Decking quote. seems very low. advice please.

fletcher1985

hi and thanks for reading. i had a quote about 2 months ago for a new decking it was a fairly big company and they quoted 5800, i had a guy come round yesterday and hes just emailed me a quote for £1650 plus (£200 for waste removal but he said thats a rough guide.)


the quote says.

Your decking area measures approximately 2.5m by 3.2 covering an area of approximately 8sqm.
 
The new decking area will be built using 125x47 framing and Ex 150x32 decking boards. It will sit approximately 1m off the ground and will have steps up to the decking area and handrail around. Your new decking will cost £1650.00 The waste removal of the existing decking will cost £200.00
 
do you think this is a fair price im just thinking with the price of everything this seems very cheap. i emailed him back and said is this the cost for supply and fit and he said yes thats the total cost. 

Brie

Does the cheap quote include the cost of materials?  Just the wood and fixings?  Painting or staining?

Have you checked if you need planning permission?  We had a small bit of decking outside our lounge door "repaired" rather than replaced because otherwise we would have needed planning permission - the big company might have been including that.

fletcher1985

Brie said:

Does the cheap quote include the cost of materials?  Just the wood and fixings?  Painting or staining?

Have you checked if you need planning permission?  We had a small bit of decking outside our lounge door "repaired" rather than replaced because otherwise we would have needed planning permission - the big company might have been including that.

This was his reply

The price is including install and materials. The only price that is not set is the waste removal as this is an approximate cost. 

I don't need planning because it's replacing decking that's been there since the house was built.

It's beyond repairing it's all rotten.

GDB2222

I don’t understand how 8sq m of decking comes out at £5800, to be frank? 

I did a rough estimate of material costs, based on Wickes prices:

Decking boards £300
Timber 47 x 125 say 30m = £250
Balustrade say £100
Postcrete say £100

That's only approximate, but I don’t think that materials will come to as much as £1000, plus say two days labour for construction. 

I would be asking some detailed questions. Is all the timber pressure treated? Does that include say two coats of preservative after construction? How will the balustrade be done? How will the posts be installed in the ground?

I allowed for postcrete, but really sockets that keep the posts out of the ground will last longer. 

Brie

I'd double check on the planning permission.  We were told that it would have been required for a deck more than 36 inches above the ground.  That's less than a meter that you have stated.  Obviously it doesn't matter if you don't have permission if you don't get caught! 

GDB2222

Brie said:

I'd double check on the planning permission.  We were told that it would have been required for a deck more than 36 inches above the ground.  That's less than a meter that you have stated.  Obviously it doesn't matter if you don't have permission if you don't get caught! 

Do you need planning permission for like for like replacement? 

fletcher1985

I don't understand why I would need planning permission when it's like for like. Nothing will be changing it will all just be replaced.

cjdew

5800 is extortionate. The other quote hopefully the guy knows how to make sure the frame is solid is reasonable for a guy or two as a sideline. Advice from someone with their own company here (not me, someone i know) 

theonlywayisup

fletcher1985 said:

I don't understand why I would need planning permission when it's like for like. Nothing will be changing it will all just be replaced.

Because that isn't how Planning works.  

That aside, as it's over 300mm from ground level it will almost certainly require Building Regulation Approval. 

GDB2222

Does it not just count as a repair? 

It’s probably worth a glance through the gov.uk guidance.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/when-is-permission-required

greyteam1959

Is Vat included or not ??