the boot
Winger
750 a week if he did your job every day 300 tax and vat. 50 fuel 30 insurances. Needs a lock up doesn’t leave him much. May as well jump on with a company for more.
-
Happy St George's Day Guest
Cost of fitting new double electric socket
- Thread starter harmy
- Start date
maygo
Winger
@Cheesy Feet sounds like one of those blokes who wants everything done for next to nowt. I’ve met loads of mainly homeowners like that, who expect tradesmen to work for a tenner an hour
There is an old story of a boilermaker who was hired to fix a huge steamship boiler system that was not working well.
After listening to the engineer’s description of the problems and asking a few questions, he went to the boiler room. He looked at the maze of twisting pipes, listened to the thump of the boiler and the hiss of the escaping steam for a few minutes, and felt some pipes with his hands. Then he hummed softly to himself, reached into his overalls and took out a small hammer, and tapped a bright red valve one time. Immediately, the entire system began working perfectly, and the boilermaker went home.
When the steamship owner received a bill for one thousand dollars, he became outraged and complained that the boilermaker had only been in the engine room for fifteen minutes and requested an itemized bill. So the boilermaker sent him a bill that reads as follows:
For tapping the valve: $.50
For knowing where to tap: $999.50
TOTAL: $1,000.00”
There is an old story of a boilermaker who was hired to fix a huge steamship boiler system that was not working well.
After listening to the engineer’s description of the problems and asking a few questions, he went to the boiler room. He looked at the maze of twisting pipes, listened to the thump of the boiler and the hiss of the escaping steam for a few minutes, and felt some pipes with his hands. Then he hummed softly to himself, reached into his overalls and took out a small hammer, and tapped a bright red valve one time. Immediately, the entire system began working perfectly, and the boilermaker went home.
When the steamship owner received a bill for one thousand dollars, he became outraged and complained that the boilermaker had only been in the engine room for fifteen minutes and requested an itemized bill. So the boilermaker sent him a bill that reads as follows:
For tapping the valve: $.50
For knowing where to tap: $999.50
TOTAL: $1,000.00”
Last edited:
arthursboy
Striker
Have a go yourself it's a doddle, allow 2-3 hours to make decent job of it if you haven't done it before.
I had to do all my house as it's old and only had X1 socket in each room.
I had to do all my house as it's old and only had X1 socket in each room.
Wilfy
Striker
You pay other businesses overheads so why not his?
the boot
Winger
What Zs reading did you get. Very important as it could cause a fire.
Asda make millions every year but he goes shopping there I bet.
It’s like these people who say can you hang this mirror while you got ya drill out.
Last edited:
Wilfy
Striker
Asda take the hit personally for all their staff, shops, lighting, heating etc. I think marra. @Cheesy Feet wont pay for those.
the boot
Winger
This is what I meant by about these fellas on the phone. You can tell them a mile off.
Trigger words for me are.
It’s only a couple of tiles
If I had the cable I’d do it myself
My mate says it’s easy
Someone from the club quoted me
What’s your day rate
Il buy the gear
My mate says your cheap
I just want a Ballpark figure
You can’t win with these people.
Cheesy Feet
Striker
When it comes that someone is asking £50-£60 per hour IMO it’s taking the piss..he’s on about how much his tools cost..WTF..that’s the sacrifice you make to be able to earn a living..i work 36.5 hours a week..that would give me £1800 a week..who the hell earns that.
I just won’t pay anyone £50-£60 an hour.
I’ve had electricians..plumbers come out..read my post about the boiler earlier on..the boiler lad was £23 pound an hour..electricians round £30 an hour..that’s reasonable..local lads so no travel expenses involved..no one will ever justify £50-£60 per hour to me.
No mate I want a list of cost of materials and then I want to know roughly how long it’ll take..then if there’s say £400 left over and a bloke says 6 hours then I’m paying £65 per hour..he’s not doing the job..simple.
