Roofer

[copycopypaste]

I noticed a few weeks ago that I had a couple of cracked tiles in my roof. This weekend my neighbour had someone come round to fit a chimney so I had a chat with him and he quoted me £40 to replace two tiles which I agreed to.

Whilst he was on the roof he noticed that one of the wooden batons the tiles attaches to was knackered and that the cement on the eaves had come away which meant that some of the tiles on the edge were loose. He took my phone onto the roof and took a picture so I knew what he was saying was correct.

He quoted me £300 to fix it all and said it would be at least a days work, maybe a day and a half. I agreed to this, he said he'd be back the next day as he didn't have anything booked in, I paid him his £40 and off he went.

He arrived today just before 10am, worked until 11.45, I watched him so know he was brushing out the old cement and putting new in (my office is at the bottom of the garden so could see what he was up to) then started putting his ladders away. I asked him if he'd finished, he said yes, it hadn't taken him as long as he'd thought. I then asked him how much I owed him. £300 he said. I laughed at this point and said '£300 for two hours work?' He said he hadn't realised it had only been two hours and that the clock in his van hadn't been working . I mentioned in a nice way that he'd quoted me £300 for a day and a half's work and he'd only been at the house 2 hrs, he then said he'd charge me £200, again I laughed, kept it nice and friendly and said I appreciate he'd had to travel (he's local) and that he's spent a few quid on wood and cement but £100 an hour is a bit steep especially as his initial quote equated to £200 a day.

We agreed he'd come back with an invoice tonight (he didn't have one to hand) and we'd discuss it then.

Aibu to offer him £100 which i still think is a bit steep but appreciate he's had to travel about 15 mins and labour etc. It's also worth noting that he admitted he has no work today or tomorrow, and that he could come when convenient as I work from home, so it's not like he'd have to rearrange other jobs (maybe I should have seen his availability as a red flag)

Not sure how a job that took a shorter amount of time costs £260 more (plus less materials). I just feel a bit like he's taken the piss a bit, and rubbing his hands together.

Time is irrelevant, OP. You were quoted for the job itself, not the time it took to carry out the job.

You are the one majorly taking the piss here.

You were quoted a price for the job, not for X amount of hours, and you agreed to it so you should pay it

You are absolutely right in what you are saying, but he didn't do that job. He replaced probably about 1/4 of the cement he'd previously said he needed to.

He quoted for the job and the amount of time he expected to take which would mean he hadn't booked in any other work for that day and a half.

You got the job done that you'd agreed to do should pay the price you'd agreed to.

Ooops x post with @tiggerkid for the same story

Can we claim the great minds think alike and all that? ;)

Generally speaking, if there is one bit of bedding that needs replacing due to age, then the rest will need it too. A broken batten is separate to this of course and he would have had to lift a fair portion/length of tiling to be able to replace it. If he replaced the full length? Was the bedding just undertaken where the broken batten was perhaps?

I'm leaning towards you pay what you were quoted, but I would also be checking if the complete job was done too. When he comes back, ask him to pop up and take photos of the newer bedding work. If he has only bedded half a dozen tiles and not the amount (you did have clarity on exactly was being done, didn't you?) then he needs to finish off what was expected.

We always supply our clients with written quotes, so they know what we are quoting for, and they know what they are getting. Avoids all this mess. In our region, H & S rules would have added scaffolding/fall protection allowance to your work too.

Good luck.

Thank you @expat101 that's a really good idea and I'll make sure I get written quotes etc in future.

I've just been out there with a pair of binoculars (my neighbours must think I'm bonkers) it looks like he's only replaced about a 1/4 of the cement around the eaves and cemented about 4 of the ridge tiles. I can still see areas where the old cement has fallen out and not been replaced leaving holes.

thank you for everyone's opinion.

Oh and to answer your question, no he didn't replace the whole baton, just the bit the broken tile was on, he only removed the one tile and cut down the baton to fit. The tile has obviously been broken for a while and that's why the baton has rotted.

I think £300 is way too much for what he has actually done and he has done less work than he expected to as well

My partner is a roofer.

He's just told me to tell you while it's true you never know how difficult/easy a job will be until you get in there... He's is being a CF charging you this much for a 2 hours work.

A job like that should have cost about 150pounds (that's including the 2 tiles replaced the previous day)
I first asked him how much he would charge to replace 2 tiles he said next to nothing, when I told him you were charged 40..he laughed.
This guy is having you on. I would offer the 100. He got 40 the day previous.

Just read your update.
He's a cowboy.
He'd be lucky to get another 100 from you OP.

He's definitely having you on.
Cheeky bastard.

Tell him you've sent the pics of his work to someone you know in the building trade and they have confirmed it's absolutely not a job worth 340 quid.
Fucking cowboys🙄

I'm concerned that the batten replaced was only the size of the tile and not longer. What has he attached to? It surely must go longer on either side to reach a truss to have been nailed off.

We have a minimum charge for our work, I just used a currency converter and ours is at 58 pounds inc. tax. Rarely are we offered cash. Having said that, there are times Hubby tells people to ''see how it goes'' and we never hear back nor receive payment! I use his cancer as an example, did the GP fix the cancer? No, but you still had to pay to see her.... I must be getting tough.

If he has done less work, and its sounding like he has, then you are within your rights to offer less. Sounds like it would be best to get rid of him and seek a couple of quotes from other advertised and recommended tradesmen.