Margin

[Forestboy1978]

i work out the materials, the labour at the rate we charge for it no the cost and the machines have a set hourly rate than add 20-25% on but sometimes less just depends on the job

i charge myself at £300 a day when costing, labourers £120, skilled 150-200 e.g. so me, labourer and 3 ton and a dumber say are 650 a day on skilled commercial work this covers my time writing risk assessment, all the pep, the insurance, the planning and the longer time it takes to do things safely and correctly obtaining permits etc attending meetings etc

Lol you must be absolutely minted...

[GB_Groundworks]

you'd be amazed at the cost of running a ltd company insurances £6000 a year accountant fees £4000 a year, training etc then plant costs 3 vehicles tools for 2 gangs of guys etc i miss being on my own being a sole trader on my own plodding away

[Tony McC]

....and that's why I will never, ever employ anyone ever again.

It's *so* much easier working on your own, for yourself, except for having to make your own brews! :~)

[lutonlagerlout]

and they are the best brews
LLL

[seanandruby]

Making a brew for me would be a full time job, i can't think , or function without a boiling hot cuppa in my hand. Not being prejudice, racist or cuppish but my tea mug has to be white or doesn't taste right ???

[GB_Groundworks]

what with clients they say fancy a brew and your like yeah milk no sugar please and you either get bright white pure snow only seen the tea bag for a fleeting glimpse or only way is essex fake tan orange made with 3 super strength tea bags and the spoon stands up in it, where is the happy middle ground!

i take a flask most days but by lunch time is getting a bit stewed tasting

[lutonlagerlout]

gotta be a clean and crack free cup
anyone gives me an even remotely dirty cracked or chipped mug ,down the sink it goes
day one in the building game ==> cleanliness
LLL

[Tony McC]

White, and proper bone china, rather than stoneware. Don't know why, but it just makes the tea taste brighter.

Out on site, if anyone gives me a brew with sterry milk, and it gets "accidentally" knocked over.

And those pathetic little capsules of "Tastes just like fresh milk" that you get in hotels, and, increasingly, in cafes and tea rooms....wel;l, I refuse them and ask for real cow juice. Tastes like fresh milk my arse!

[seanandruby]

Was innoculated with stera', only pasteurized was for the latest babby when I was a kid. Been in Barcelona and only hot....tish water is from a coffee percolater, which, being a tea head myself, it comes out Luke warm ....yuk!!! Bring back the Billy can i say....longer tea breaks to be able to drink it :;):

[Forestboy1978]

you'd be amazed at the cost of running a ltd company insurances £6000 a year accountant fees £4000 a year, training etc then plant costs 3 vehicles tools for 2 gangs of guys etc i miss being on my own being a sole trader on my own plodding away

I wouldn't be. We are Ltd ourselves, just recently.

My fixed costs are not nearly as much as yours though I have to say.

And regarding working for yourself. I hear you, it can be a lonely life though, especially if you haven't got a misses. That said, yeah, we all work so differently and think differently it is hard working with other people and managing them. I see both side of the coin as having their pros an cons.

Re tea, or in my case, coffee. If offered I say yes in the hope for that 1 in 100 that I don't have to throw away. I always say please if it's no bother can I have it strong cos even then it's usually weak as ***s.

[lutonlagerlout]

its all about different business models
we are geared up now for extensions and refurbs in the 50-150k bracket
our overheads mean that a normal drive or patio will be expensive except for the most discerning clients
doing what you do Forest you have to keep your overheads low as its highly competitive doing fencing and general landscaping
we have a toilet on every job now,theres £40 a week straightoff
then skips £250 a pop now for 6 yd,but with multiple trades working you cannot have piles of cardboard etc in a heap on the drive
plus as with Giles lots to the accountant and office staff
sometimes I dream of just going out and building a garden wall
but that is a pipe dream now
LLL

[Tony McC]

Bring back the Billy can i say

Still got mine, Sean!

How else can you teach lads about centrifugal force if you've not got a billy can? :~)

[seanandruby]

...ha he, mine went back in the 70s

[DNgroundworks]

I was at the point of being sick of working on my own, laying patio after patio on your todd is very tiring.....this made me dislike the job which in turn put me off the idea of expansion, even though it would of been quite possible. This job I'm on now is my very last!

[Tony McC]

What are you going to do now?