Last edited:
the boot
Winger
I never said I charge that a hour. That’s the minimum I’d do a job hence I’ve never changed a single socket front only. Well maybe for a mate.
When you bought your house how much did you give your solicitor for his/her signature?
The truth is it’s one of the few things we have control over within household spending. Shopping, fuel bills and cost of living is pretty much the same (small savings can be made) but when it comes to getting tradesmen in the difference in price can be massive like your example. Fortunately most people don’t mind paying a good wage for using top materials a good job with all taxes and insurance paid. Fly by nights will always under cut the genuine builder as they have no intentions of fulfilling a guarantee, or disposing of waste correctly, paying tax or vat.
I do, so my prices reflect this. It’s easier to justify the price of quality than to apologise for anything less.
There are also the inbetweenies, lads who go out and undercut themselves and do a great job, I know one, my best mate. His phone is always cut off or he’s borrowing here and there and never has nowt in his pocket.
Cheesy Feet
Striker
The thing is I’ve got a boiler lad..sparky..builder/joiner/decorator..I have their numbers in my phone and use them primarily because their work is spot on and their rates are IMO fair..the builder lad I know helped me with my house two years ago..I got a good 7-8 hours a day from him and I paid him £100 per day..cash in hand mind..just out of interest what would your normal hourly rate be?
Nah..Cheesy Feet has been in industry nearly 40 years and he knows when someone is trying to have your eyes out.
Last edited:
the boot
Winger
I only price jobs. day rate is for subbies mate. Can’t remeber the last time I worked a 7 hour day either.
When you work for yourself it’s all about personal circumstances and wether you’re happy to work all week full on or make a little bit have plenty time off. Supply and demand.
Cheesy Feet
Striker
Fair enough..i can understand the call out cost thing but I’m here thinking you’re charging £50-£60 per hour all the time..you’d be making 3k a week.
the boot
Winger
I wish. If I went back to work for a company I’d probably work away. 25-30 a hour I would think in London.
But I’m happy plodding on up here. Normally work on £120-£150 a day plus 10% on materials and 15% of overall price extra as profit. So a job that takes a day say your porch/conservatory £550 materials plus 10% say £50 +£150 wage plus £100 profit plus 20% tax on my £150 wage £30
£880. Probably round it up to £900 total.
If it was a canny size I’d have a lad with me so would be an extra £100.
Full guarantee full receipt even if you paid cash.
Bob Fleming
Striker
Got a couple of sockets and switches need changing in the Riviera if any spark fancies it. Fair rate and all that. Drop is a PM
Would take more than a hour for an additional socket unless it was back to back, then maybe you could just about manage it in an hour. Rarely is it that simple in a domestic scenario.
Never mind, add them yourself if you are competent. Just don't complain when your house burns to the ground and your insurance won't pay out as you don't have the certs.
Mackem00
Striker
Good post there mate.
Gillythedilf
Winger
Ffs mate it’s really not like
And this is not unique to yourself .Sunderland in general is an awful place to price work as this and a cash is king mentality from the punters and that they are doing you a favour makes it a place I really don’t bother tendering for work .
Last edited:
SPUFF
Striker
I have some shit at work but my mate who mainly does domestic, I pity the bastard.
Nukehasslefan
Winger
A lot of people don't give any thought to factoring in the overheads of someone they want to do a job for them.
Basically most want a fair price for the job and for the person to get on with it, get paid and job done, thank you very much.
It becomes more tricky when the job is a small job that may take 1 hour or an hour and a half or whatever...but it is really all about inability of yourself to do a job or inability of a family member helping you out because the job requires an element of skill or carries certification to actually do it from a professional....and this is the key factor, because a professional that is self employed will have 2 ideals to work from.
1. The hourly rate for a small job.
2. The fixed price for a larger job and take the rough with the smooth in terms of going over time limit or under it.
For the person getting the jobs done they have to decide whether they want to risk a cowboy for cheaper price (not always) with no guarantees or insurance back up, including a potential detriment to your own home insurance, or pay the going rate from a reputable firm or self employed professional, which would quickly become apparent with a few over the phone quotes.
