Builders in Cambridge Area

Roaming

Hi All!

We've almost bought a house and are currently looking at getting quotes from builders in the local area for repairing the floors.

This is a detached house from circa 1905. At the moment, we have wooden floor boards (old, suspended floor) and the joist are damaged due to dampness so we've been advised to have them replaced with concrete (floor/slabs). We would ideally want to get wooden floor boards on top of that again. How would that work? :question: :question:

Also, received on quote for doing the above work on appx 22 sq. meters of floor area for 5700 (inc. VAT). Does that sound like a fair deal? It works out to be about 213 pounds/sq. mtr (exc. VAT) :question: :question:

Another question I have is... what would you say about a construction company that is not VAT registered?? What does that mean in terms of our own security in the future in case we have any insurance claims or such? :doh: :question:

Look forward to hearing from you!

Running_Horse

You will probably get a better response here:

http://www.wereallneighbours.co.uk/idlechat/

villabadger

Roaming wrote: »

Hi All!

We've almost bought a house and are currently looking at getting quotes from builders in the local area for repairing the floors.

This is a detached house from circa 1905. At the moment, we have wooden floor boards (old, suspended floor) and the joist are damaged due to dampness so we've been advised to have them replaced with concrete (floor/slabs). We would ideally want to get wooden floor boards on top of that again. How would that work? :question: :question:

Also, received on quote for doing the above work on appx 22 sq. meters of floor area for 5700 (inc. VAT). Does that sound like a fair deal? It works out to be about 213 pounds/sq. mtr (exc. VAT) :question: :question:

Another question I have is... what would you say about a construction company that is not VAT registered?? What does that mean in terms of our own security in the future in case we have any insurance claims or such? :doh: :question:

Look forward to hearing from you!

You don't really detail enough of the works to be able assess whether the price is any good. I would question why you would want to significantly change the floor especially if you want a wooden floor anyway. Why not replace the floor, like for like, and sort out the damp problem at the same time? If you just replace all of the timber and flooring I would expect the price to be nowhere near to what you have been quoted. Even if it was approx a weeks work for a chippie and labourer I would expect it to cost £2-2.5k depending on the flooring required. If you choose something really 'posh' then obviously the price will increase accordingly.

A company that is not vat registered just tells me that they are small, probably a one man band (with a labourer etc). OR they do a lot of cash jobs! This company should still have public liability insurance.

danilou21

You only need to be vat registered if you make more than 60 grand pa. It would suggest that it's a small company or one man.
You should really get three quotes or so and ask people for recommendations.

Roaming

villabadger wrote: »

You don't really detail enough of the works to be able assess whether the price is any good. I would question why you would want to significantly change the floor especially if you want a wooden floor anyway. Why not replace the floor, like for like, and sort out the damp problem at the same time? If you just replace all of the timber and flooring I would expect the price to be nowhere near to what you have been quoted. Even if it was approx a weeks work for a chippie and labourer I would expect it to cost £2-2.5k depending on the flooring required. If you choose something really 'posh' then obviously the price will increase accordingly.
.

Hmm... what kind of details would you need?

See, I thought the same. Why not do a like for like job. The structural engineer seems to think we need to/would be better off replacing it with the concrete floor and not deal with the air bricks and joists etc. Do you think its a short cut to dealing with the damp problem we have?

We're advised the damp is due to damaged drains which need fixing.

camptownraces

Roaming wrote: »

Hmm... what kind of details would you need?

See, I thought the same. Why not do a like for like job. The structural engineer seems to think we need to/would be better off replacing it with the concrete floor and not deal with the air bricks and joists etc. Do you think its a short cut to dealing with the damp problem we have?

We're advised the damp is due to damaged drains which need fixing.

Ask your structural engineer to
(a) specify the works required, and
(b) recommend two or three builders to quote.

If he won't do this, find a building surveyor who will.