Painting costs
Discussion
Found myself in an odd situation where I believe that we are vastly overpaying for a job that’s just started.
Booked a painter in march to paint in front of house in June, June came and went and was told July, then told we were next and got strung along till middle of August where painter said he wouldn’t have time to do the job.
We managed to find a last minute painter on Facebook and price was £300 more than the other painter but thought we won’t find anyone else this late in the year and used the guy.
Cost was £1100 and he took 3 days and did an okay job.
He asked if we wanted side and back of house (back is just 1 floor) also painted and gave us a quote of £2500.
We assumed as it’s a bigger area than the front it would take double the time, hence double the cost.
He started today and managed to clean, prep and add primer to rear, and add primer to side of house (new render)… and said he just needs one more day to finish up..
I was pretty much taken aback that he’s completing it in 2 days when he’s charged £2500.. he’s just supplying tools and labour..
I did mention to him that when we got the quote we thought it was a bigger job than the other one hence the higher price but he said he charges per m2 not on time.
Do we just have to suck it up? Just feel like we have been taken advantage of..
Cheers
Booked a painter in march to paint in front of house in June, June came and went and was told July, then told we were next and got strung along till middle of August where painter said he wouldn’t have time to do the job.
We managed to find a last minute painter on Facebook and price was £300 more than the other painter but thought we won’t find anyone else this late in the year and used the guy.
Cost was £1100 and he took 3 days and did an okay job.
He asked if we wanted side and back of house (back is just 1 floor) also painted and gave us a quote of £2500.
We assumed as it’s a bigger area than the front it would take double the time, hence double the cost.
He started today and managed to clean, prep and add primer to rear, and add primer to side of house (new render)… and said he just needs one more day to finish up..
I was pretty much taken aback that he’s completing it in 2 days when he’s charged £2500.. he’s just supplying tools and labour..
I did mention to him that when we got the quote we thought it was a bigger job than the other one hence the higher price but he said he charges per m2 not on time.
Do we just have to suck it up? Just feel like we have been taken advantage of..
Cheers
nuyorican said:
He gave you a price to do a job which you accept. He then does the job in less time than you were expecting, and you’re unhappy?
Wow.
I’m asking is it reasonable for a single painter to be charging over £1k a day for labour.Wow.
Would anyone expect a labour only job priced at 2.5k to take two days..
Are either of these reasonable?
Honestly we would have got more quotes if we knew it was a 2 day job..
Edited by bowboy on Wednesday 30th October 20:05
StoutBench said:
Not sure the timing is relevant, it's the job you are paying for.
I feel like your missing the point.I’m asking is it reasonable for a single painter to be charging over £1k a day for labour.
Would anyone expect a labour only job priced at 2.5k to take two days..
Are either of these reasonable?
Honestly we would have got more quotes if we knew it was a 2 day job..
Been there myself and sucked it up as I accepted the cost.
I find it endlessly fascinating how people quote or how people believe someone should quote. The cost of something shouldn’t necessarily be tied to how long it takes.
Was it of value to you? That’s the question you should be asking IMO.
I find it endlessly fascinating how people quote or how people believe someone should quote. The cost of something shouldn’t necessarily be tied to how long it takes.
Was it of value to you? That’s the question you should be asking IMO.
thepritch said:
Been there myself and sucked it up as I accepted the cost.
I find it endlessly fascinating how people quote or how people believe someone should quote. The cost of something shouldn’t necessarily be tied to how long it takes.
Was it of value to you? That’s the question you should be asking IMO.
Yes I feel we accepted the quote like fools, so just have to suck it up.I find it endlessly fascinating how people quote or how people believe someone should quote. The cost of something shouldn’t necessarily be tied to how long it takes.
Was it of value to you? That’s the question you should be asking IMO.
Just leaves a bitter taste paying over £1k a day for labour… which is unjustifiable imho
StoutBench said:
So if the same job took a week you'd be happy? Maybe take the win, you were happy with the cost and the job is done fast and out of your way.
Yes it's a lot a day but imagine if you'd gone with someone cheaper and they did a terrible job.
It’s stupid but yes I’d feel less ripped off.Yes it's a lot a day but imagine if you'd gone with someone cheaper and they did a terrible job.
Just don’t understand the pricing, job 1 say £350 a day, job 2 £1250 a day, doesn’t make sense to me? Other than he thought we are mugs?
It’s very unreasonable but you did accept the quote.
For comparison I have 2 decorators.
One that I’ve used for 30yrs that is good for a quick refresh but not as thorough in his prep..he’s super quick, efficient and trustworthy. Even now he’s 140 day and doesn’t take the p on material costs.
He'd have done the front of your house in a couple of days and you would be happy.
The others are a bigger firm that do a very thorough job with much more prep
Just had my HSL done which was quoted as 3 men for 5 days at 3100 ex materials So around 200 per man per day..I accepted the quote.
It ended up as 2 men for 4.5 days and an extra man for a couple of hours. So approx 345 pmpd.
A ‘school hours’ work day with playtime/lunch/playtime finish at 3.30pm and 2.00pm on a Friday seems to be the norm for most trades too..
Whilst I appreciate the average trade won’t get out of bed for less than 350 a day nowadays paying its effectively 60ph for a decorating job..
Whilst they have done a quality job I feel less likely to use them again as just like you I tend to break the job down into what I feel is reasonable for the quality/price/labour ratio.
