Cost expectations for a general builder

Legacy_user

I've got a light refurbishment project to complete which includes installing some windows, plasterboarding, kitchen and bathroom.

In general terms of getting a project finished is it better to employ one day rate multi skilled builder to do the work and oversee other tradesman or is it better to just use individual trades to do the work?

Has anybody any idea of a reasonable day rate for a multi skilled builder?

bris

A multi skilled builder is a jack of all trades master of none.


If you want it done properly get recommendations for the right people for the right job.


If you want the cheapest you will get what you pay for.

nickcc

We paid £125 per day, approx 8 hrs, about 3 years ago. We were lucky and ended up with good builder, this was due to recommendations from friends of ours and looking at his previous jobs. it will also depend on your location and availability of manpower.

Risteard

nickcc wrote: »

We paid £125 per day, approx 8 hrs, about 3 years ago. We were lucky and ended up with good builder, this was due to recommendations from friends of ours and looking at his previous jobs. it will also depend on your location and availability of manpower.

LOL. You'd be lucky to get an unskilled labourer for £125/day.

WoodyMax

I live down south and last year had bathroom refitted. The builder said his day rate was £240.00

System

nickcc wrote: »

We paid £125 per day, approx 8 hrs, about 3 years ago. We were lucky and ended up with good builder, this was due to recommendations from friends of ours and looking at his previous jobs. it will also depend on your location and availability of manpower.

Did you find a multi skilled builder was better than using individual trades? I've definitely learnt that the only way to find a good builder or tradeperson is via word of mouth recommendations

Thank you all for your posts.

nickcc

jackskypath851 wrote: »

Did you find a multi skilled builder was better than using individual trades? I've definitely learnt that the only way to find a good builder or tradeperson is via word of mouth recommendations

Thank you all for your posts.

When we had a large extension to a house a few years ago we employed one Builder who then sub contracted out the work to the other trades so we paid the one total price for the whole contract.

When we had a smaller extension to our present house we employed one multi trades builder, to be honest the only difference was having greater control over the multi trades builder as we had no control over the sub.contractors who's standard of work was quite poor.

We also live in Cornwall where labour rates are quite reasonable compared to other parts of the country.

System

bris wrote: »

A multi skilled builder is a jack of all trades master of none.
If you want it done properly get recommendations for the right people for the right job.
If you want the cheapest you will get what you pay for.

Yes I'm very aware of the dangers of under paying however I'm also aware of how different the overall job price can turn out to be depending on how you go about it.

I'd say I'm willing to pay a small premium for speed and the peace of mind of knowing that it can be done properly.

I've got a bit of experience under my belt and I mainly used tradesman who were recommended but I found that I was often up against those gaps in tradesmans knowledge that a builder might know about.

Again I also agree with you that there is often a lot of truth about "jack of all trades master of none" so I think probably the best solution might be to have a multi skilled builder but with the various trades under my own project management so perhaps use the builder as an goto project manager to assist

System

nickcc wrote: »

When we had a large extension to a house a few years ago we employed one Builder who then sub contracted out the work to the other trades so we paid the one total price for the whole contract.

So I believe this is a very common business model that builders use.It's reliant on the builder being good though and even then he may unknowingly have someone who cuts corners especially if the subcontractors are on one rate which means they've got a vested interest to get their bits done as quick as possible. (This is true of all priced work to a certain extent)

nickcc wrote: »

When we had a smaller extension to our present house we employed one multi trades builder, to be honest the only difference was having greater control over the multi trades builder as we had no control over the sub.contractors who's standard of work was quite poor.

Thanks for sharing your experience! It seems this turned out to be your best option and also gives you much more direct control over the job. The problem I've got is finding these types of guys as anybody good is extremely busy.

nickcc wrote: »

We also live in Cornwall where labour rates are quite reasonable compared to other parts of the country.

Yes I agree but the upside is the benefit of living in one of the most beautiful regions of the UK

Doozergirl

People use the word 'builder' but just reading your posts, you're lacking a 'project manager'. You're missing experience that your separate trades are missing. The gap is definitely a project manager.

Not all project managers are builders, not all builders are project managers. A massivr problem in this country is the expectation on both sides that builders are project managers. It's not a thing. I'm a project manager. I was an art school drop out; I needed to earn money. My work experience is in business and operations management. My husband wanted to renovate our own houses. That's what we did and eventually merged the two. I'm a nerd but I've learned as much from this forum as I've ever added.

Mine isn't a traditional career path and there was certainly nothing in place for jobbing builders to learn to administrate or run a business. I don't lay bricks and can't do more than a couple of hours on a cold building site at a time and my husband possibly can't tell you the name of our accounts package and has to be told repeatedly how to apply CIS tax, but there's a great meeting of building knowledge and experience in the middle.

People are lucky if they find a builder who can work on site in a trade and project manage, and even luckier if that price is the price of one person, because you are buying the skills of two. Yet it's an expectation. And that is where everyone falls.

Builders don't generally go out with the expectation of being a cowboy. They often just don't know how to manage a business, a project and a trade. Having design knowledge doesn't even feature.

faerielight

I'm in Brighton and pay £150 per day for my builder to do everything from painting and decorating to renovating my bathroom. I feel lucky to have found him, as he works really hard, and is very multi skilled, but will delegate if need be. My bathroom was going to be priced per job, but we decided to stick to the daily rate.