What is a sensible daily rate for trades?

[AbstractFlower]

I know everything's through the roof.

I've just had a quote from a carpenter. He says he'll need access to the building for 2 days (ie can't be more than 2 days' work). It definitely needs a skilled carpenter, but isn't a particularly difficult job for someone in the trade - it doesn't need any specialist skills or equipment. We're supplilying all materials so quote is just for labour.

The quote is from someone who offered us (a charity) a favour. I didn't really expect a special rate, but I didn't expect him to try and rip us off either. But maybe I'm just really out of touch on what things cost. Obviously I'll have to get another price, but wondering what's reasonable for 2 days' work, in SE, but not London.

He's quoted £900 plus VAT (which we will claim back).

@CCSS15 😫 thanks for replying though.

My husband is a joiner and charges £210 a day, but he does have a workshop. He has been advised more than once to up his price

With prices like these one can only hope that people start voting with their feet. We were quoted £650 for a 1.5 day paint job, and just did the work ourselves in the end. Too many people are happy to be ripped off though so it just gets more and more expensive.

I pay trades £200-£250 / day.

£450 x 4 day
0.5 day admin
0.5 day quotes

x 45 weeks

To be honest you’d lose days here and there to coordinating jobs

= £81k gross.

Tools, van, insurance.

sounds a good wage for a skilled worker

I think £400 to £450 per day is ok for a skilled tradesman in London.

I've just been asked to pay £500 to a roofer for less than 3 hours work. I am disputing that.

£450 is very much about the going rate and £100k is not outside the norm in construction.

Not London; everywhere. The good trades have been able to charge this for about 18-22 months now country wide.

A carpenter is more skilled and deserving of an £80-100k salary than the overwhelming majority of MNers/their husbands who earn six figures.

Exactly. He’s not getting that as a salary

My hourly rate is £370, but I don’t get to bill
40 hours a week!

We recently paid a carpenter £260 for a day's work for hanging two internal doors. We are in Hertfordshire. I think £450 a day is very expensive unless it's a very specialised skill that's required and not many will know how to do the job.

These types of rates are obscene. It's not neurosurgery.

Yes that's about right. I've just had work done and it cost £500 for a day plus materials.

I don't understand why so many people think a carpenter, electrician or plumber shouldn't earn £100,000 pa? Half of Mumsnet does!

I work for a skilled small trades company and we charge £416 per day. But actually none of the employees, including the boss, are on more than about £40,000.

The overheads for a small business of 10 employees really are huge. NI, pensions, holidays, 6 vans, fuel, insurance, office rent, light and heat, bookkeepers, management accountant, a full time employee purely doing admin (ie. not bringing any cash in).

Just because he'll need access to the building for 2 days doesn't mean it will only take him 2 days surely? Will he pre-cut wood etc to bring with him therefore spending extra time when he's not actually on site. "need access" is an odd way to phrase it if he just means "it'll take 2 days"!

Are you having an effing laugh? That's a £50 job round my way SE

Wish I were! Apparently, they just totally changed their rate from when DP spoke to them on the phone and denied it. I've told him he to ask tradespeople up front to quote for the job before they start work and get it in writing. He did try disputing the bill with the company but they were having none of it. Left them a shitty review, to hopefully warn others that they're rip off merchants.

£200-250 per day is normal here, unless very specialist eg the stonemason is more, or it includes more than one person eg an apprentice

Perhaps we should be showing this thread to 14/15/16 year olds and suggesting they head to a technical college!

Agree ^

It's not equivalent to £120k. You have to factor in holiday pay, sick pay, employer pension contributions, use of own transport and fuel, inconsistent days/hours (no guarantee that you'll get that amount every day), insurance, cost of tools etc etc. My siblings are self-employed tattooists and everyone whinges about their hourly rate but it really isn't as massive lucrative as it initially sounds once you factor everything else in.

£450 sounds about right OP but obviously get a second quote to be sure!

As the lawyer daughter of a carpenter, sibling of tattooists and cousin of a builder, I can confirm that they are all more deserving than I am of the six figure salary I currently receive for tinkering around with contracts 😅

£450/500 a day sounds about right
It's a skilled job, you are paying for their experience

Why?

I just renovated and my carpenter was the highest paid trade bar the plumber. He was obsessive about his work and did an amazing job. He did a lot of work at his workshop though, so I wasn't paying him just for the hours he was at my home. He charged by the job.
Get another quote.

Blimey….
No wonder nurses and teachers are striking!!