If I feel like this you must feel like you’ve been bent over..
For comparison I have 2 decorators.
One that I’ve used for 30yrs that is good for a quick refresh but not as thorough in his prep..he’s super quick, efficient and trustworthy. Even now he’s 140 day and doesn’t take the p on material costs.
He'd have done the front of your house in a couple of days and you would be happy.
The others are a bigger firm that do a very thorough job with much more prep
Just had my HSL done which was quoted as 3 men for 5 days at 3100 ex materials So around 200 per man per day..I accepted the quote.
It ended up as 2 men for 4.5 days and an extra man for a couple of hours. So approx 345 pmpd.
A ‘school hours’ work day with playtime/lunch/playtime finish at 3.30pm and 2.00pm on a Friday seems to be the norm for most trades too..
Whilst I appreciate the average trade won’t get out of bed for less than 350 a day nowadays paying its effectively 60ph for a decorating job..
Whilst they have done a quality job I feel less likely to use them again as just like you I tend to break the job down into what I feel is reasonable for the quality/price/labour ratio.
If I feel like this you must feel like you’ve been bent over..
I have a couple of friends who do this work.
The rates quoted are on the high side, to say the least.
You either accept a quote and don't care how long it takes to do the job, so long as the quality is OK. Or you pay an hourly rate and it takes as long as it takes and you trust the tradesman not to waste time.
All academic, as both were loaded with work until next year, especially not looking at outdoor work as they both have backlogs of jobs waiting for dry days.
The rates quoted are on the high side, to say the least.
You either accept a quote and don't care how long it takes to do the job, so long as the quality is OK. Or you pay an hourly rate and it takes as long as it takes and you trust the tradesman not to waste time.
All academic, as both were loaded with work until next year, especially not looking at outdoor work as they both have backlogs of jobs waiting for dry days.
nuyorican said:
£140 a day?
That guy is either a bit simple, is retired/on benefits or lives in his van.
Non of the above …a bit old school yes but a lovely guy…he’s put his prices up a tenner a day this year though. That guy is either a bit simple, is retired/on benefits or lives in his van.
I’ve even told him straight he needs to put his prices up but he's unsurprisingly got a loyal customer base..I would imagine he feels wrongly if he put his prices up by too much they would go elsewhere. Elsewhere doesn’t exist at his quality/price ratio though.
bowboy said:
Yes I feel we accepted the quote like fools, so just have to suck it up.
Just leaves a bitter taste paying over £1k a day for labour… which is unjustifiable imho
So you go over it with a fine tooth comb before paying the balance. You have paid for first class make sure you’ve got it and he hasn’t cut corners. Just leaves a bitter taste paying over £1k a day for labour… which is unjustifiable imho
When it comes to self employed trades you have 2 main choices. Pay a day rate, and take the risk that they just plod along. Or pay a one off cost and take the risk that they will rush through the job as quick as they can.
IME, its rare to find traders who are not up against time to get onto their next job. Sometimes squeezing in jobs they should not take or something else comes in so they rush the job they are on to get off onto the better job.
The only good one I have found is a P&D who seems to work at the exact same pace every time we have used him. Comes at 7am. Stops for a brew at 10am dead on for 20 minutes, radio on, news paper out. Same at 1pm. At 3pm he is washing his brushes. By 315pm he is sat on the back of his van having the last of the tea out of his flask.
Those are rare beasts these days IME.
IME, its rare to find traders who are not up against time to get onto their next job. Sometimes squeezing in jobs they should not take or something else comes in so they rush the job they are on to get off onto the better job.
The only good one I have found is a P&D who seems to work at the exact same pace every time we have used him. Comes at 7am. Stops for a brew at 10am dead on for 20 minutes, radio on, news paper out. Same at 1pm. At 3pm he is washing his brushes. By 315pm he is sat on the back of his van having the last of the tea out of his flask.
Those are rare beasts these days IME.
bowboy said:
I feel like your missing the point.
I’m asking is it reasonable for a single painter to be charging over £1k a day for labour.
Would anyone expect a labour only job priced at 2.5k to take two days..
Are either of these reasonable?
Honestly we would have got more quotes if we knew it was a 2 day job..
I think it's absolutely fine for you to question your decision and to ask on PH what a general view might be. I’m asking is it reasonable for a single painter to be charging over £1k a day for labour.
Would anyone expect a labour only job priced at 2.5k to take two days..
Are either of these reasonable?
Honestly we would have got more quotes if we knew it was a 2 day job..
What I don't think you can do is anything about it. You agreed terms and they've done as agreed so ultimately all is fair.
Was £2500 a high price for 2 days unskilled labour? I would say so but arguably the time to consider value was before agreeing terms.
On the flipside, had you agreed a day rate then in all likelihood the time would have increased to meet the £2500 cost and also, as you've directly experienced, there isn't a glut of trades at present so they are able to command much higher fees than would be normal.
Arguably, the big premium that you've paid is for the actual skill which is the ability of the chap to actually do what he agreed to do which is to paint the house on the day he agreed to paint the house. The ability to actually turn up when agreed, to do the actual job and to an acceptable level, is today, the skill that you're paying for. And one could also consider them only being on site for two days instead of a week and added bonus?
One might suspect that the customers of the painter you attempted to initially used might be very envious of your great luck and would have far preferred to pay a premium for not being someone's carer.
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