It would actually pay anyone to do some homework on the overheads of self employed professionals because once it's understood how much they pay out when everything is factored in, in the time they work throughout a year, it'll become apparent that charges like £50 or £60 is not a rip off in terms of simply spending that amount of time at one address. It may seem a bit steep but only because some people have likely been lucky enough to get the services of a friend of a friend in the past for a cheaper job...or whatever.
Think about getting your boiler serviced. It generally costs about 60 or 70 quid or more, iirc...and how long is the person there? Less than an hour...but people happily pay the money because it's peace of mind.
Here's a video on a breakdown of overheads for a small handyman business.
The best thing any self employed person can do is to simply give a price by estimating the time it would take and literally taking that rough with the smooth in the event of running over the time estimate or actually finishing well ahead of it.
At least this way it cuts out all the potential issues of hourly charge, in terms of charging £50 an hour and working 45 minutes, leaving the customer room to haggle but the flip side is working 10 minutes over and having to haggle extra for yourself.
Not easy being a handyman or self employed professional if you're all legit.
Basically most want a fair price for the job and for the person to get on with it, get paid and job done, thank you very much.
It becomes more tricky when the job is a small job that may take 1 hour or an hour and a half or whatever...but it is really all about inability of yourself to do a job or inability of a family member helping you out because the job requires an element of skill or carries certification to actually do it from a professional....and this is the key factor, because a professional that is self employed will have 2 ideals to work from.
1. The hourly rate for a small job.
2. The fixed price for a larger job and take the rough with the smooth in terms of going over time limit or under it.
For the person getting the jobs done they have to decide whether they want to risk a cowboy for cheaper price (not always) with no guarantees or insurance back up, including a potential detriment to your own home insurance, or pay the going rate from a reputable firm or self employed professional, which would quickly become apparent with a few over the phone quotes.
It would actually pay anyone to do some homework on the overheads of self employed professionals because once it's understood how much they pay out when everything is factored in, in the time they work throughout a year, it'll become apparent that charges like £50 or £60 is not a rip off in terms of simply spending that amount of time at one address. It may seem a bit steep but only because some people have likely been lucky enough to get the services of a friend of a friend in the past for a cheaper job...or whatever.
Think about getting your boiler serviced. It generally costs about 60 or 70 quid or more, iirc...and how long is the person there? Less than an hour...but people happily pay the money because it's peace of mind.
Here's a video on a breakdown of overheads for a small handyman business.
The best thing any self employed person can do is to simply give a price by estimating the time it would take and literally taking that rough with the smooth in the event of running over the time estimate or actually finishing well ahead of it.
At least this way it cuts out all the potential issues of hourly charge, in terms of charging £50 an hour and working 45 minutes, leaving the customer room to haggle but the flip side is working 10 minutes over and having to haggle extra for yourself.
Not easy being a handyman or self employed professional if you're all legit.
Last edited:
Quinninho
Striker
Just reading this thread and I'll give you a little anecdote about a recent experience.
I wanted some plastering doing in the utility (wall damaged after tile removal) wasnt a big job so could I hell get anyone to look at it. On the off chance, I bumped into a lad in a builders van dropping off free scrap wood at my neighbours house and I asked him if he knew anyone who could do a bit of plastering work for me. 'Yeah me - I don't do the spreading so much these days as I fit kitchens mostly but I'll come and help you out no bother'
Ok great I said. Want to have look now? "I have to be on a job with the van ...an hour ago but I'll pop over at the weekend. Here's my number"
He came on the day and worked around 3.5 hours - happily drinking tea whilst waiting for coats to off. He charged me £90. Superb job... lovely finish. And I've never seen a more tidy worker. Hardly know he had been but for the dark colour of the skim coat. I thanked him, gave him a few quid extra for his trouble and told him I'd be calling him to arrange more work which I did .... Sadly No answer from texts etc ... Then I tried phone calls. I thought he wasn't interested so moved on to find another spread.
