install electric under floor heating with thermostatic control (sum included for under floor heating £1500.00)

Relocate electrical sockets and switches for new layout of rooms including installing new ring main supply for kitchen electrics

Supply and install 20 no recessed chrome lights and relocate light switches as required for new room layout

Supply and fit new electrical switches and sockets (white included)

Supply and fit new floor covering throughout kitchen and rear rooms
(Flooring to be chosen sum included for flooring £1500.00)

Supply and install Prentice Pullman Cleveland painted kitchen units as drawing (layout and colour to be confirmed)
(Sum included for units £7000.00)

Supply and install the following kitchen appliances (to be chosen)

American fridge freezer
Range oven
Dishwasher
Microwave
Double butler sink
Taps
Washing machine to remain (sum included for appliances £4000.00)

Supply and install granite worktops (sum included for granite £3000.00)

Downstairs toilet

Construct downstairs toilet area with toilet and washbasin. Partition walls with door as per drawings
(Door and furniture to be chosen sum included £120.00)

Run plumbing and waste pipe work as required
(Sum include for toilet, basin and tap £300.00)

Prepare floor for tiling
Tile splash back area behind basin
Tile floor area (approx 2 sq metres)

Supply and install small radiator/towel warmer and valves

Run electrics for lights and switch as required (2 no recessed lights)

Prepare and paint walls and ceiling
Prepare and paint interior wood work.
(Paints to be confirmed)

All for the estimated sum of £37,800.00 + VAT E & OE

Notes

All building works to comply with current building regulations
We will liaise with building inspectors as required throughout works
(Building regulations/inspection charges not included)

Rear Patio doors to be supplied and fitted by others
Rubbish removal included by skips

Plasterer

m_penn76 wrote: »

I have just received this quote from a local company who will undertake the whole project from start to finish including supplying and fitting a new kitchen. The kitchen cost is coming out about 15k which is what I expected and the flooring including underfloor heating is about 3k. This then means that the building works (including labour and materials) is coming in at about 20k which seems very high to me. I'm live on the London/Essex boarder

I've got two more quotes due this week but these are for getting the work to a stage where a kitchen fitter can come in separately. I can do the decorating myself, but I'm not too sure how much that would actually save

Does this seem expensive or have I widely underestimated? Shoud I go back to the company and get them to break the quote down?

Kitchen/rear lounge area

Remove walls as per drawings and insert steels as required/instructed
Prepare opening for new rear patio doors (to be fitted by others)
Remove and block up doorway to dining room
Relocate doorway to kitchen as drawings
Plasterboard ceilings as required
Skim plaster walls and ceilings as required

Prepare/board floor for new covering

Supply and fit new skirting boards/architraves where required

Supply and install electric under floor heating with thermostatic control (sum included for under floor heating £1500.00)

Relocate electrical sockets and switches for new layout of rooms including installing new ring main supply for kitchen electrics

Supply and install 20 no recessed chrome lights and relocate light switches as required for new room layout

Supply and fit new electrical switches and sockets (white included)

Supply and fit new floor covering throughout kitchen and rear rooms
(Flooring to be chosen sum included for flooring £1500.00)

Supply and install Prentice Pullman Cleveland painted kitchen units as drawing (layout and colour to be confirmed)
(Sum included for units £7000.00)

Supply and install the following kitchen appliances (to be chosen)

American fridge freezer
Range oven
Dishwasher
Microwave
Double butler sink
Taps
Washing machine to remain (sum included for appliances £4000.00)

Supply and install granite worktops (sum included for granite £3000.00)

Downstairs toilet

Construct downstairs toilet area with toilet and washbasin. Partition walls with door as per drawings
(Door and furniture to be chosen sum included £120.00)

Run plumbing and waste pipe work as required
(Sum include for toilet, basin and tap £300.00)

Prepare floor for tiling
Tile splash back area behind basin
Tile floor area (approx 2 sq metres)

Supply and install small radiator/towel warmer and valves

Run electrics for lights and switch as required (2 no recessed lights)

Prepare and paint walls and ceiling
Prepare and paint interior wood work.
(Paints to be confirmed)

All for the estimated sum of £37,800.00 + VAT E & OE

Notes

All building works to comply with current building regulations
We will liaise with building inspectors as required throughout works
(Building regulations/inspection charges not included)

Rear Patio doors to be supplied and fitted by others
Rubbish removal included by skips

These kind of quotes are so difficult to try to help with even with all the info you have given, unfortunately jobs this large need to be seen with the eye. However, I think I can save you £3-£5 grand straight away. SUPPLY YOUR OWN KITCHEN. Builders that do big contracts like this make a killing on the supply of the kitchen............. Just food for thought.

iamcornholio

The bit which worries me is

"All for the estimated sum of £37,800.00 + VAT E & OE"

An estimate is worthless as it is just a guess. You want a fixed quote to do the work and the quoted figure should not alter unless you (or the building control officer) change the specification or ask for extra work.

And the E & OE is an attempt by the builder to try and wriggle out of any faults in his quotation ...... "Oh, I did not allow for that". This has no validitity in this contract, but if the builder thinks it does, then it could cause arguments

Ask the builder for a quote (not an estimation) and tell him that you don't expect any significant errors in his pricing so to remove the "E&OE".

What he should do, is quote you for the known work (ie the building work) and then for the appliances and the unknown flooring and worktops, he adds a "provisional sum" - more correctly, you would tell the builder what figure to use as the provisional sum.

Now, this provisional sum is included by all builders in their quotes, and it allows you to break down the quote into two parts - the variable building work which different builders will price differently, and then the provisional sums which will be the same from all builders. So you can easily compare the quotes "like for like"

Then when the items are purchased, the provisional sums are adjusted to actual costs, and the final invoice adjusted accordingly

Also

"Notes
All building works to comply with current building regulations"

This is a nonsense statement, as the building regulations are not a standard. Totally poor and rough work can still comply with building regulations, so don't agree to this.

You want all work "to comply with any relevent applicable standard" which brings in the standards of NHBC for finishing or things like British Standards or trade association guidance

As for the actual price, the only way to know is to get other quotes

m_penn76

I've just received another quote through for only the building works, electrics and plumbing, taking it through to a finish where the kitchen fitter can come in. This one came in a 17k+VAT, so it looks as though my estimate was wildly out!! The builder has quoted about 3 weeks to complete, this means that he's charging about 1k a day for labour and materials which seems extortionate.

I'm going to get another couple of quotes, as at the moment 20k for 3 steels and a toilet plus relevent electrics and plumbing seems a lot of money

ormus

thats london for you.
i cant even see half that price up here in the NW.

sindygirl58

I agree that they will stack up the price on the kitchen!!

go to DIY kitchens in pontefract, they sell online, its the same range as many independant shop sell ,very good quality. they are very helpful, i went to the facoty and they showed us round, before i bought mine.

Sorry the site wont allow me to post a link yet, just google DIYkitchens, it comes up first page.

m_penn76

Thanks Sindy, the site looks good and certainly seems to be a lot cheaper than some I'm looking at. I've found a showroom fairly near to me that stocks the style that I like so I might visit there to see the quality, the only issue is that I want some bespoke peices in the kitchen which the other company (prentice) will do for me, that's probably the reason why the price is slightly higher.