Bedroom and Hallway Quote

JadeHighland

Hi all

I wanted to get your thoughts on the below quote. We live in a small- mid-terraced house in London which we are getting refurbished. The below is for a hallway, down and upstairs landing and a bedroom.

Hallway - 1m2 downstairs and probably 3m2 in total for the upstairs landing. There are 14 steps, to give you a rough idea of the size. 

Replace skirting upstairs (less than 1m worth)

Change radiator

Change 1 plug socket and 2 light switches

Repair a wall that was drilled through on a previous job (less than 1m across)

Repair floor boards

Fit new skirting boards

Fit x4 new doors

Fit handrail

Fit mirror and shelf

Decorate complete

Second room (3mx3m)

Strip ceiling (popcorn ceiling) and walls

Remove skirting boards and flooring

Make good where needed

Change 1 radiator

Change 3 plug sockets and 1 light switch

Add x1 double socket

Fit shelf, rail and brackets in cupboard

Fit new flooring

Fit new skirting boards

Decorate room complete

Total quote - £3,600 for the labour and any necessary pipework for the radiators.

turnitround

There are so many variables in that list it would be impossible for anyone to say if the quote was fair or not.

FreeBear

If you are redecorating throughout and having plastering done, do give some thought to insulating the external walls. Being a terrace, I suspect Victorian, so solid brick walls - Even just 50mm of insulated plasterboard will have a dramatic affect on cutting heat loss, which will translate in to lower heating bills. Ideally, you want to aim for 75mm of Celotex type insulation to hit current Building Regs requirements. 50mm is a compromise over loss of floor space (not that you will notice 50-75mm). Put 25mm around the door & window reveals to minimise cold spots.

Yes, it will add to the cost of the refurbishment, but you do end up with nice flat walls.

If you have decent modern double glazing, with the walls insulated, there is no real need to mount the radiators under windows. As a consequence, you are free to fit larger radiators on internal walls (less pipework perhaps). The knock on from that is being able to run lower flow temperatures, and save gas. It also puts you in a better position for the day when heat pumps are the only choice should the boiler need replacing.