Structural engineer fee

keith969
keith969 Posts: 1,571 Forumite
First Anniversary
in Is this quote fair?
Just been given a bill from a structural engineer who I asked to determine if a wall was loadbearing (it wasn't).

For a 10-15 min visit where he poked a tape measure through a hole I'd previously made in the ceiling and writing an email, he's billing me for £250 plus VAT. Is that reasonable? It seems a bit excessive to me.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    what did you agree to before he came out to site?
    did he travel a significant distance to the site?
  • Owain_Moneysaver
    Owain_Moneysaver Posts: 11,357 Forumite
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    You're paying for his skill so that your house doesn't fall down (or his insurance so that you can claim against him if it does).
    A kind word lasts a minute, a skelped erse is sair for a day.
  • keith969
    keith969 Posts: 1,571 Forumite
    First Anniversary
    He is based about 10 miles away. Just wanted to know if this is normal - I have no problem paying him if that's the going rate.
    For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,813 Forumite
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    I don't pay quite that for a full calc but I seem to have the cheapest SE in the world.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • scumboss
    scumboss Posts: 81 Forumite
    I paid £300 for a site visit and a 6 page PDF of calcs.
  • tacpot12
    tacpot12 Posts: 7,959 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    I paid £250+VAT for a structural engineer to come to survey a garden wall that had a crack running through it. I though this was a bit steep as he was only on site for 20 minutes or so, but he did do a thorough examination and took photographs, he confirmed we are covered by his professional liability insurance and he did have to travel about 10 miles to us, write a letter explaining the issues with the wall and generate an invoice. He also has to process our payment so, while I would have preferred a bill that was closer to £200, I was happy enough to pay £250+VAT.
    The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.
  • garrysibbald
    garrysibbald Posts: 35 Forumite
    Did you ask for a price first?
    Normally an indication will be given on whether a consultation will be free prior to an engineer visiting.
    If a report is produced you should expect to pay and often companies will have a minimum charge for doing this.
    I suspect that as the cost is relatively low this is what you have been charged.
  • phoebe1989seb
    phoebe1989seb Posts: 4,452 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Earlier this year we paid £250 for calcs to remove a wall and a ground floor chimney breast. Our structural engineer was also about ten miles away and he provided several pages of calcs.

    He later had to return during the building work to assess something and made no further charge.

    We thought his fee was reasonable.
    Mortgage-free for fourteen years!

    Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed
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