Utility extention quotes

steveouk

Hi we have had 2 quotes for a small utility extension and are waiting for another one.

The first one came in at £9000 and he said this included everything and would design the units to go in as he has a trade account with b and q. He was very transparent easy to talk to and I felt he would be reliable and do a good job. He had great feedback from a lot of jobs on mybuilder.com

Just had another quote this afternoon and he has said he would do it for 5-6k. He said they don't work for profit just to make enough money for themselves so say they always have work because they don't charge high prices. He also had good feedback but from fewer jobs.

Taking the top price at 6k and the other price at 9k that's £3,000 difference is there really that much profit in building or is the lower priced guy just cutting corners?

The third quote we have asked for have said it will be between 8-10k and they are going to come back with an exact price.

Doozergirl

Which ones talked about building regulations to you?

System

steveouk wrote: »

Just had another quote this afternoon and he has said he would do it for 5-6k. He said they don't work for profit just to make enough money for themselves so say they always have work because they don't charge high prices. He also had good feedback but from fewer jobs.

would be very wary, everyone works for profit so either he makes his money by cutting corners or he is a terrible businessman and could go under at any time!

andrewf75

yeah I'd be wary of tradesmen who go out of their way to offer the lowest prices. You have to ask why. If a tradesman is good then he will get work charging a higher price.

Also bear in mind Mybuilder doesn't show negative reviews.

steveouk

The first guy said about permitted development and that the size of extension we are looking at - 1.5m by 2.9m its within current guidelines. He also said about insulation etc and regulations.

The second guy said something about making the roof from something other than slate tiles?! and mentioned about angle of the roof slope.

The third quote will be from the company who are currently renovating the house we are buying. They are very god indeed work is of a high standard and nothing is too much trouble for them. But we always feel we should get quotes so we know the price is good.

andrewf75

steveouk wrote: »

The first guy said about permitted development and that the size of extension we are looking at - 1.5m by 2.9m its within current guidelines. He also said about insulation etc and regulations.

The second guy said something about making the roof from something other than slate tiles?! and mentioned about angle of the roof slope.

The third quote will be from the company who are currently renovating the house we are buying. They are very god indeed work is of a high standard and nothing is too much trouble for them. But we always feel we should get quotes so we know the price is good.

If your current firm are that good then look no further IMO. Its always a risk going for the unknown.

thebananapimp

andrewf75 wrote: »

yeah I'd be wary of tradesmen who go out of their way to offer the lowest prices. You have to ask why. If a tradesman is good then he will get work charging a higher price.

Also bear in mind Mybuilder doesn't show negative reviews.

They definitely do - what's your experience of this?

steveouk

So an update.

We have had a quote from the firm that are doing the renovation to the house and they have come back with £10,600 plus VAT!! The actual price is fine and we know they will do a good job but the VAT pushes a fair bit beyond the 10k we can afford.

We have checked with the second guy who gave a reasonable quote of £8700 and his does not include VAT and is a cash price. Should we be weary of this? We had a good rapport with him and felt he was knowledgeable and in tune with our needs for fitting out of the room. We have seen pictures of his work online and it looks good.

steveouk

this was the response I got to my e-mail yesterday....

Hope you are both well
The price I gave you was £8.700.00
It does not include VAT as I am not VAT registered so is a cash price!
What were the other quotes you had?
Dearer than mine I hope!!!