Average Labour Day Rates/Prices/Costs of Tradesmen/Builders
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An Explanation of How Tradesmen and Builders Cost their Jobs
Advice on Finding a Tradesman
Finding local tradesmen can be tricky - there are important questions to consider:
1. Is he reliable?
2. Is he good at his trade?
3. Is he established, thus responsible for his work for longer than the time it takes for your check to clear?
4. The million dollar question - how expensive is he?
5. Is his the RIGHT price - not just the cheapest?
The purpose of this page is twofold. to give you an indication of tradesmens rates, and also a pointer as to the way a tradesman goes about costing his jobs.
The Grey Area
We call it "The Grey Area" as it this process has been a source of confusion for so many years. But as you will see - it's actually black and white.However, before I go any further, let me make one thing clear - NOT ALL TRADESMEN ARE COWBOYS. True, there are many unsavoury tradesmen out there plying what they might call "a trade", but the rest of us know this is just daylight robbery.
But think - for every rogue builder you hear about, there are hundreds and thousands of decent hard-working tradesmen out there, doing the hard yards (believe me it is hard work), day in- day out.
Cross-reference your area and tradesmen, before checking out the big grey box below to find out about job costing.
Now Please Consider This
The Grey Area
It's a simple process based upon a simple theory:
Below is the "Pricing Formula" that all Tradesmen, including ourselves at The Building Sheriff, use when pricing building jobs.
Cost of Total Tradesmen Man-Days + Cost of Total Labourer Man-Days + Cost of Materials = Price of Job!
Therefore a 2 day job for a tradesman and a labourer will cost 2 x £160.00 (or appropriate rate) + 2 x £100 (labourer on £100 per day) + £200 (example material cost) = £320+ £200+ £200 = £720 Total Job Cost
How this helps you
1. When a tradesman comes to price a job, ask him to break down his costing into SEPARATE PRICES for labour and material costs.
2. When you receive his quotation (NEVER accept an estimate) call him and ask him how many days the job will take and how many tradesmen and labourers he will be employing during that period.
3. Ask him what he charges as a day rate - (say you might want him to do the job on a day rate if he asks why). (In today's economic climate, if he charges more that £160.00 per day, I would seek alternative tradesmen immediately).
4. Multiply the number of tradesmen-days by his day rate and multiply the number of labourer-days by £100 (this is generous).
5. Add the Tradesman and Labour totals together.
6. Compare this to the figure for labour costs in his quotation and see how accurate and fair his price is.
7. If there is a large difference - GO ELSEWHERE! I never would recommend trying to get a tradesman to reduce his price - why was he charging so much in the first place?
How Tradesmen Works Out Job Prices Using their Day Rates and How YOU Can Check His Quotation Yourself
It's a simple process based upon a simple theory:
Below is the "Pricing Formula" that all Tradesmen, including ourselves at The Building Sheriff, use when pricing building jobs.
Cost of Total Tradesmen Man-Days + Cost of Total Labourer Man-Days + Cost of Materials = Price of Job!
Therefore a 2 day job for a tradesman and a labourer will cost 2 x £160.00 (or appropriate rate) + 2 x £100 (labourer on £100 per day) + £200 (example material cost) = £320+ £200+ £200 = £720 Total Job Cost
How this helps you
1. When a tradesman comes to price a job, ask him to break down his costing into SEPARATE PRICES for labour and material costs.
2. When you receive his quotation (NEVER accept an estimate) call him and ask him how many days the job will take and how many tradesmen and labourers he will be employing during that period.
3. Ask him what he charges as a day rate - (say you might want him to do the job on a day rate if he asks why). (In today's economic climate, if he charges more that £160.00 per day, I would seek alternative tradesmen immediately).
4. Multiply the number of tradesmen-days by his day rate and multiply the number of labourer-days by £100 (this is generous).
5. Add the Tradesman and Labour totals together.
6. Compare this to the figure for labour costs in his quotation and see how accurate and fair his price is.
7. If there is a large difference - GO ELSEWHERE! I never would recommend trying to get a tradesman to reduce his price - why was he charging so much in the first place?
