Pricing a job.

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by Adam124, Jan 12, 2018.

  1. Dr Bodgit

    Dr Bodgit Super Member

    Precisely Jord. I learnt my lesson - best to hire someone a bit more expensive when you know they will do a good job with no overruns or trouble after. £250-£300 a day might seem expensive but its cheap when they plough through a load of work that would take me days to do.

    Did think twice when we had someone in to do the ensuite in previous place, labour cost was around £7k I think although that included all sundry items as I was buying the suite. When I worked out just what was need (fitting out, lighting, plastering, tiling walls and floor etc) it seemed fairly reasonable.
     
  2. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select


    When pricing, your ALWAYS going to be up against someone cheaper, sometimes there can be an acceptable reason, young and just starting out (like I was a few years ago, the amount of jobs I did for peanuts gives me kittens thinking about it now), providing lesser quality materials or finish, or just using cheap cash in hand labour, there's lots of possibilities. It's when things go wrong or the job is finished to a lesser standard than the homeowner was expecting is when the shat hits the fan. And by then it's usually too late.

    Prime example, I recently priced a kitchen/diner renovation, I came "highly recommended" apparently, went round, measured up, listened to what they wanted, rip out the old and in with the new, plumbing, outside tap, move the gas, radiator, electrics, outside light and new points, tiling, island in the middle with double points (so chasing the floor out for new cables), all the usual, skip included in the quote, all materials bar the actual kitchen. Without going into pennies lets just say my quote was less than half of what your ensuite cost you and I never even had the courtesy of a reply to the positive or negative. It's just the nature of the beast, but by Christ it's infuriating.
     
    Dr Bodgit likes this.
  3. kitfit1

    kitfit1 Screwfix Select

    Interesting thread. I think we all tend to look at pricing in different ways. Myself and my kitchen fitting partner have set prices for every single part of a kitchen. As a general rule though if we are at a customer for the whole week it works out at about £250 a day each.
    When we quote someone for say a day's worth of work, it will be a minimum of £300 each.....................no way am i or my partner is going to just spend one day on a job for less.
     
  4. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select


    Around by me people just wouldn't pay those figures unfortunately. :(
     
  5. kitfit1

    kitfit1 Screwfix Select

    I'm fully aware peeps won't pay that in certain areas Jord. Even around where i live in the Midlands peeps bork at it at the odd time. But we are self employed and it's up to us what we work for. Personally i'm not going to work for less and if peeps don't like it they can get someone else to do it done.
    At the end of the day, they all expect a van that won't leak oil all over the nice blocked paved drive they have.....................they also expect everything we do to be acurate and perfect...............that takes the right tools and someone that knows how to use those tools. If they don't want to or are not prepared to pay for it, then in my mind they can bugger off to someone else.
     
    PedroJoiner and Dr Bodgit like this.
  6. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select


    I wasn't having a dig mate, just meant it matter of fact. I wholeheartedly agree with you, I'm self employed too, and my thoughts on it are identical to yours, nice van, tens of thousands of pounds of tools, insurances, experience, honour/morality (if you have to go back to snag), it's all time out of your life to earn, or not. But to get work around by me you seem to have to be competitive with the lowest denominations, and even then people still don't bother having the work done. You're in a good position being able to pick and choose, not everyone can always do it, but I don't doubt it's been hard graft along the way for you.
     
  7. dwlondon

    dwlondon Active Member

    To the op. Having worked as you were on a day rate, you wont have the headpiece for self employment until you go all out and do it. A day rate is a comfort thing, suitable in some circumstances. It will take a few years to arrive at your own sense of pricing. That often goes in tandem with finding your own niche market.
     

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