Handyman/decorating quote.

Ames

Hi all, I'm moving house and need a few jobs doing in the new place. I've received this quote and I was hoping I could have your thoughts on it. I'm in Leeds.

As a guide for prices you would be in the region of £44.00 for assembling bed, £22.00 to 33.00 for bookcases depending on size of them, £15 to 18.00 per shelf and curtain rail depending on type of wall This seems high, I thought it would be an hourly rate. The bookcases are small ones, so it would be cheaper for me to give them away and buy second hand built ones on ebay.

Painting per average size rooms £135.00 to 150.00 depending on furniture in room not including paints,only use crown or dulux, doors would be £15.00 - 18.00 per side depending on type This seems quite low, maybe it's just for walls and not woodwork? Or per coat? One wall in the new place is painted black and the hallway's dark brown, I'm guessing these would take several coats to cover.

I think only sky would be the way for dish as it is their equipment I know that's not right, but fair enough he doesn't offer that service.

Presuming dishwasher was next to sink around £65.00 labour and materials This seems a little low.

phill99

So what are you asking?

Hezzawithkids

My only recent experience is from hiring a painter/decorater and he charges £150 per day, regardless of whether its to do walls, doors, woodwork etc. We provide the paint, he supplies brushes, thinner, dustsheets etc whatever he needs to get the job done. He does put in a 10-hour day on average so we thinks it's great value for money.

Ames

phill99 wrote: »

So what are you asking?

Well, whether the quote's reasonable. If I'm likely to get anyone cheaper for the furniture assembly, and with the painting and plumbing whether it sounds too cheap and is likely to be a bit of a botch job.

phill99

When you say 'it seems low' or 'it seems high', what are you comparing it to?

Ames

phill99 wrote: »

When you say 'it seems low' or 'it seems high', what are you comparing it to?

A few things. Generally, based on some help my dad had with a few things, beign charged a day rate. That was in Scarborough though, so probably cheaper. The different prices just seem out of proportion to each other.

For the furniture assembly, when I was able to put things together a small bookcase would have taken me about half an hour - assuming he has things like an electric screwdriver to make it quicker, and knows what he's doing, and is stronger than me then he'd probably do it in half the time. So four an hour gives him an hourly rate of £88, which seems really high compared to his other prices.

The decorating is based on threads I read on here a couple of years ago when I was looking to redecorate where I am now. £135 to do a full room seems cheap, I don't know how long it would take but it must work out at a far lower hourly rate than the furniture, for what (to me) is a much harder job.

The plumbing I'm basing on when I had a washing machine point plumbed in about eight years ago, it cost me over £100 and that was supposed to be mates rates. So £65 now seems cheap as chips. Could just be that I was ripped off last time though.

ampersand

bumpity bump

Ginkfish

I'm a handyman and work on around £30/hr plus materials but I'll always give a fixed cost for the entire job and never split it down 'per item' - never really works doing it that way. You win some you lose some - sounds like the higher costs for the flat pack assembly will be balanced out by the lower costs for decorating etc.

You haven't said what you want doing for the other jobs (Sky & dishwasher) so couldn't really comment.

Ginkfish

BTW, 15 mins to assemble your average bookcase seems incredibly optimistic. It can take that long just to take it out the box and do something with the packaging!

Oh, and I NEVER quote on an hourly rate and generally avoid the subject if asked - if I did I'd be in the Bahamas now! :-)