Soldato
Won’t pay for a tradesman but many drive cars on PCP and lease deals, rent houses and pay main dealer servicing at £125/hr plus.
Worlds gone mad.
Worlds gone mad.
Why are tradesmen so expensive
- Thread starter fez
- Start date
Soldato
I was recently asked to build a deck, 4m x 5m. They then added 15ft of fencing and the addition of wiring in an outdoor double socket and led lights around the deck. Cost of materials came in at £850 and would have taken me about three days to complete. I was very upfront about cost and added in an additional £450 for myself (working 12 hours per day, possibly more dependent on weather). They almost choked at the cost of materials, even though I sourced it as cheaply as possible and then accused me of trying to rip them off. They then argued about my fee even though it worked out at just over £12 per hour.
2 things.
1) Most people including OP aren't willing to do it themselves.
2) Lack of trades people due to a "this job is below me because I am intelligent, educated and far too superior to do a job like that" snobbery which the OP does a great example of showcasing.
1) Most people including OP aren't willing to do it themselves.
2) Lack of trades people due to a "this job is below me because I am intelligent, educated and far too superior to do a job like that" snobbery which the OP does a great example of showcasing.
Soldato
That seems very reasonable. I built my own deck last year 4.4m x 8m and paid out £1100 in materials for just the decking. 3 days is also good going, it took 2 of us 4 days.
I wish I could get a joiner round here for £150 a day for a 12 hour day!
When it comes to tradesman it's sometimes too easy to compare it to what it'd cost doing yourself then think the job is expensive. Most people will happily pay over £100 an hour labour to change the oil in their car which is a doddle of a job but doesn't want to pay £200-£300 a day for a skilled tradesman to do work to their house.
I'm getting a door fitted in the side of my garage next weekend, something I could do myself but decided I didn't want the hastle and was nervous about taking a stihl saw to the house. I'm paying £480 and know that the job will barely take a full day, but ultimately that's the going rate in my local area and the guy who is doing it has had to squeeze it in on a Saturday so suit my timescales. It's money well spent and would have probably taken me a whole weekend plus time to hire tools, go to the tip afterwards etc.
Soldato
Love your second point. I do a management/desk job in the construction industry but get to spend time on site. I have the upmost admiration for the skill that tradespeople often demonstrate, for example it's a pleasure to watch a good plasterer/joiner, or even the speed at which a "mastic man" can silicolne every joint perfectly. It's a different skillset to what some people would class as "educated" but in my exprience someone classing themselves as "intelligent" or "educated" rarely has a correlation to their competency in their job or having a clue in the real world.
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Aug 2005
- Posts
- 3,615
Yep we're on similar pages. I do a desk job, purely technical, semiconductor engineering. Requires 0 practical skill, all brainpower. However I have nothing but respect for plasterers, electricians and skilled tradesmen. At the end of the day, they maintain, and create something which is necessary, peoples homes. I'm just a cog in a consumerist machine. I think if you show a bit of respect to tradesmen then they'll reciprocate. Of course you'll get ones with chips on their shoulder who will judge you the second they see your house/car, but evidently from this thread it goes both ways. The simplest solution as the client is to get multiple quotes, you'll soon find out who is trying to rip you off.
Soldato
11 years ago when we bought this place we had plasters in to batten and board the ceilings - Small three bed bungalow and they charged us £1k - at the time we thought it was a lot but sitting here now looking at the ceiling they did a fantastic job and they are the best part of this jerry built piece of carp bungalow.
I now just pay for what I want done.
I now just pay for what I want done.
I get the impression that many people think materials are free and don’t include them in their calculations. I clean driveways and roofs amongst other things and see folk just about choke at the additional cost of sanding, spraying chemical cleaners, etc, the vast majority of the extra cost consisting of the supplies.
Soldato
I'd pay a good tradesman a decent rate if they've been vouched for by someone I trust. If they're willing to work for less than the going rate, expect a lower standard of work.
