am i being ripped off

[AkuraEngineer]

ive got a polish general builder doing some work for me, hes charging 4400 just for labour to....

fit new kitchen complete
tile and paint kitchen
plaster 3 walls in one room
plaster 1 wall in one room
tile floor for bathroom
fit bathroom suite
paint whole 1 bed flat

i apologise in advance if i offend anyone with the price mention as i have no clue what the sort of going rate is for this kind of work but a few people have told me they would have done it cheaper and the guys ripping me off

 

[drnail]

get 3 qoutes and take the middle one imo

 

[nottsrob184]

Ok lets think about it...
fit a new kitchen...depending on how many wall and base units and worktops (mitre cut), and sink cuts etc, will take say 3 days.

Tile the kitchen...depending on size but presume average...1.5 to 2 days

plaster 4 walls in total...how big?...say 1 day...but will it be dry walll or 2 coat?...1-1.5 days

Tile floor for bathroom...how big?...say 1 day
fit bathroom suite...1.5-2 days?

paint 1 bed flat...how big?...gloss and emulsion etc?..say 2 days

so thats basically 2 weeks (5 day week) work.
Do you earn 4 grand in 2 weeks?
i would personnaly say ,(but it really depends on difficulty, access and size) 1.5 - 2k would be closer.

Hope this helps

 

[BREAKALEG]

Did you ask him how long the work would take him? Maybe that price is including the 17.5% vat he will pay and he is probably in the higher tax band paying 40%.
bahahaha

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

do you want your drive tarmacing?
PM me if you do, I can also drink a little polish

 

[AkuraEngineer]

no this is all a cash job so hes not putting it through the books

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

What sort of recommendations does he come with, any references.
They have a habit of not finishing work off and leaving the place like a hell hole.
Not trying to put you off the bloke
Who's doing the electrics?

 

[AkuraEngineer]

ive got a sparky whos doing the electrics for me hes doing a complete rewire for 1900

feel like a complete **** and im going to refuse to pay the full amount to him

 

[Deluks]

Does he have a mate? How long did he say it will take? Just how big are these rooms? Any specialist materials being used? Do the floors need screeding before tiling? What's the state of the walls?

Without knowing all the info and seeing the job I can't possibly comment on whether you are getting a raw deal or not.

In any case don't let him finish and then refuse to pay him the full amount, speak to him about it now and explain why you are not happy.

 

[skenk]

Doesn't necessarily sound too bad, depends on the extent of the work and the finish you are expecting as your description is not at all detailed.

"Fit a new complete kitchen" could mean anything from building a few units to a complete refurb.

"Fit bathroom suite" Replace existing fittings in same locations with no other works or renovate entire bathroom?

A one bed flat round here (3m+ ceilings, usually loads of prep, elaborate cornicing & centrepieces, massive skirtings, detailed architrave etc.) takes one person a lot longer than 2 days to decorate.

As a (very) rough guide, your kitchen will cost approximately as much to fit (properly) as it cost to buy.

'Im going to refuse to pay the full amount to him' you've agreed a price but, based on the opinion of a few randoms off t'internet and 'a few people' (down the pub with a racist streak by any chance?) who presumably have not seen the job or taken the time to cost it, you're going to renege on your agreement? I hope you get a shoddy job and done for tax fraud.

Customers like you are why tradespeople need T's&C's, staged payments, contracts etc. Maybe you should have gotten 3 quotes from reputable companies instead of trying to save a buck by using a foreign builder paid in cash with no paperwork.

FWIW IF he can do all the joinery, plumbing, tiling, plastering and decorating himself to the same standard as specialist tradespeople and is going to manage the whole project himself (and I don't mean picking the finishes and changing his mind every day - that's the customer's job!) then you may well have gotten a good deal.

You also don't mention if the property is occupied. If it is then that is a huge time consuming hassle as well.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

That's a fair comment and should not really generalise about unknown peoples work ethics, even though I have had bad experiences of the eastern european builders, that either make a complete arse of the job or leave it unfinished.
You do need a firm contract with staged payments for completed work and money held back for the final hand over on all work completed, that includes any snagging.
Can't think for the life in me, that you've not gone out and got three or four quotes to compareand, but instead put your trust in someone that by the sounds has not shown you any references or a portfolio of their work.
As far as the costing of the project, depends on room sizes and accessibilty.
Also if you agreed to supply the materials, you'd be likely to miss out on any trade discounts that the builder can get.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

edit

 

[gday2uk]

no this is all a cash job so hes not putting it through the books

So you will not get a receipt, so you have no comeback if you don't like the workmanship or anything else goes wrong. He's probably got no insurance so what happens if he burns your house down or floods it? Your policy wont cover you.
Common sense should really steer you away from this one

 

[Nige F]

Are you Legion in disguise - back again for another wind up post

 

[dilly]

I do not think your getting ripped off.you agreed the price and must have been happy for him(polish chap do not know wether that was supposed to make a difference)to carry out the work at said price.You now feel ripped off,at this stage what do you think you can do about it, other than rip him off.Needless to say he will come on here say customer has ripped him off after agreeing price and ask advice ,then someone on here will tell him to go back and rip it all out and serves the customer right.Rant done