£8k+vat to rebuild parapet wall (urgent) - is this normal?

[goodnightspoons]

Parapet wall on Edwardian terraced property (London) needs to be urgently partially rebuilt as the mortar has blown and the bricks are loose / unsafe (this was discovered when builders were round to repair the cement render covering this wall).

Builders have quoted £8k +vat (below) for partial rebuild of parapet wall. We are somewhat tied to them as they already put up scaffold and started to hack away the render as they were originally engaged to just repair the render, so they would charge for part of that work, meaning it may not be worth us going with a different company. I'm urgently ringing round to see if I can get some comparison quotes. It is a party wall so am hoping the neighbours will contribute.

Would be hugely helpful if anyone can advise on the 'normal' cost to rebuild a parapet wall. I think it's approx 4-5m in length, and 50cm high.

BEFORE

AFTER ATTEMPTED CEMENT RENDER REPAIR

To provide all scaffold tower access to front left hand elevation as roof access to party wall on both sides of the parapet.	1,592.00
To carefully remove all front parapet ridge tiles, clean & set aside for re-use.	160.00
To carefully remove all existing defective render to both sides of parapet walling and take down brickwork to roof level & dispose waste to skips. To then allow for rebuilding the brickwork with all new matching colour red facing bricks laid with sand & cement mortar, allowing a chased detail for new lead installation	3,886.00
To renew both sides Code 4 lead step flashings, wedged & secured into brickwork chase. Pointed on completion. Application of patination oiling.	1,260.00
Reinstate set aside ridge tiles bedding on sand & cement with new pointed joints ensuring drip edge over walling to both sides	480.00
Cleaning all roof areas on completion.	230.00
Disposal from site all waste arising.	240.00
Ulez, Congestion charges, parking & travel costs.	140.00
TOTAL	£7,988 +vat
	£9,585.60 inc vat

 

[johnny2007]

To then allow for rebuilding the brickwork with all new matching colour red facing bricks laid with sand & cement mortar, allowing a chased detail for new lead installation

I would be suspicious of this.
Ask them specifically if they're going to re-build the wall.
It sounds like they're making preparation for someone else to build it, on a separate cost.

 

[DAZB]

Sounds like a lot of money and when you consider they look like they have allowed for it to be done in a day judging by the ULEZ, Congestion charges, parking & travel costs at a mere £140 then that's around £1,000 an hour ex VAT. Get some more quotes.

 

[goodnightspoons]

Sounds like a lot of money and when you consider they look like they have allowed for it to be done in a day judging by the ULEZ, Congestion charges, parking & travel costs at a mere £140 then that's around £1,000 an hour ex VAT. Get some more quotes.

I like your way of thinking. I've just checked and they're saying it will take around 6-8 days to complete the rebuild.
Annoyingly, I'm having trouble getting anyone to quote as they're too busy / not available / won't even look at pics to get a ballpark fig. I did get one trusted builder who quoted £7k+vat (ballpark), but they're not avail until Sept. Another, slightly dodgy outfit (but a lot of our neighbours have used) quoting £3k +vat , but that's just by looking at pic - could end up being more. And would be slightly worried if we went with them as I've seen their scaffold and it's definitely not up to code..! Don't want bricks raining down on us.

 

[opps]

The price for the "tower" seems pretty high. Here in London, through a mate, I can get a single lift (albeit, first floor) for about £350 (cash). I would imagine that the builder's scaffolders will simply modify the existing scaffolding rather than erecting a new tower next door.

I cannot comment on the overall cost- not my area of expertise.

 

[goodnightspoons]

The price for the "tower" seems pretty high. Here in London, through a mate, I can get a single lift (albeit, first floor) for about £350 (cash). I would imagine that the builder's scaffolders will simply modify the existing scaffolding rather than erecting a new tower next door.

I cannot comment on the overall cost- not my area of expertise.

Funny you say that. I sent the quote to a trusted roofer (who's not avail), and they also picked up on the high cost of the scaffold - they couldn't comment on the rest as they'd need to view in person. The scaffold is already on site so just needs adjusting - I'm pushing back on this cost...

I also contacted a Party Wall Surveyor for advise on what to do if the neighbours refuse to contribute. By the time we pay for surveyors to enforce the party wall act, and potentially solicitors to extract payment, it would not be worth it. Really is a crap situation.

 

[opps]

Did they use a SDS chisel to remove the render? I don't want to unfairly malign them, but ... the bricks on the other side seem to be sound.

A good friend of mine is a brick pointer. He recently had to remove render from a house in Ealing. He manually hacked it off because he didn't want to damage the integrity of the bricks and crack the internal plastering. It had the same rendering as the property to the left.



I suspect that in your case, he would have used old skool chisels and hammers to remove the parapet render. I am only a lowly decorator, but even I know that using a SDS chisel would dislocate your bricks given that they are at the top of the course.