Block wall labour price

[pavementpizza]

OK, bit of a strange one. Got a friend of a friend building a garden wall for me using concrete block. The wall is 20m x 0.9m. Footings are all in place and the materials are being supplied by me. This lad is a brickie by trade and he reckons it will take him about a day and a half (with me mixing).

Problem is he's only young and he's always worked for his uncle so he's not too clever on pricing so he's just told me to pay him what I think it's worth!

So what's it worth?

How much should I offer to pay him to build this wall for 1.5 days (Sat/Sun)?

Of course, if Mr Darling happens to have stumbled across this post I can assure him this is just hypothetical and the wall and the brickie are imaginary and do not exist - for tax reasons).

Thanks.

 

[^woody^]

Where you are depends on the rate

But £180 would be fair for a properly built wall in these circumstances.

If he is still learing and the time relates to lack of experience than you may be looking at £130-150

 

[pavementpizza]

We're in Manchester. The brickie isn't a teenager - he's time served - he has just always worked for someone else so he never has to price up any work. Bit awkward really because he should know but I don't want to offend him either.

Maybe if I get him an HMV voucher?

 

[^woody^]

..... but I don't want to offend him either.

Maybe if I get him an HMV voucher?

These two statements don't go together

He should be asking for at least what he would normally get per day. And there is no 1/2 day, so really he would want two-days pay.

He may be just shy, but I can guarantee that even if he has not said a price, he certainly does have one in his mind.

Really, you should ask him what he would normally get paid per day and offer him that. And if you are happy with the job then you pay a bit more

 

[pavementpizza]

It's almost certainly an issue with him being too shy to ask. But I just wanted to get an idea in my head before I blurted out the wrong price.

Initially I was thinking of £200.

(or £190 plus the HMV voucher).

 

[noseall]

do not offer a voucher as part of a pay deal - he will be offended and quite rightly so.

offer the voucher as a tip of gratuity.

 

[breezer]

i dont like the voucher Idea at all, dont buy it in the first place, to me its an insult, like something you were given and dont want.

 

[Richard C]

It's almost certainly an issue with him being too shy to ask. But I just wanted to get an idea in my head before I blurted out the wrong price.

Initially I was thinking of £200.

(or £190 plus the HMV voucher).

If you know him well, he should be well happy with £200. If he really is a “friend” & if I was him, I would be happy doing it for nothing other than lots of tea, a few beers towards the end of the day &, as a bonus, an evening meal (in or out) for me & the wife; to me, cash always seems vulgar where friends are concerned! If not I'd go in with £100/day; 1½ days = £150.

 

[Shytalkz]

. And there is no 1/2 day

Why not?

 

[^woody^]

Because if your going for 1/2 a day, then unless you can do another 1/2 a day somewhere else, then the day is lost. And its never 1/2 a day its always more

Its like saying "its an hours work" and expecting the day rate to the pro-rata-ed.

It may work for jobs based on time charging, but not for this work

The way I look at it, is [with building work] if someone is tying me up for most of the day, then they get charged for the day

 

[Delinquent]

Because if your going for 1/2 a day, then unless you can do another 1/2 a day somewhere else, then the day is lost. And its never 1/2 a day its always more

Its like saying "its an hours work" and expecting the day rate to the pro-rata-ed.

It may work for jobs based on time charging, but not for this work

The way I look at it, is [with building work] if someone is tying me up for most of the day, then they get charged for the day

always bugs me this one - three times so far on my current reno I've paid a "days" rate for half a day, and I know for a fact that they've gone on to do another half day for a full days rate somewhere else after each.

 

[Shytalkz]

Must try that one, might hit that magical £1720 that Joe's on about .

 

[Shytalkz]

Because if your going for 1/2 a day, then unless you can do another 1/2 a day somewhere else, then the day is lost. And its never 1/2 a day its always more

So charge an hourly rate then.

 

[^woody^]

For bricklaying?

 

[Deluks]

Because if your going for 1/2 a day, then unless you can do another 1/2 a day somewhere else, then the day is lost. And its never 1/2 a day its always more

But what if you don't have anywhere else to be?

Funny thing this, the hypothetical "I could be off somewhere else earning £££"

I suppose if they're prepared to cough up then fair enough, but what if they turned round at the last minute after accepting, and saying

"in that case you can stick around and do me another wall so I get me moneysworth"

You'd be smarting I'm sure