Fascia, Soffitts, Guttering quote

Ali-OK

Hi,

In Bedfordshire, quote for removing and replacing 25.6 metres of fascia, soffitts and guttering (no gable end to do)

Including a Upvc back door (half frosted and square lead, half panel) and 1 opener window 600mm W x 1000 L, also frosted and lead (these are both for garage to match house which is already in upvc).

Total cost £3,950.

Now this is from a national company DG Solutions and similar to other 'biggies' they start off high and come down in price. It's a 'deal' together, as no way was I going to pay £1395 for a door and window.

I've given them a 10% deposit, but got a 7 day canx period - might not have enough time to get local quotes, so can anyone help as to whether this is a fair price for everything?

If not, I'm cancelling and stopping the cheque. Feeling uneasy at the moment.

Thanks.

Furts

I had a substantial detached house and detached garage enlarged and renovated last year. It was all quality Osma Squareline gutter and downpipe made for me. This cost me £500. The installation included rafter trays and bird stops. The labour was no more than £300.

The fascias and soffits were decorated - not renewed. This cost very little. I will guess £250

I also had a two pane laminated glass upvc back door. With fitting this was around £375. A small opening window was around £175.

So my work was around £1500-1600. There was scaffold already there. Had I used cheap windows, doors and guttering then the price would be a lot lower (Osma Squareline is very good but not cheap!)

Ali-OK

Thanks for that - so way way over-priced then - and gives me some bullpark figures to compare with.

I did some digging on the company too and what I found didn't fill me with confidence either.

I decided to cancel legitimately as part of the 7 day cooling off, so followed the process to the letter, emailed off and to be on the safe side, I've cancelled the cheque with the bank tonight too. It's not been presented by the company and won't clear if they try to do so.

Learnt a lesson - never have a sales person here when in the midst of painting and clocking watching for the school run

docmatt

No that wasn't over priced, you took advice from someone who had a load of thin plastic nailed on top of his wood. These people are quoting for the proper job, removal of the old fascias, never get them over-clad.

thebaldwindowfitter

I would say somewhere around 2.5 k but why do people like you mess companies about by accepting a quote paying deposit then having second thoughts why not get a number of quotes before deciding and signing up

Furts

docmatt wrote: »

No that wasn't over priced, you took advice from someone who had a load of thin plastic nailed on top of his wood. These people are quoting for the proper job, removal of the old fascias, never get them over-clad.

I agree with "never get them over-clad".

Regarding the price, reflect on the material cost. Go down to B&Q Tradepoint and a length of gutter, in a choice of four colours, is under £6. Four metres of soffit and fascia is under £60. Yes, you can get lower prices elsewhere and there will also be better quality available. So your material cost, to the trade, would be under £500.

It is for you to decide on how the other £2000-£3500 is accounted for. Perhaps commission, greed, profit...

Think carefully about the need for the work. For many, this is a fad in the "home improvement" market raking in huge sums from gullible home owners.

Ali-OK

thebaldwindowfitter wrote: »

I would say somewhere around 2.5 k but why do people like you mess companies about by accepting a quote paying deposit then having second thoughts why not get a number of quotes before deciding and signing up

If the guy would have been happy to leave me with a sensible quote (apparently "list price" was £7000 :eek:), then I most certainly would have had a chance to get other quotes in. As it was, each time I said "thanks, leave that with me to think about", it was the old line of "I'll just ring my boss" or his phone would go and it was his boss again with another "one time reduced price for signing now."

So yes, I was pressure sold and taken in and quite shaken up by it afterwards, as for almost 30 years of home ownership and getting quotes/doing work on 4 properties I've not had this problem before.

My decision was also aided by what I found out about this company afterwards too, so I don't consider that I "messed this company about", if anything I was taken for a ride.

But thanks for your bullpark figure too and now I will get quotes from 3 local companies, as I'd planned to do in the first place. Perhaps there's a lesson in avoiding those who approach in DIY shop doorways and come round the next day, leaving little room for others to get in first...that's the idea I expect. I was caught out. OK?

As to whether the work needs doing, both the window and door are rotten (north facing) and the vent on the soffitt is quite bent in a few places thanks to the birds. I had a corner repaired and the whole lot painted about 4 years ago, but it's looking tatty again and I thought a longer term solution would be to replace them.