Grans home needs fixing - help me avoid getting ripped off

owls

Jason is about right expect a 150 minimum for a self employed plasterer thats in the north- lancs/yorkshire area.

sho_me_da_money

Ok dudes just to give you an update.

This building game is a rip off and i was surprised to learn how easy it is to DIY if you have patience, time, tips and tools.

Me, my brother and his mate tore down the existing ceiling in the dining room this weeked and plaster boarded it back up - it looks absolutely superb. All it needs now is a some skimming and we're good. Found a plasterer for £50 per day!!! OH YAS!

We also ripped out all the cladding out of the kitchen, the floor tiles in the kitchen, unscrewed all the kitchen units and took them out, took out some doors and again it looks superb. I was surprised how easy it was to do with a few tips!

I think i've easily saved myself a grand on this and am about to save even more by having my 3 walls repointed at £30 per day!! - a professional pointer told us that it's not rocket science and the difference between me, brother, mate and him doing it is he would be able to do it quicker. It might take us a week or more to do but it saves paying out another £1500.00!

The materials were the costly part of the whole process but they were well worth it. I might even be able to get the tools for free too!

One major thing i have learned here is british people/builders are a f'in rip off compared to the hard grafting foreigners. The grafters are out there to make a name for themselves and are willing to put some elbow muscle in to winning you over. The ridiculously cheap rates were scary at first automatically you think - "they are going to botch it up" but if you have a little bit of the thing called "faith" and do a little digging around how long they been doing it for and/or maybe seeing an example of stuff they already done, you should be onto a winner.

Defo not going to be spending stupid money on this stuff.

Paparika

I agree to an extent - I just had a sparky turn up for a rewire quote. Needless to say I took his quote rather lightly after watching him drive off in a brand new Mercedes convertible!

sho_me_da_money

Paparika wrote: »

I agree to an extent - I just had a sparky turn up for a rewire quote. Needless to say I took his quote rather lightly after watching him drive off in a brand new Mercedes convertible!

If you were charging £200 per day for a job that foreign grafters would take £20-50 to do, you too could be driving away a brand new merc.

Im not surprised the dude had a merc - he has made a wad of cash over the last few years. Take my quote example - the plaster boarding in one room was quoted for arounf £350-£500.

We did it in 1 day!

I think builders should be negotiated firstly on how long they will take to complete the job and then negotiate the price for that time.

I think paying for anything more than £100 a day is stupid for any type of building work. The money is tax free and skilled people like me (IT proffessionals) don't even get paid them rates.

Builders should be getting an honest and fair wage. Based on what most consider the average rate (£150-200) per day, that means they are making close to grand or more a week!!! AND yes i know all the potential liabilities involved - they could fall or hurt themselves but that's no different for policemen or other people out there - insurance to protect yourself isn't that expensive!

Im in the wrong line of work!!

jason_s_2

If you offered me £50 a day then you would be told to **** off.

sho_me_da_money

jason_s wrote: »

If you offered me £50 a day then you would be told to **** off.

I'd give £100 max for a full days work - 8 hours (1 hour lunch, 1 hour break over the course of the day and 6 hours solid graft).

Thats about £16.00 per hour worked - more than enough.

furrybloke

I pay mates rate £150 per day for sparks & similar for plumbing. I cut the bill by labouring my self similar to how you are doing, I run in all the cables myself get everthing ready, the sparks turns up checks my work & does the bits I don't like wiring to the board. It save me money & him time.
Plastering like you have done you did all the hard work first. Havey ou done the electrics & water though? If not do them before you get anything skimmed, learn from those with experience do the donkey & messy work first & the nice stuff last. Suggest you look into the situation regarding the house as well, it may be beneficial for you to buy the house from your parents now as it will not impact on benefits & when passed down your improvement will not contribute to the IH threashold

furrybloke

sho_me_da_money wrote: »

I'd give £100 max for a full days work - 8 hours (1 hour lunch, 1 hour break over the course of the day and 6 hours solid graft).

Thats about £16.00 per hour worked - more than enough.

For a qualified professional Sparks/Plumber that is very low after overheads & tax it is probably around £9 per hour if you are lucky! I am part qualified in finance & get more than £16 per hour!

bookduck

I'm glad you got things together. I'm into IT too for the last 25+ years and I'm on no where near these peoples salary either.

The big factor is spare time, specially if you work. It will take you much longer than a pro.

jason_s wrote:

If you offered me £50 a day then you would be told to **** off.

Jason_s, some IT people are not even on £50 a day I'm on under £70 per day. I don't begrudge paying people or how much they earn, but I (and others) have no choice but to be careful. The fool and his money are easily parted:). I do not care if the person shows up in a Bentley, providing the quote is honest, fair and he is able to do the job. I have a second property for which I've saved for decades just for a deposit, and now I rent it out and I hoping I can survive the forthcoming turbulent market.

sho_me_da_money wrote: »

...having my 3 walls repointed at £30 per day!! - a professional pointer told ...

Soon as someone tells you this ask how many days. If you are generous add on an extra day (£30) and pay him for the complete job rather than by the day. Jobs always overrun, or the weather is wrong, no water, hole in bucket etc.! It also give him an incentive to finish, rather then just be away from the clutches of his wife

Don't know the area, but could I suggest renting it out and not living in it? There are benefits. Extra income being one.

margaretclare

From experience of living in an old house that took years to do up on a DIY basis and which never got finished: the most important thing to do first and foremost is the roof.

You may also have to consider whether the local authority has regulations about how repairs can be done - has it got to match in with the local vernacular style, for instance? Your local authority can tell you about this.

All the builders who live near me tell me that new regulations are coming out all the time and they have to keep on top of things. Part of what you're paying for is what they know as well as what they do.