Astronomical Quote, or am I out of touch?

ach5

Hi all,

First post here - what a fantastic forum!

I really need some advice here and I very much welcome your comments.

I have an excellent builder who I know I can trust 100% and who will do a good job, but I was shocked when he quoted me £13,000 for the following in my small 2 bedroom cottage. I supply all "furniture fittings" and paints & he supplies only tools, glues, plaster, disposables etc etc. For cash it would be cheaper, but he didnt say by how much.

Please consider that although I have listed a lot of jobs for completeness, not all involve major work.

I hadn't sat down and calculated it, but I expected the cost to be nearer £6,000 or 7,000 maybe £8,000 tops. Am I totally out of touch?!

It is a father-son team, paid in cash.

Porch;
1) re-tile porch
2) re-paint porch walls
3) re-paint porch skirting
4) new porch-garage fire door

Living room;
5) re-paint living room door
6) re-paint living room walls
7) re-paint living room skirting & 2 beams
8) re-paint window ledge inside
9) replace working light switches and plug sockets with new more modern ones
10) fit new light fittings (in place of current old light fittings)
11) re-paint mantle piece
12) wall paper two alcoves as "feature walls"
13) tidy up wood around door frame with new architrave
14) tidy up around fire place tiles with architrave

dining room;
15) new bannister/spindle/hand rail set - install and paint
16) re-paint dining room walls
17) re-paint dining room skirting & beam
18) re-wire two new wall light from existing but blanked off light points
19) install 10 spot lights in ceiling (done through floor of bedroom directly above which he is replacing - see below - so the floor will already be up for this)
20) remove tiles from 3 window sills and replace with painted wood


bathroom;
21) Completely gut bathroom back to breeze-block, install new bathroom suite, including a small amount of new plumbing (i.e. installation of fixed shower head rather than bath-tap-shower head), full tiling. Small bathroom. I will provide all new furniture and tiles.

landing;
22) skim old stippled-plaster walls to make them smooth (relatively small area)

bedroom;
23) re-lay MDF floor under the carpet
24) remove old immersion tank from cupboard space, and knock wall of cupboard space through to make room bigger (relatively big job, I guess)

booty40uk

Hi
Id be more than happy to do that lot for your original estimate of £6k to £7k. Your builders quote is way off.

HTH

Andy

ach5

Thanks for your comment.

My gut feeling was that even allowing for a decent daily rate, it seems way off.

I really, really like this guy - he has been in the trade 40 years and can do anything, and do it well, so I want to go with him, but I could get individual tradesmen in to do the lot for half his price, I reckon.

I'd happily pay a premium to have one guy do the lot for the purposes of continuity, but not a 100% premium on £6k.

Canucklehead

Hi,


What were the other quotes?


If no other quotes then get some .

Then you can compare them as they have all seen the work involved.
As opposed to a total stranger telling you it should cost 6K-7K. over the internet.

GSR.

ach5

Yes, you're right about getting more quotes, but it's very hard to find someone who can do this range of work i.e. painting, decorating, building, bathroom fitting with a bit of electircs and plumbing thrown in.

Alan_M_2

In Wales or Scotland that may seem steep, in London it may be bang on or even reasonable.

There are also a lot of variables.

Example:-
Item 15, Who is supplying the bannister/spindle/rail set? How much is it costing?

Who is supplying the tiles and flooring? What quality is it?

Is the immersion tank being replaced elsewhere or is this now obsolete by virtue of a combi boiler or replacement tank?

The bathroom and Bedroom are sizeable jobs, could be a few days could be a few weeks depending on structure and what they find in there.

If the labour only is £13,000 that's a alot of money, that's 65 man days at £200 per day - or about a month's work at £200 each for two men.

I'd want to know what element of this is labour and what is being spent on materials and how much those materials are costing. At that point you'll be able to pick more information from the estimate.

ach5

Alan - thanks!

May I provide some more info for you;

Alan_M wrote: »

Item 15, Who is supplying the bannister/spindle/rail set? How much is it costing?.

I am providing this, courtesy of B&Q

Alan_M wrote: »

Who is supplying the tiles and flooring? What quality is it?.

I am buying the tiles for the porch, he would be providing the bedroom flooring (small back bedroom, and flooring would presumably be MDF as it will be being fully carpeted)

Alan_M wrote: »

Is the immersion tank being replaced elsewhere or is this now obsolete by virtue of a combi boiler or replacement tank?.

Combi-boiler, fitted by a dedicated plumber. My builder will be removing the tank and knocking the airing cupboard through to make the bedroom slightly bigger.



Does that help?

PS we're in the Manchester region

Alan_M_2

It's starting to look steep, get at least two other estimates and make sure they are like for like.

Then get a breakdown of labour and materials fro the original estimate and ask them roughly how long this will all take.

It is difficult for us in internet land to fully comprehend the scale of some of the work involved in some of these jobs. Having two or three people look at it then provide prices will give you a much better feel.

ach5

Thanks Alan, I will ask my builder for a break-down of costs, and i will try to get another quote or two.

Time is of the essence, and I am happy to a premium to get it done, but I can't justify this, I dont think.

I will have to try and find someone who can quote me (anyone have any suggestions in the North Manchester area?)

ormus

if thats nearly all labour costs then its very steep. esp for the NW area.

endurium

Is it possible that your builder doesn't really want the job hence he's quoting an astronomical amount?