Excessive quote?

HERTS P&D said:
A tradesman can quote whatever he likes, it up to him how much he wants to charge.

Andy
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And that's fine. The quote I have is more than my expectations though, so I'm looking to know if my expectations are way off or not?
 
Jimmy_103 said:
All the extras you mentioned (Insurance, consumables, overheads, uplifts, travel, holidays, quote and tender costs, etc.) are accounted for in their labour costs.
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No they are not.

There is a rate for doing the physical work (labour) and that's distinct. It's a cost that applies whether the work is being done next door to the builder or 500 miles away, and does not matter what the work is.

Then the other business, incidental and job specific costs which the builder incurs are added to build up the cost for the quote.
 
Jimmy_103 said:
I get that, but wondering how they can justify such a price - I've asked for a breakdown of costs but they've said they'll send the full quote if I accept the quote. I have no issue if they say they think it'll take twice as long as I think, or their labour price is 350/day due to demand, but without those details it feels OTT
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The reason is because it's a nuisance job - a builder won't do all of the elements you want.

He may do the break through and lintel and move the stack, but a builder won't fit the window, won't move the socket, nor make good the plaster / render. So a builder would have to get in subbies.

It would be a pain to coordinate the trades and it would be hard to make any money.

Are there any extensions being built in your street or nearby? - you could pop your head in and ask. A builder might be interested if it's 100 yards or somfrom another job.
 
^woody^ said:
No they are not.

There is a rate for doing the physical work (labour) and that's distinct. It's a cost that applies whether the work is being done next door to the builder or 500 miles away, and does not matter what the work is.

Then the other business, incidental and job specific costs which the builder incurs are added to build up the cost for the quote.
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Fair enough, didn't realise that was the case.
 
Sounds like a job for a handyman/jack of all trades.

An older person with experience who knows what they're doing, avoid the very young chaps with a sharp haircut and a new van.
 
Notch7 said:
The reason is because it's a nuisance job - a builder won't do all of the elements you want.

He may do the break through and lintel and move the stack, but a builder won't fit the window, won't move the socket, nor make good the plaster / render. So a builder would have to get in subbies.

It would be a pain to coordinate the trades and it would be hard to make any money.

Are there any extensions being built in your street or nearby? - you could pop your head in and ask. A builder might be interested if it's 100 yards or somfrom another job.
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I'll have a look locally and see if there's any work going on, thanks for the suggestion.

The builders that have looked have said they'd prefer to sort subbing the electrics and fit the windows themselves, as I've offered to get the socket moved before, or arrange windows fitters myself. Every builder has also said they always fit windows themselves.

Deluks said:
Sounds like a job for a handyman/jack of all trades.
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I've never considered handyman types for anything structural, isn't that asking for trouble?
 
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