Sanding Quote

[chillout]

Is this quote reasonable to sand a floor?:
Front rm 12 x 12ft
Rear rm 12 x 14ft
Hall 6 x 14ft (approx)
£500 labour
£320 varnish
£150 gap filling
£300 floorboards from reclamation yard (10sqm)

£50 Boards all need moving around due to being cut by plumbers etc.

A total of £1320. Sounds excessive but not sure?
Also whats best to use, a sealer or varnish & would a stain be used on pine boards in a 1930s house. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in anticipation guys.

 

[joe-90]

Sounds a bit steep to me - £320 for flippin varnish - that's about 35 coats. Get a couple more quotes.

 

[chillout]

Cheers,
I'll query him about this, I did wonder what type of varnish he was using!

 

[tall_tone]

3 rooms in total with an area of just under 50m2
The quote for the sanding and sealing part is £820 excluding the extra works you are asking him to do. This equates to around £18 per m2 which is within market rate depending on which part of the country you are in.

As far as staining the floor. This is a personal choice which only you can answer. Keep in mind a pine floor particularly will lighten when sanded. Staining is an extra operation and one most contractors dislike doing as it is difficult to get perfect (it's not like emulsion on a wall) and clients often decide they want a different colour when the job is done even though they have agreed to the colour on a sample board.

Sealer/lacquer/varnish all equate to roughly the same thing, there are plenty of debates on here about the pros and cons between varnish and oils which you can look up if you wish. That said you do get what you pay for, and a lacquer that is sold for £25 for 5 litres is not as good (easy to work with or durable) as one for £75 for 5 litre.

Hope this helps

TT

 

[WoodYouLike]

Cheers,
I'll query him about this, I did wonder what type of varnish he was using!

As Tall-tone roughly calculated, the varnish needs to cover appr 40 sq m (= appr £ 8.00 per sq m). Quality varnish/lacquer needs a few coats, and so would stain and oil.
Can't see it being excessive in price (plus you get what you pay for: pay peanuts and you'll get monkeys)

 

[chillout]

Thanks very much for your replies, both very helpful. Im panicking now because the alarm guy cant do the work and the walls havent been skimmed or painted yet!