Man of Honour
I paid £95 for someone to clean my car today no book smarts needed but he spent 7 hours on it and the attention to detail was incredible.
After taking into account his insurance costs, fuel for his van/genny and cost of mystical potions he was making less than £13.50 an hour.
I feel like I got an absolute bargain, while my other half looked at me like I'd just set fire to the money when I told her what it cost. I'll happily pay for someone with the kit/knowledge/eye for detail to do a good job even though I could do a vaguely similar job myself.
After taking into account his insurance costs, fuel for his van/genny and cost of mystical potions he was making less than £13.50 an hour.
I feel like I got an absolute bargain, while my other half looked at me like I'd just set fire to the money when I told her what it cost. I'll happily pay for someone with the kit/knowledge/eye for detail to do a good job even though I could do a vaguely similar job myself.
Soldato
My oil boiler guys were around 100 quid for a service, prv and expansion tank (that I supplied) but let me watch and learn, did a replacement circuit board myself and a timer ( from a scrap donor boiler) also the oil pump solonoid and diverter valve body, they came and set the burner after my jobs
This was a while back its a worcester bosch and been OK since
This was a while back its a worcester bosch and been OK since
Caporegime
Gas fitters in London can pretty much name their price.
My brother can get £800-£1k for a basic combi swap these days.
My brother can get £800-£1k for a basic combi swap these days.
Soldato
You could come round and do some jobs for meYour labour fee is cheap!
It was a favour for a workmate who asked me to help out his brother so it was mate’s rates. He couldn’t apologise enough for the way I was treated.
Soldato
I bought some timber today -(building not logs)
22 x4.2m of 50x25 battens (roof Laths)
2x shiplap 3m
4.2m x 4"x3" x1
3.2m x4"x3" x1
+ delivery and it came to £140 including vat - this is a local supplier that is renowed for it's modest prices.
After this pandemic I think everything is going up -
Moon man
I also have the same boiler 18/25 or something and it is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever purchased - also had external pressure tank fitted on the wall - circuit board -diverter valve -I hate it.
At the moment it pleases itself if we get hot or warm water from tap
22 x4.2m of 50x25 battens (roof Laths)
2x shiplap 3m
4.2m x 4"x3" x1
3.2m x4"x3" x1
+ delivery and it came to £140 including vat - this is a local supplier that is renowed for it's modest prices.
After this pandemic I think everything is going up -
Moon man
I also have the same boiler 18/25 or something and it is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever purchased - also had external pressure tank fitted on the wall - circuit board -diverter valve -I hate it.
At the moment it pleases itself if we get hot or warm water from tap
Soldato
Not for much longer.
The gas engineer is going the same way as the internal combustion engine.
Every problem on my home has been caused by a tradesman rushing a job in order to get the money and run to the next job, and this appears to have happened virtually every time in the history of the house.
Some of this is down to poor workmanship such as wooden window frames only being primed front and back and not on the unseen areas others simply rushing such as waste pipes not glued and leaking.
With electrics you used to be able to DIY now you need a certificate from a part P spark and try getting one. You can't work on gas and they have set ridiculous restrictions higher than space (i.e. sattelites) requirements on trade but NOT on manufacturers.
In these days where cables appear to be everywhere I think the biggest skill is in hiding everything and making sure it's a neat job, but that cists money and takes time, and trade is not geared to that at all.
And that is exactly what has gone wrong in the builders world. I know of a 'mastic man' who works on the building sites for big companies who can silicone a bathroom in seconds and the work is decent, but there are other trades and a story of an apprentice sent on a competition by his boss who thought his work was wonderful. He was still rubbing down the door when the winner had finished paining it, and that speaks volumes about a trade which has abandoned quality in favour of speed. little care for fit and finish and that it why so many new builds have snaggings in the hundreds, and would probably be better demolished because speed took priority.
There needs to be a balance between the two and somewhere we lost that balance alas.
Caporegime
Thats when you diversify and train in new technologies
Soldato
Tradesmen are constantly training.
Just passed a C&G vehicle charging course today.