One regrettably common stunt pulled when a cheap price is submitted is the 'unforeseen problems". I've become involved in several instances where the original price was unfeasibly cheap only for it to be ramped up by 100% or more once the ground is opened up and the client has no realistic chance of cancelling the project.
"We had to put in extra sub-base", is the most common excuse. Just how 100mm is 'extra' I don't know! "Drainage wasn't included in the price" ...and now they want 800 quid for putting in three lengths of B&Q linear channel.
If a price seems too cheap, then it's either a genuine mistake by the contractor or it's a con. Either way, it's nowt for you to worry about, James. Don't ever buy work, regardless of how close it is to home: it just isn't worth the grief.
Price - Wtf
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Tony McC
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newkidontheblock
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:47 pm
- Location: kent
there is a company working around where i live and they were charging £35 to lay a block drive from start to finish, and in some roads they were doing like 7 drives, sometimes 3 in a row, and maybe in a 3 mile square i would see like 30-40 drives done by this firm they were only with mono blocks but all with any pattern on the drive.
i watched a of of these upon passing and they were doing a fine job, i did notice a few bits here and there upon a closer look, but then i do on a lot of peoples work. but in general all is good
they had so many i was like wow people are going crazy for them drives
they have been around for the 3rd year this year , that ive noticed! so i guess they are not hitting and runng
the workers were fom various parts of europe and im not sure if they were getting paid less but they worked hard, efficiant and as i say they seemed to be doing it right, so people out there can do it,
last year people were charging around £55 per sq m where im at
also they did the muck away with a grab and also the grab dropped the type1 off the same time - i was getting type1 £20 a tonne this way and £160 for the muck away
another guy also told me where to get the blocks cheap(legitimately) if buying a few so i guess this way you can cut prices a little and if you have cheaper labour then...............
as for dropping you price i did this once and never again as my prices are near to the bone anyways, the lady bidded me £400 off a fencing job ( I Do Landscaping) and anyway i made £0 that week for a weeks work after a few mishaps with the job and right on the last nail i took my finger nail off, then the customer rings me the next day saying he has a pal that has loads of fencing to be done and i replied OK but not at those prices, anyway he never called back and my nail healed but the memory lasts
id rather stay at home all week for nothing than work for a stranger for the same thing
i watched a of of these upon passing and they were doing a fine job, i did notice a few bits here and there upon a closer look, but then i do on a lot of peoples work. but in general all is good
they had so many i was like wow people are going crazy for them drives
they have been around for the 3rd year this year , that ive noticed! so i guess they are not hitting and runng
the workers were fom various parts of europe and im not sure if they were getting paid less but they worked hard, efficiant and as i say they seemed to be doing it right, so people out there can do it,
last year people were charging around £55 per sq m where im at
also they did the muck away with a grab and also the grab dropped the type1 off the same time - i was getting type1 £20 a tonne this way and £160 for the muck away
another guy also told me where to get the blocks cheap(legitimately) if buying a few so i guess this way you can cut prices a little and if you have cheaper labour then...............
as for dropping you price i did this once and never again as my prices are near to the bone anyways, the lady bidded me £400 off a fencing job ( I Do Landscaping) and anyway i made £0 that week for a weeks work after a few mishaps with the job and right on the last nail i took my finger nail off, then the customer rings me the next day saying he has a pal that has loads of fencing to be done and i replied OK but not at those prices, anyway he never called back and my nail healed but the memory lasts
id rather stay at home all week for nothing than work for a stranger for the same thing
it looks alright from my house
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lutonlagerlout
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- Location: bedfordshire
hi newkid, we all have stories like the finger nail
a lot of the pikeys round here use albanians etc and rip them off,i was talking to one guy and he said he got £30 a day cash but the boss sorted out all their accommodation (5 of them in a caravan ) and only charges them £30 a week each with free electric. whne there was no work they had to leaflet 8 hours a day rain or shine
now i dunno about you but i would rather pay blokes a living wage and sleep well at night ,and realistically a living wage now for a family man is minimum £350 a week take home
these guys were getting £150 minus £30
left them enough for food fags and cans of beer
LLL
a lot of the pikeys round here use albanians etc and rip them off,i was talking to one guy and he said he got £30 a day cash but the boss sorted out all their accommodation (5 of them in a caravan ) and only charges them £30 a week each with free electric. whne there was no work they had to leaflet 8 hours a day rain or shine
now i dunno about you but i would rather pay blokes a living wage and sleep well at night ,and realistically a living wage now for a family man is minimum £350 a week take home
these guys were getting £150 minus £30
left them enough for food fags and cans of beer
LLL
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matt h
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- Location: gosport
and they had to turn up for work on monday or they were short!:( its the same down here as there is a fellow paddy down here doing the same thing.. he puts them into flats in the last hotel he has converted, and then buys another hotel and converts it ito flats... cant compete with him on prices at all!:( 
general builder, maintenance engineer, gas and plumbing installations, extensions etc
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James.Q
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well the job has been done for 3k looks good but the drive they did earlier has already started to tram line, that house the owner hasnt even moved in yet so its only contractors vans that have been on it .
by the way same company priced a indian stone job 110 mtrs plus circle pack and two curved stone seaters for 3600. now this bloke has got a brain hes dug out the job himself stoned it up 8 inch rolled and wackerd it and has had the very good sense to bring us in for labour only to lay it . and is willing to wait 2 months before we can start.
by the way same company priced a indian stone job 110 mtrs plus circle pack and two curved stone seaters for 3600. now this bloke has got a brain hes dug out the job himself stoned it up 8 inch rolled and wackerd it and has had the very good sense to bring us in for labour only to lay it . and is willing to wait 2 months before we can start.
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
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ambient
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James.Q
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ambient
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marpave
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No way can this be done at this price, the paving alone would be half that amount min. £65.00 per m2 min + extra like drains and recessed covers.James.Q wrote:had a firm quoting for same job.
88 m2 blockpaving
35 lm kl kerbs
5 lm acco
1 recessed man hole.
existing surface tarmac with pcc edge
price to include all excavation blah blah blah
they have quoted 3k how?
www.marpave.co.uk
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James.Q
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alright millie hows ambient doing ? not seen you since urban splash job at old trafford and that pub next to harry ramsdens . hows niel m keeping hes doing a site ive just pulled off in bolton :p
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
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ambient
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- Location: bolton lancs
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fine thanks just priced a tegula job 96 metres 3 steps and an infill bloke says hes got a written quote for £3300 so i said can i look at it he brings it out dosnt say anything on it other than £3300 for blockpaving at that address.urban splash must be 12 years ago cleared neils yard out last year for him he runs business from home nowJames.Q wrote:alright millie hows ambient doing ? not seen you since urban splash job at old trafford and that pub next to harry ramsdens . hows niel m keeping hes doing a site ive just pulled off in bolton :p
ambientdriveways.co.uk ambientexcavations-bolton.co.uk
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lutonlagerlout
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- Location: bedfordshire
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lutonlagerlout
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