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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:21 am
by mike_m
Hi All,
Initially, I posted a question on here asking about the different qualities of sandstone. Since then, I've decided to do the whole garden and not just the patio.
So, I brought round a company called TDS - total driveway services which are based out near Heathrow.
Just for the patio, i.e. to lay indian sandstone over a 50 sqm area, they quoted just over £7000. I went to check out their stones and it's the same sandstone I can get myself for £17 - £21 /sqm.
At £21/spm, this works out to £1050 for the stone. I reckon another £500-£600 for other material. Where do they get the sum of £7000 from. Are laboring costs that high?
So my question is, is this a reasonable quote? If not, what would be the laboring cost be to lay a 50sqm area?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:47 pm
by DNgroundworks
It sounds like a lot of money to me, but then again i dont have VAT to contend with yet, and i am only a small outfit, hard to say realy without looking at the job, things like access, what the existing space is filled with, all have to accounted for.
Ive just priced a 50 square meter patio in indian stone i think it came out at about £4500.00 - i dont price by the meter either i price by the job, this particular job has bad access.
Somone else will be along soon to offer their advice::)
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:48 pm
by DNgroundworks
Also im up north, and i think labour costs are dearer further down the country?!
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:15 pm
by Rich H
I'm on the outside of the M25 where costs are marginally lower than on the inside, but £7,000 seems a lot. A very very rough rule of thumb is ~£90-£110/sq.m all in, putting 50sq.m in at £5,000 or so.
As with DN, I don't price by the metre, there are too many variables, e.g., skip and/or grab loader, digger or manual labour, open/narrow/closed access, ground to build up/dig down, cuts, drain covers, current ground conditions, etc.
Mike, your £500-£600 will just - but only just - cover the bare cost of MOT, sand and cement. It won't cover equipment costs or waste disposal, which would double that figure, more or less.
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:10 pm
by Pablo
Hi Mike to get a better idea of costs you should really get another 3 firms round to quote for you. So they area all singing off the same sheet make sure they all get the same spec and ask for a material breakdown. Tell them what you have priced the stone at but could they give you a cost for it etc. £7000 is off the scale they're having a laugh.
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:13 pm
by cookiewales
mike_m wrote:Hi All,
Initially, I posted a question on here asking about the different qualities of sandstone. Since then, I've decided to do the whole garden and not just the patio.
So, I brought round a company called TDS - total driveway services which are based out near Heathrow.
Just for the patio, i.e. to lay indian sandstone over a 50 sqm area, they quoted just over £7000. I went to check out their stones and it's the same sandstone I can get myself for £17 - £21 /sqm.
At £21/spm, this works out to £1050 for the stone. I reckon another £500-£600 for other material. Where do they get the sum of £7000 from. Are laboring costs that high?
So my question is, is this a reasonable quote? If not, what would be the laboring cost be to lay a 50sqm area?
Thanks in advance for your help!
hi mike depending on what needs to come out 5k would be good for a first class job you realey need to see previous work of contractor also watch they have not cloned some pic from somewhere else
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:24 pm
by lutonlagerlout
for that sort of area ,realistically £100 supplied and installed is more like it,for a good job
waste disposal costs are massive down south
also i guess labour costs are higher
£7k seems a tad too high and too much of a rounded up figure to me
when i quote if it comes to £4876 or £5112 that is the quote i give,
regards LLL 
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:22 am
by mike_m
Thanks for all the replies. I realise that there are extra costs involved. Probably the only thing I didn't account for was the cost to hire equipment as on top of the £7k, they put an additional £1k to clear and prepare the area.
After receiving that quote, I went back my initial plan of doing it myself but after your comments, I reckon the best thing to do is to get a few more quotes and compare as I really don't feel confident to do it myself.
Thanks again!
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:53 am
by Tony McC
That particular company are known not to be the cheapest or even vaguely competitive in their pricing.
Pablo's recommendation that you obtain further quotes is the only way to make sure you get a sensible price. There are some companies that operate on the basis of submitting high prices with very generous profit margins on every job. They then rely on the reluctance of the consumer to get sufficient quotes along with the shameful habit of contractors failing to turn up to give quotations to ensure they are the only price on the table.
If they are working on 100% profit, they really don't need to win one job in three or one job in four to be viable; they can get by on winning one job in twenty because of their high margin.
It's not right or wrong: it's a working business model. We're all in business to make money and, as we always say, caveat emptor. That's why I find it very hard to summon up any sympathy for consumers who accepted the one and only price obtained. Seven grand is a lot of money: if the consumer was facing the prospect of spending that sum on a car, they'd be scouring Auto-Trader to contrast and compare with similar models. The same attitude *must* apply to all home improvement works.
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 3:47 pm
by jay-Manor Driveways
sounds like alot of money to me even with bad access etc
should be in the region of £5000
Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:21 pm
by ilovesettsonmondays
hi,if you want a quote i will give you one .work for murphys central london .u can come and see me at work and see the quality of work if you like .thnx
Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 10:09 pm
by Suggers
acton meets essex - a marriage made in heaven.
(lurve your sig lovesett)