Tradesmen working day, how long?

[Knitmyshickers10]

Have a plumber in refitting a shower cubicle at the moment, he charges £150 a days labour. He said originally that it would take 3 days but now due to an small unexpected problem where he had to replace some plasterboard that had broken down he now thinks it will take 4 days.

I've not been here so have given him a key, my neighbour says he been turning up between 10.30 and 11am each day and leaves between 4 - 5 pm.

He's doing a good job, very clean and tidy but I am a bit about it going into the fourth day, especially as he doesn't appear to be doing long days at all.

How normal is this? I've left him tea, coffee and biscuits but none of it is taken and he said today he doesn't stop for lunch.

Don't know whether to say something or accept the extra day. Any idea if this is normal for tradesmen?

[balletgirlmum]

Our plumbers would not go to a local b & q because to do so would mean they'd have to come to the office to get petty cash instead of putting it on account.

[Whoknewitcouldbeso]

In my experience 8-4.30/5. Personally I much prefer a job rate than I do a day rate however it's still not a fail safe as you end up (again in my bitter experience) with a rush job if things overrun and they've set aside two days to get the job done.

[TracyBarlow]

It depends where you are. Plumbers around here (Midlands) are about £150 per day. Tilers are £200, brickies £120, labourers £80, electricians £160.

All work 8-4.30pm. Trips to the merchant's are fine to do on your time but should be done in a timely manner. I'd definitely raise it with him. If he's charging a day rate he should be working 8 hours.

[Oldraver]

We have a friend that did a job next door that took a week and I know he charges £150/day,we reckoned he only actually worked 5 hours a day. It did put me off using him but not sure if this was par for the course.

The guy who fitted out boiler was here from 8am and stayed until the job was done with only a small break. I think it depends on the tradesmen..

[OTheHugeManatee]

Trades round here generally work 8am until 3-4 depending.

[Knitmyshickers10]

Yes, he is qualified with lots of positive reviews and examples of good work. Knowing that £150 a day is cheap I'll go with the shorter working day then. BTW I had 3 quotes and all quoted labour at £150 a day and said 3 days so thats obviously the going rate around here. Thanks all.

[Nomoregrief]

Builders in at the moment and it varies.
One's last week did 8.30 - 3.30/4.
One's this week do 10 - 3.30. They disappeared for 2 hours to buy some stuff that they could have picked up locally in 20 minutes.
Always pay by the job not the day!

[Greyponcho]

No matter how qualified they are, you can't expect him to have the entire contents of tradefix at home ready for him to bring to the job each day - he has to get things he needs on his way. I have found that sometimes tradesmen will go to "their usual" place to get things "because it's cheaper & therefore passing the saving on to us", but no it isn't, not when there's a B&Q ten minutes away and your trade outlet is an hours round trip! Plus there seems to be a reluctance to buy what they think they need on day one and return what they don't end up using on last day probably because they can't be bothered with another hours round trip to the trade place at the end of a day instead of at the start of each

[ComposHatComesBack]

At that price is he an actual qualified pluumber or some chancer with an adjustable spanner?

[BackforGood]

I think it's a learning curve for you for the future.
As others have said, £150 takes account of the fact he's working 6 hours rather than 8 probably.
The people I use for decorating and other odd jobs generally work shorter than average days, but they charge either per job, or per hour (if I ask them to tackle a list of small jobs) and while they are there, they don't stop, and work very efficiently and do a high quality job. I don't therefore get uptight about them not starting until later in the day than some others might start.

[ICanSeeForMiles]

My dh is a plasterer, leaves before 730 every morning. However, due to the nature of his job, he can't down tools at a certain time and has to stay until it's finished. It's rare he's home before 7, tbh.
If it's a massive job I've seen him working through till 9pm. That's fairly rare though, thankfully.

[balletgirlmum]

£150 per day would indicate that either he's not very qualified/experienced or it accounts for a shorter working day.

We'd be between £250-300 per day.

[balletgirlmum]

Our Day Rate is actually an hourly charge but a standard working day is 8-4.30 with half hour unpaid lunch. Travel time is incorporated into that too.

Sometimes we reccomend a customer is charged day rate for certain types of jobs as a quite has to factor in unforeseen circumstances (contingency). Day rate can often be cheaper as half the time there are no contingencies.

[BlueJug]

Major extension done two years ago. Builders and others all did 8-3/4pm. sometimes they would have to go for materials and often did that before they arrived. Half hour for lunch.

Day rate or job rate, either way it can be difficult to estimate exactly so some flexibility is generally built in. If he said 3/4 days at that rate then you have a price for the job and he is covered if it turns out to be a bit trickier than he expected.

[Yambabe]

I do some work for a firm of shopfitters, we use a lot of tradesmen of various types.

Start and finish times vary according to the job but a standard day for most of ours is 10 hours less one for lunch.

Again we pay according to job so sometimes day rates, sometimes hourly and sometimes priced work. It's us not the tradesman who decides how many days we need to use them for though! If they don't complete in the time allowed we don't expect to pay them any extra but we do expect them to stay and finish the job they are working on.

[Barmaid101]

The pub I work in lots of the labourers are in the pub for 2 saying they started 7/8 and are now done for the day but wait to get to the pub for lunch. So it sounds normal to me

[nextusername]

Most tradespeople I've used have worked 8-4.

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

The people I've had on the rare occasions we've had contractors have all worked 8-4, with a half hour lunch and drinks on the go where feasible.

Council workers have always finished by three, bot sure why.

[DrDreReturns]

The guy we use normally works from about 8 to 5.

[Curioushorse]

God, you're lucky to have got a plumber. I pay £300 a day, easily for even the hours yours is working. Sigh.

[M48294Y]

Yes, was just going to say where are you? £150 is incredibly cheap for a plumber!

[M48294Y]

I work for a tradesman. His normal working hours are 8 til 5 with an hour for lunch. If he works that he will charge you a full day, if he works anything less than that he will charge per hour. He is totally honest and straightforward.

[varicoseveronica]

Our builder does 8 until dark. He sometimes goes to get supplies at 8am then comes on to us.
Our decorators do 9-4 but we don't pay them a day rate.

[BatMobile]

A working day can vary massively depending on the trade. My DH's work means he often can only do a couple of hours work in someone's home and then has to return to finish the next day. This is why he will almost always agree a price for the job rather than a day rate.

[WaitingForMe]

I always ask and every tradesman has said a day is eight hours. Pretty much every one did 8-4.