pricing as a novice

[sheldon1982]

hi guys, i am quoting tomorrow for a small job , it is to skim a downstairs hallway, havent seen the job yet but am wondering what a fair labour cost would be, say if it takes me all day saturday. she has seen my work from my sisters house and didnt hesitate to ask me to quote her.

i havent charged anyone yet, i have just been gaining experience for 3 years plastering my house + friends and family.

i feel i am at a standard now where i can charge for my work.

so what would be a fair cost. im thinking about £100 labour + mats ?????

what do you pros think

 

[Dee205]

£100 would be a decent days wage for an experienced plasterer here and I'd hope he'd do more than just skim one ceiling in a day to be honest..

I'm not sure what the going rate is over the water and how much an average plaster would do in a day though.

And remember it's a recession so good tradesmen are easy to pay if you look around.

 

[jrplastering]

r you doing the walls and ceilin, i took it from your post that you are but dee205 has confused me with his ceilin reply.
at the end of the day sheldon like you said it is the first job you have priced so 100 a day plus the materials and you take it on your own sholders to assure that if they are not happy you rectify it (im sure you would anyway) i would say that is a fair price for the level of experience you have.
keep pluggin away mate

JRP

 

[Dee205]

Sorry!
It's me who read it wrong.
£100 would be a fair enough price for a complete hallway. Walls and ceiling.

Reminds me I need to get my plasterer to patch in where the missus came through the attic once he's done dashing my new wall!

 

[sheldon1982]

thanks for the fast response guys, dont know if the ceiling is included yet until i see the job tomorrow. £100 was just a ballpark figure but if i think i can do it in less than a day i will of course adjust the cost.

i dont know where londonderry is but £100 a day for an experienced plasterer is extremely cheap.EXTREMELY

and yes i would of course rectify any mishaps that may (shouldnt) occur

thank lads

 

[joe-90]

Hallways can be time consuming with all those bits near the architrave and whatnot. I'd tell her £120 so you don't mind going back the next morning to touch it up.

 

[Dee205]

i dont know where londonderry is but £100 a day for an experienced plasterer is extremely cheap.EXTREMELY
quote]

Derry, N.Ireland.

£100 might not have been great a year ago but even then £150 would have been expensive.

If £100 is extremely extremely cheap then what is normal? £300?
I know any project we done we've never paid over £100 a day for a plasterer.

Region to region price variations are crazy though.

The work I'm getting done at home is by a relative. £110 a day for plasterer and labourer plus of course tea and buns included!

 

[islandview]

I think £100 plus materials is a fair price.

I wouldnt adjust the cost if you did it in less than a day. A price is a price and you wouldnt charge more if you took longer than a day, unless you are doing it on a day rate.

When you are first starting out the money isnt always the main goal.

Building up a good reputation with good work and customer satisfaction is the priority.

I hope it goes well for you.

 

[jrplastering]

i agree with islandview i wouldnt change the price just because you can get out in less than a day its still goin to take you best part of a day.... im guessing only on the experience scale you gave us but you might be really quick.
all the same i would keep it at 100 but as joe90 said just be weary or hallways they have a knack of slowing down a job if the architraves and what not are still in situ
JRP

 

[jrplastering]

oh and dee205 WOW prices are cheap in ireland the lowest we get round here and this is the absolute lowest is 120 plasterer only and max can range from 150+ sometimes rangeing into the 200s
JRP

 

[plstering]

most the lads that work with me are on 100 per day
the last job i was on in essex i went in at £80 per day easy day tho
2 days on site but the backon rolls first thing in the morn made it werth it
and the ham rolls at lunch home grown tomatos cups of tea
most the time im on £90/£100 per day

 

[sheldon1982]

got the job

doing it saturday, nice little job only problem the customer wants the radiator left on so i have to plaster around it.

quoted £130 all in mats come to about £40 should take about 6 hours i think if no problems occur, bit of a strange question but i will be doing the mixing outside, now the driveway slopes about 40 degrees, so the plaster in the bucket is going to try and spill out ? how do you guys get round that,

do you think that cost is fair ?

thanks lads

 

[jrplastering]

i would get over that problem by mixing indoors where the grounds level mate

theres no reason why you cnt mix up indoors, your doin all the walls so its not like you can worry bout getting them dirty.

i know its akward but you just have to find a corner where they are out of the way, but its a dam sight easier than working away, then it starts rainin and you have to stop mid set to bring it all in then your rushed off ya feet.

lastly isnt it goin to be a bit tight getting round the rad itll just ruin the finish. usually i just take the rad off then the brackets then measure the screws off the top of the skirt and edge of the architrave jot it down then replace at the end, makes the plastering 1000000 times easier and takes 5 mins to put it all back together.

as for the price as long as you are happy with it and the client is then thats what matters, as you do more prices youll learn what you think a job and yourself is worth. and if you dont particulary want the job throw a bit on top and if you get it then its worth the agg and if you dont......meh? hahaha

 

[islandview]

i have only once years ago skimmed up to a rad. Never again. It looks awful and if ever the house owner decides to change the rad they will need to sort the dodgy plastering out too. I prefer to mix up outside but in this situation unless you stick a brick under the bucket or your foot your better off mixing inside.

 

[sheldon1982]

thanks for the advise jr

the main reason i dont like mixing indoors is it causes to much dust but you make a good point with moving all your gear indoors from outside pain in the back side.

cheers jr