Porcelain Patio

Brushles

Hello. I live in West Sussex and was hoping someone could guide me in the right direction. 

I am looking at getting my back garden patio replaced with nicer porcelain slabs. The area is about 15m2.
Then I also wanted my small front garden which is about 5m2 paved. So about 20m2 in total.

From browsing websites like Marshalls etc and reading various forum posts I was expecting to be quoted about £120-£150 a square meter.

But I have so far had 1 full quote that wants £7k and then 2 rough estimates. One at 6k and one at 7.5k.

7 thousand pounds seems like an absolute mickey take to pave an area 20 meters squared. Why is there such a disconnect between what the web is telling me I should pay and what the companies around here are charging. Are these just pandemic prices and them taking advantage of the labor shortage? Supply and demand. One of the companies openly admitted they have a 6 month waiting list.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

donemedosh

Basicly they have enough work for the next 6 months so they have bumped up the price. I know someone who had about the same size patio done earlier this year using porcelian slabs (shropshire area) & she paid £3800 + £400 to have it sealed. Hope this helps

Anthony147

There’s actually another thread with someone being quoted £11500 for 100sqm which appears to be just for the Labour.

I think right now Trades are simply making hay while the sun shines, it’s not great for customers or their reputations as people remember feeling overcharged but I don’t see things changing soon.

Over time things and prices will balance out but if you need it now - you are going to pay very strong money, increasingly be asked for up front payments, ever larger deposits and very little recourse if things go wrong or not at the standards expected.

Do as much due diligence as you can, get it in writing and ensure the expected quality of work is determined beforehand - If you can’t check it, prove it or see it - Don’t trust it.

henry24

Why not do it yourself ? I've got an area about 20 sqm and although I've never laid slabs before I've broken up old concrete dug out the base laid stone and now slowly laying my slabs. With working full time and doing other things and bad weather it's going to take me 5 months to finish but I've saved money and although it might not be 100% perfect whenever I look at it I can say I did that