In comes flash harry with his monogrammed polo shirt, sign written van - '30 years experience' it said on the side - reassuring I thought.
He charged me the earth for what I thought would be a pro job and I'll tell you now - what a mess he made. Stevie Wonder with a Trowel!! Gauges everywhere..plaster cracking round the dry lined velux window box (used an old bag I think) and most of the internal corners were not transitioned properly. I had him back to correct it but I'm still finding issues now.
The first lad was like picasso compared to this cowboy.
I've since had the other lad back (he'd lost his phone on a night out) and he took one look at the cowboy work -asked me "How much did you pay for this?" shook his head, apologised profusely that he couldn't be reached and then remained silent. Ask me who is the professional here?
Moral of this story is: You dont always get what you pay for and a lot of (but not all) tradesmen are absolute charlatans.
@Cheesy Feet has the right of it.
It's like my plumber says: He goes on Oftec refreshers and other training courses and he meets lads who won't get out of bed for less than £600 per day...absolutely not interested in high volume /smaller jobs that pay a bit less. If they do even look at the smaller work, they greatly inflate the price which either means the customer goes elsewhere or they just pay it because they are desperate. Maybe he's just jealous he's not creaming it in every week ? I doubt it though. He is an older chap and sadly his are a dying breed. Good job at a fair price.
Just my two penneth worth and just one of the instances of not getting value for money. I could write about all day...
Now, theres a roofer I could tell you about...
I wanted some plastering doing in the utility (wall damaged after tile removal) wasnt a big job so could I hell get anyone to look at it. On the off chance, I bumped into a lad in a builders van dropping off free scrap wood at my neighbours house and I asked him if he knew anyone who could do a bit of plastering work for me. 'Yeah me - I don't do the spreading so much these days as I fit kitchens mostly but I'll come and help you out no bother'
Ok great I said. Want to have look now? "I have to be on a job with the van ...an hour ago but I'll pop over at the weekend. Here's my number"
He came on the day and worked around 3.5 hours - happily drinking tea whilst waiting for coats to off. He charged me £90. Superb job... lovely finish. And I've never seen a more tidy worker. Hardly know he had been but for the dark colour of the skim coat. I thanked him, gave him a few quid extra for his trouble and told him I'd be calling him to arrange more work which I did .... Sadly No answer from texts etc ... Then I tried phone calls. I thought he wasn't interested so moved on to find another spread.
In comes flash harry with his monogrammed polo shirt, sign written van - '30 years experience' it said on the side - reassuring I thought.
He charged me the earth for what I thought would be a pro job and I'll tell you now - what a mess he made. Stevie Wonder with a Trowel!! Gauges everywhere..plaster cracking round the dry lined velux window box (used an old bag I think) and most of the internal corners were not transitioned properly. I had him back to correct it but I'm still finding issues now.
The first lad was like picasso compared to this cowboy.
I've since had the other lad back (he'd lost his phone on a night out) and he took one look at the cowboy work -asked me "How much did you pay for this?" shook his head, apologised profusely that he couldn't be reached and then remained silent. Ask me who is the professional here?
Moral of this story is: You dont always get what you pay for and a lot of (but not all) tradesmen are absolute charlatans.
@Cheesy Feet has the right of it.
It's like my plumber says: He goes on Oftec refreshers and other training courses and he meets lads who won't get out of bed for less than £600 per day...absolutely not interested in high volume /smaller jobs that pay a bit less. If they do even look at the smaller work, they greatly inflate the price which either means the customer goes elsewhere or they just pay it because they are desperate. Maybe he's just jealous he's not creaming it in every week ? I doubt it though. He is an older chap and sadly his are a dying breed. Good job at a fair price.
Just my two penneth worth and just one of the instances of not getting value for money. I could write about all day...
Now, theres a roofer I could tell you about...
