Under priced driveway

[Skinny Digger]

I`ve underpriced a driveway.There was more soil to cart away then i thought and it`s cost around £1500 extra.I will still be able to break even.Should i ask the client for more money or just bite the bullet?

[Tony McC]

Depends on the contract. If you went in at a fixed price, you're legally buggered and will have to rely on the discretion and generosity of spirit of the client, but if you've quoted rates and/or quantities, you are in a much stronger position.

[GB_Groundworks]

like tony said depends how you worded your quote, i.e "excavate to a depth of 150mm and remove 5 cubic metres of spoil" etc leaves you in a much stronger place than "lay 25m2 drive £3k" etc

[Skinny Digger]

Gave her a fixed price.Usually i would have worked the quote at £100 a sqaure metre,that usually covers any extra.The clients payed for quite a bit of the materials already so she might take pity when she sees how much i`ve made.Oh well i better lay some blocks.

[Rich H]

We've all done it. Contract aside, it rather depends on the nature of your relationship. From their point of view, they've gone ahead with a certain cost in mind, anything over will be a shock.

I did a large job over the summer - 4 months in total - which was quoted in January on a fixed price basis. By the time it came to fix the sub-contract for the bitmac surfacing of the main driveway the oil price had forced up tarmac by enough to make a nasty dent in my profits. In the circumstances I asked the client to share the pain with me, to which he agreed.

[Dave_L]

How have you mis-calculated the muck-away?

Any coated work, we cannot hold our prices for any more than 60 days, the price increases have been relentless.

But now the cost of oil etc has dropped - aren't we due a price drop? No chance, everything is going up on 01.01.2009!

[Skinny Digger]

It`s a drive in drive out driveway.One half needed concrete breaking out,the other half was garden and a bit higher.When i quoted i needed the work.I`ve done a patio at the back and i`ve worked for her before.The first quote i gave was the 2nd highest after someone from the Marshalls.The quote i gave was £8300 for 122 sqaure metres.I`ve used type one for the base,but i could have used plainings which would have been cheaper.Anyone ever used them?

[seanandruby]

Skinny dipper, you will get a brew cabin group slap for mentioning the use of plannings. no, nO, NO!!!

[bobbi o]

How have you mis-calculated the muck-away?

Any coated work, we cannot hold our prices for any more than 60 days, the price increases have been relentless.

But now the cost of oil etc has dropped - aren't we due a price drop? No chance, everything is going up on 01.01.2009!

price of bitumen is down by about 120 per tonne,your supplier should pass it on,if you ask!

[GB_Groundworks]

did i hear road plannings :p haha

[nick65]

£1500 EXTRA muckaway is an awful lot for the 62m2 you say it came from. An 8 wheeler grab is only around the £200 mark.If your not sure how to cube up a job,theres plenty of info on the main website. Yeeehaa!

[lutonlagerlout]

if you can still come out of it with wages and materials paid i would swallow it m8,you will know better next time
i found a use for planings this week ,the wall we are building had a grass verge next to it that turned into a complete mudbath,the client had a couple of Metres of planings in his yard so we used these to cover the mud up,and i have to say as a temporary dry base they are ok
but they are not suitable as a load bearing sub base

LLL

[GB_Groundworks]

we use them in field gateways etc to provide a dry hard standing so you can get the gate open and let the horses go etc without slipping over, but most the time unless there is someone working nearby its just easier to get type 1 delivered.

[msh paving]

round hear tarmac planings are used by a lot off contractors,the local council highways dpt. stockpile and use them for alot of footpath reconstruction work,£13.75 a ton is about the rate, if a planing job is going down its a big fight who will get them local higways wont let them go , i guess its just how it goes in different area's type 1 from mt.sorrel is very expensive cambs. spec limestone is about £14.75 ton which is a little bit bigger stone than type 1 :;):

[GB_Groundworks]

i pay £200 +vat for 20 ton wagons of type 1 delivered straight from the quarry, although i prefer 20mm-dust easier to rake and grade by hand for top layer.