Cost to lay a concrete floor

LUHG1878

Hi,

I'd like to lay a concrete floor in a basement room, the room is approx 14m2.

We intend to use the room as a utility room, and plan to add stairs down from the kitchen.

The builder that we have used to this point quoted £2800, this was broken down as £2000 labour, and £800 for materials.

The £800 materials was broken down further, and basically consisted the damp proof membrane, type 1 gravel, insulation, and concrete, all of which seemed reasonable to me, maybe a little over estimated perhaps, but not worth falling out over, as I intended to use him for further works.

However the £2000 labour seems excessive, particularly as I have already excavated all soil and rubble to his specified depth, so all he needs to do is lay the various layers of material.

He says it will take 2 men a total of 2 days, so I was thinking maybe £700~800 labour, but he won't budge on price.

I am prepared to go and get a couple of other quotes, but before I do i'd like to understand what a reasonable cost for this work would be?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Grenage

Get a couple of other quotes, but be suspicious of quotes dramatically cheaper.

phil24_7

Seems very high on the Labour if all excavations are already done.

I would think £1K would be ample for him and a labourer for 2 days.

How is the concrete being poured? Is it being tipped in, wheelbarrowed in or pumped in? I'm wondering if he has included concrete pumping (usually around £600) into the labour part for some reason.

Where are you located?

Regards
Phil

LUHG1878

Thanks for the replies Grenage and Phil, much appreciated.

It would be wheelbarrowed in, that's what we discussed, the cement truck could park at the end of the drive, from there it would be approx 10m say. There is external access to this basement room, so it's straightforward enough, no obstacles or issues they should encounter.

I'm located in central Scotland, so can't think why it would be so expensive. I'm just wondering if it's because he's already started doing work, and because we've discussed doing the stairs, after the floor is laid, that he assumes he'll get the work and isn't giving his best price?

Cheers
Stu

phil24_7

Seems a little foolish because at any time you can cut ties.

I would get a couple more people in to quote so he knows your not just going to settle for his first quote.

Regards
Phil

LUHG1878

Ok, thanks Phil.

I'll go ahead and get another couple of quotes, at least now I know that £800 to £1000 is more in line with what I should be getting quoted for the labour element.

Cheers
Stu

phil24_7

Just so you know. I would expect a tradesman to be charging £150-200 a day and a labourer to be charged at £70-100 a day (more if they were working long days) on day rate. I would also expect there to be more than 2 people with wheelbarrows during the pour as a driver isn't going to want to wait for an hour while a load is slowly wheel to it's destination! It may also be the case that your builder doesn't use a labourer but in fact a skilled tradesman so this would cost more.

What thickness of insulation has he specified?

phil24_7

I would also be looking at getting quotes from trusted/recommended builders for the rest of the works you are looking at getting done.

LUHG1878

I agree with those rates Phil, I was working on a generous £250 for the builder, and £100 for the labourer, per day.

I accept what you're saying regards the time to wheelbarrow it in though, versus how long the driver is prepared to wait, and so more than 2 people may be required during that part of the process.

From recollection I think the builder was planning on 4' of type 1 gravel, 4' insulation (Kingspan), and 4' of concrete.

I will certainly discuss the other works with any builders that come to quote for the floor, and the existing builder must know that too, which is why I don't see his logic in quoting so high.

A fair price would have got him this work, and the future work without hesitation.

Cheers
Stu

DRP

we just had a 30m2 floor put in an extension. As Phil said, the mixer won't hang around.

Not sure what the itemised cost is but our builder had 3 helpers for when the mixer arrived. That will obviously increase the labour component.

LUHG1878

Hi DRP, thanks for the reply.

I agree more bodies will be needed to shift the concrete, but we're talking less than 2m3 of concrete, so it's extra bodies for a few hours, not for the full two days.

How long did it take your builder and 3 guys to shift the concrete on your project?

Cheers
Stu