Does this quote look reasonable?

[pep411]

Hi all,

I am West Midlands based. Builder recommended by 2 work colleagues. Mortgage free house.

Project - 50m2 extension. Kitchen fitting extra £2k and bathroom fitting included. I need to supply kitchen and bathroom suites.

Finance and budget - I have £15k credit limit on card which gives 29 months interest free. Airmiles on spend. The prospect of spreading costs and some security if builder does runner makes me tilt towards labour only.£250k in cash isa which i would like to keep as back up only. £120k in cash savings for this project.

Dilemma- I quite like the idea of labour only. Have a friend who owns building supplies company who i intend to use. Steel and insulation too i can source 10-15% discount.i will have 2 half days each week free to work on this extension.

Is it worth going labour only based on quotation or not worth the hassle.

 

[Wayners]

Difficult question to answer.
Do some research.
This is a really good explanation.

 

[noseall]

Hi all,

I am West Midlands based. Builder recommended by 2 work colleagues. Mortgage free house.

Project - 50m2 extension. Kitchen fitting extra £2k and bathroom fitting included. I need to supply kitchen and bathroom suites.

Finance and budget - I have £15k credit limit on card which gives 29 months interest free. Airmiles on spend. The prospect of spreading costs and some security if builder does runner makes me tilt towards labour only.£250k in cash isa which i would like to keep as back up only. £120k in cash savings for this project.

Dilemma- I quite like the idea of labour only. Have a friend who owns building supplies company who i intend to use. Steel and insulation too i can source 10-15% discount.i will have 2 half days each week free to work on this extension.

Is it worth going labour only based on quotation or not worth the hassle.

Labour only means just that. Once you take on board the responsibility of the materials, you take the whole show, i.e. quantifying, ordering, scheduling, liaising with the steel people, providing drawings to the steel people, lack of materials, glut of materials, defective materials, prioritising the correct materials, being aware of lead times and scarcity of certain items etc.

It's a big task for a DIY'er and the effort of looking after a busy site can be a big drain on your daily life.

 

[Diver Fred]

Comes down to how much you wish and can do yourself - which extends the build period.
e.g. you could do the groundworks yourself and get a man in to do (or help) with pouring the foundations.
Then once that is completed you get a bricky in to build the walls after you have measured up either with or without the bricky...

What I'm saying you get 'professionals' in as and when with you ordering the materials as and when. But you find that the professionals will come to you when they have time to come to you (and away from possibly more lucrative jobs). But if they are having to 'lead you by the hand' for ordering materials then that could antagonise or delay the build.

 

[noseall]

But if they are having to 'lead you by the hand' for ordering materials then that could antagonise or delay the build.

Correct. It can also get contentious when materials are supposed to be there and they are not. The builder will likely have something written up or agreed to, that means he and his blokes get paid in the absence of scaffold, or the wrong steel beam or the blocks have run out.

Even simple things like lintels - i.e. most are just standard duty proprietary fellas, but the odd surprise extra heavy duty special order, crops up from time to time.

 

[pep411]

Correct. It can also get contentious when materials are supposed to be there and they are not. The builder will likely have something written up or agreed to, that means he and his blokes get paid in the absence of scaffold, or the wrong steel beam or the blocks have run out.

Even simple things like lintels - i.e. most are just standard duty proprietary fellas, but the odd surprise extra heavy duty special order, crops up from time to time.

My idea is to open an account with building supplier. Authorise builder to order as and when things are needed to be delivered to my site. Supplier is within 5 miles from my house.

I can monitor the orders as my friend has got quantity surveyor drawn up a list to be approved by builder in advance. In summary nothing will be without approval of the builder.Delivery schedule will agreed in advance. My front garden can accomodate 8 pallets of bricks or blocks in addition to 1 space for van and skip. So whatever can be ordered and stored onsite will be planned.

Building supplier happy to accept credit card payments.That will give me cheap credit line which spreads cost and hedges against savings generated whilst it is still in my account. And mega spend also avails me any spend bonus i.e airmiles or cashback.

Returns and mistakes are inevitable but i would say amicable and hopely avoidable.

Likes of steel coming straight from fabricator, i am actually planningh paying a tiny bit extra for fabricator to offload and install with builder so in-situ changes can be made seamlessly.

I just feel sourcing material myself will be atleast 15-20% cheaper due to credit and purchase discounts. And it is my forever home, so I can take comform from fact all materials are best I could afford.

 

[endecotp]

Have a friend who owns building supplies company who i intend to use. Steel and insulation too i can source 10-15% discount.

It boils down to whether the discounts that you get from your friends are more or less generous than the discounts that your builder gets. Ask your friend for his honest advice.