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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

£52 to put together a chest of drawers - ripped of or reasonable?

213 replies

Fedup2311 · 07/03/2023 18:33

chest of drawers from Argos - 5 drawers. Had for 3 months, husband said will take him 3/4 hours to put together and doesn’t have time. I hired a professional to put together and he did in 2 hours and charged me £52. Is this reasonable? I feel worried as DH will be home soon and will say I’ve been a mug as the chest of drawers only cost us £85.

OP posts:
MrsMitford3 · 07/03/2023 18:35

That seems a lot to me.

I use a guy called Monster flatpack who does ikea stuff but I def think for much much less than that.

I wouldn't mention it tbh...if you spread the cost over the 3 months when he could have done it it's worth it?

Ted27 · 07/03/2023 18:35

yes very reasonable, 2 hours plus some travel time.

Its been sat there for months, job now done. I’d be happy with £52

Daftasyoulike · 07/03/2023 18:36

Depends on what your DH earns per hour I would have thought, ie, if he earns £35 per hour and it would have taken him 4 hours that would have cost him £140. On the other hand, if he only earns £10 per hour, he could have done it for £40. He didn't want to, so he paid the price the other guy wanted. On the other hand, what was to stop you doing it?

Redebs · 07/03/2023 18:37

Very reasonable.

Lockheart · 07/03/2023 18:37

Couldn't you have put them together?

Bigmirrorssmallrooms · 07/03/2023 18:37

Surely you were told the price up front?

GoodChat · 07/03/2023 18:38

I think it's a reasonable price.

I'm assuming you're physically unable to do it and DH couldn't be arsed so it's money well spent.

frazzledbutcalm · 07/03/2023 18:38

I think it’s very subjective/personal … for me that’s expensive but can understand why others view it as good value - and I also agree with their reasoning. I’m struggling to see why it took 2 hours tbh - my dh would have them done in half an hour 🤷🏻‍♀️

Original poster
Fedup2311 · 07/03/2023 18:38

The guys rate was £26 an hour. Was cheaper than the others I found such as £50 an hour and one even wanted £80 an hour! I just feel it’s so much money and DH could easily have saved us this money. I feel he’s going to get really angry when he comes home.

OP posts:
mondaytosunday · 07/03/2023 18:39

I would have put them together myself but yes that's reasonable amount for a home visit and two hours work.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 07/03/2023 18:39

Sounds fine - that's £25 per hour for someone self-employed. Take off his travel time and other costs and it's not a huge amount.

If you didn't want to pay it, why did you not do it yourself?

TheGenerousGardener · 07/03/2023 18:39

Why didn't you do it? Given the cost of the drawers, it's expensive, but not wildly overpriced for 2 hours' work.

Partyandbullshit · 07/03/2023 18:40

2 hours to put together a 5-drawer chest of drawers from Argos? That's not a professional, so 52 quid (26/hr) is a lot. That's more than a trained gardener would be paid. This job is on a par with cleaning imo, and I pay 15/hr for that.

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 07/03/2023 18:40

For two hours work for someone self employed yes reasonable but it’s not a service I would pay for. I’d begrudgingly do it myself, take 5 hours and do a shitty job of it

Bigmirrorssmallrooms · 07/03/2023 18:40

Fedup2311 · 07/03/2023 18:38

The guys rate was £26 an hour. Was cheaper than the others I found such as £50 an hour and one even wanted £80 an hour! I just feel it’s so much money and DH could easily have saved us this money. I feel he’s going to get really angry when he comes home.

I don’t really understand, are you in an abusive relationship? Is this what you’re trying to say?

HamishHero · 07/03/2023 18:40

If you are worried about the money, did you not think to do it yourself?

IHaveaSetOfVeryParticularSkills · 07/03/2023 18:40

So this is not about drawers

PacificallyRequested · 07/03/2023 18:40

The £52 was only unreasonable if you could have put them up yourself.

LookingOldTheseDays · 07/03/2023 18:40

That's a reasonable price, but putting furniture together is sufficiently straightforward that it's not something I'd ever pay for. I'm assuming you are physically unable to do it, so why should your DH be angry?

Wherewithout · 07/03/2023 18:41

That seems like loads to me - I would have just put them together myself.

SuffolkUnicorn · 07/03/2023 18:41

If he’s so angry he should have done them himself

its not expensive

countrygirl99 · 07/03/2023 18:41

If it's been sat there for 3 months he has no right to be angry.

LookingOldTheseDays · 07/03/2023 18:42

Partyandbullshit · 07/03/2023 18:40

2 hours to put together a 5-drawer chest of drawers from Argos? That's not a professional, so 52 quid (26/hr) is a lot. That's more than a trained gardener would be paid. This job is on a par with cleaning imo, and I pay 15/hr for that.

£26 for a handyman is about the going rate though. During that time he could have been on another, more skilled job.

Original poster
Fedup2311 · 07/03/2023 18:42

Yea that’s true actually. If I put together the time we’ve saved it’s worth it.

OP posts:
Flamingogirl08 · 07/03/2023 18:42

Is that how much people pay for this service? I might need DH to have this as a side job. He's a dab hand at flat-pack 🤣

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