Labour costs for this job?

[lutonlagerlout]

well ask for a per/metre price then
£15 roughly a metre to lay and point
LLL

[MBPM]

where does he get 7 days from?

Weather? :p

[lutonlagerlout]

its unlikely he will finish it in 2 days though - i can easily see it taking 5 or 6 full days for a decent job i guess,

its not much different from 2 guys taking 2.5 days TBF.

i asked for a fixed price - we discussed per day fees but i dont wanna have a job that ends up taking 12 days and costing more.

i suppose if you have seen his work its better to pay a bit more and be secure in the knowledge that it will be a good job.

but even if he is particularly slow it could only take 4 days for 1 man which would be more like 600 quid.
ask to look at his 3 most recent patios,if he cant or wont show you then "caveat emptor"
I have no problem whatsoever showing interested parties the last 10 jobs we have done
It keeps the lads on their toes knowing that customer feedback is important
regards LLL

[Rich H]

The thing a lot of punters don't necessarily appreciate is that if you charge £200/day, that's not what you earn. My overheads are about £700 per team per month (vehicle costs, insurances, fuel). That's £35 a day whether you work or not. I also always manage to spend a lot on tools and maintenance.

Then there's job overruns and weather. If a 4-day job takes 6 days because you lose a day to rain and another day because you find an old wall footing directly on the new fence line (!), your income is actually less than £100 for each day, or £12/hour.


For this job, I reckon half a day will be spent shovelling the MOT, setting out and prepping and then compacting. The slabs will have to be sorted, mixer set up and then you can get going. 2 to 2 1/2 days later the paving should be done, and then it's back to point up. 3 days in all in that case. £500? Only if I had nothing else on...

And just because I own a mixer, saw, wacker, etc., doesn't mean they don't have to be paid for. I add this on at hire company rates. After all, if the wacker packs up and I have to rent one it has to be covered.

[mo-uk]

Adding on hire charges kind of deeats the object for me as I am paying someone for their skills, if they are adding on a chunk for hire charges i may as well hire and do it myself

i am still in 2 minds.

I got another quote for £400 - i spose you guys will tell me thats too cheap!!

I might still give it a crack myself yet!

[msh paving]

As a contractor with all my own plant, why would I let the customer have use off it for free...service ,wear and tear & renew after a few years.you cant expect plant thrown in for free
MSH

[rab1]

What you have to remember is that contractors are trying to earn a living by doing the work they do. plant costs money to buy, service and maintain & these costs have to be included in the price

[Rich H]

Adding on hire charges kind of deeats the object for me as I am paying someone for their skills, if they are adding on a chunk for hire charges i may as well hire and do it myself

i am still in 2 minds.

I got another quote for £400 - i spose you guys will tell me thats too cheap!!

I might still give it a crack myself yet!

Exactly, you are paying someone for their skills. Just that. If you want the kit as well it has to be paid for.

Think about it. The kit to do a patio job costs about £1,500 to buy. Just like a hire company does, a contractor has to amortise the cost of the tools and machinery over time. Therefore a portion of the cost has to be attributed to each job.

Otherwise there's no point in buying it, you'd just get the customer to hire everything in for you on each job!


PS £400 is really cheap, IMO. I know you've said 1 or 2 days but site prep and laying 45 sq.m random pattern in natural stone is a heavy two days for two blokes. That's £100 per man day EXCLUDING the kit. I'd seriously question it...