cupboard door in dwarf wall

[shardy]

anybody got an idea what a fair price would be in Outer London to create a cupboard door in the dwarf wall of a loft conversion? I think its about 50 cm wide by 70 cm tall
our loft is under construction, and in the bedroom, there will be a dwarf wall under the sloping front roof with storage area behind. the price includes 1 cupboard door to the storage area. To add a second costs £275 inc vat. I was surprised because to supply and fit a fire door with handles is £300 plus vat and it is 4 times bigger.

The guys doing this are great carpenters and really fast so I would've thought it would take a couple of house max, and not cost very much in materials.

We had 2 floor to ceiling fitted cupboards with shelves made 5 years ago out of mdf, including 4 doors. It took the carpenter 1 day and he charged us £300 including materials. that was cash price though

I know prices have increased in London since then, but this was much more than I expected. we were thinking of asking for 3 extra doors but we won't now

 

[Doggit]

Difficult to judge prices without seeing the job. The carpenter would need to create the frame, and then cut down a standard door, or make a new one, and this could take longer than hanging a standard door, that he can now do in his sleep.

You could get them to set 2 of the uprights in the wall to be 55cm wide, and then another carpenter could just open the gap up, fit in a door liner, and then crate a new door.

Get another couple of quotes.

 

[chappers]

Does seem a bit steep seeing as they are already on the job and judging how far along they are from your roofing question, sounds like its just a case of creating another opening in the studwork as they build it and fitting the lining, but as mentioned it does depend how they are creating the other door and from what materials, for example as said they may need to purchase another door, then they will need to modify it, fit new lining, furniture etc.
This might not be much help, but I think the price would be about right if it was retro fitted, but personally if it were me doing the conversion, I would probably just add on the cost of the materials, if that was the only extra.
No disrespect to you, but it's difficult knowing how to play it when a customer comes to you and says "could you just" as sometimes over the period of a decent job, these things have a habit of mounting up. It's always a balance of keeping your customer happy and making sure you're not losing out yourself.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Where is the loft insulation bubble? Its often down the dwarf wall rather than the pitch of the roof?

 

[foxhole]

Just done something similar, used a sliding door kit and 1/2 sheet of ply[900mm square], cost me about £20 in materials and took less than an 1hours.

 

[shardy]

you sound pretty handy foxhole, wish I could do that kind of work in 1 day let alone 1 hour.
They haven't built the dwarf wall yet, they are just finishing off the studwork. I made a mistake, the price was actually £300 inc VAT.
I had always requested 2 cupboard doors from the initial meeting but didn't check the contract carefully enough afterwards, as it does state 1 door. I'm sure it will be a nice quality door with good frame, lining etc.

The loft insulation will be between the rafters I think freddymercurystwin.

that's kind chappers, only charging for materials. Customers should expect to pay for materials and labour, but I suppose if its a big job, good builders are happy add a few little extras.
I think it is a good opportunity for loft companies to make a really good profit margin on any little extras that are not in the contract as they know you would rather get it done all at once. The lesson here I think is to be more meticulous in planning all the possible additional details and insist on it being included in the original quotes and then the contract.

 

[chappers]

Indeed but as I mentioned there's always a compromise between being hard nosed and providing a fair service which reflects upon your reputation