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AIBU?

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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:
Dotcheck · 07/03/2023 18:42

Hourly rate is reasonable.
What isn’t reasonable- why are you so stressed over what your husband will say, when he couldn’t be bothered?
If he won’t do these things, and won’t get someone in, then perhaps you could start having a go?

user143677434 · 07/03/2023 18:43

This isn’t really about the cost, or the drawers is it? Why are you so scared of your husband? Are you OK?

Anotherturnipforthebooks · 07/03/2023 18:43

So why didn't you do it?

CalistoNoSolo · 07/03/2023 18:44

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BIGB00BS · 07/03/2023 18:44

Did you know his rate before you agreed to the job? And presumably you knew it could take 3/4 hours like your husband told you? So you've got it half price.

Is your DH abusive towards you? It's not healthy to feel scared of someone's anger because you made a financial choice.

Nat6999 · 07/03/2023 18:44

Next charge £60 an item for furniture assembly.

KateAusten · 07/03/2023 18:45

Sounds like a lot of money to do a simple job

ActDottie · 07/03/2023 18:45

Seems a reasonable amount I think.

Beneficialchampion2 · 07/03/2023 18:46

£26 an hour is cheap.

Self employed, public liability, cost of tools, travel to and from. Etc etc.

The guy is probably earning around £15 an hour after expenses accounted for, about right for the job at hand.

To the PP who suggested

DuvetDownn · 07/03/2023 18:46

My local handy person charged a similar amount and my neighbour charges about £10 to £15 per hour but I always give him a bit extra for some beers as he’s so cheap.

FixTheBone · 07/03/2023 18:46

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.

Does your husband earn more than £13/hr?

If he does, then yes, it's worth it, if he genuinely didn't have time.

DismantledKing · 07/03/2023 18:46

It’s a piece of piss to put these flat packs together

Mañanarama · 07/03/2023 18:47

So what did he say when you mentioned hiring someone to do it for £26 an hour?

SuffolkUnicorn · 07/03/2023 18:48

Some people just can’t put flat packs together

op you got it done end of

scoobycute · 07/03/2023 18:49

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?

💯 agree

Walkingtheplank · 07/03/2023 18:49

It seems reasonable to me. The tradesman doesn't get paid for the hours he's not with you but travelling to you. He has to pay for transport. He has to pay for insurance in case he damages the item or anything else in your home. Realistically he probably only charges for 4 hours work per day from which he has to pay all the other expenses.

Either you or your husband could have constructed it - even done it together. You both chose not to.

redbigbananafeet · 07/03/2023 18:49

It's not about what the professional did, it's about the time they spent. You hired someone skilled for 2 hours and his rate was £26 an hour. If your husband is annoyed he should have either down the job himself or found someone himself at a cheaper hourly rate.

DismantledKing · 07/03/2023 18:50

There’s no flat pack in the world that takes 3 or 4 hours to put together

Regretsandregrets · 07/03/2023 18:50

Reasonable price. I had someone to assemble Ikea wardrobes last month and he charges £40 for the first hour and £20 per hour after that, so for 2 hours £60.
I had him for 2 full days and paid £400.

Partyandbullshit · 07/03/2023 18:51

Hang on - are people suggesting that assembling flat pack furniture is a "skilled job"? Surely not???!

EliflurtleTripanInfinite · 07/03/2023 18:52

BIGB00BS · 07/03/2023 18:44

Did you know his rate before you agreed to the job? And presumably you knew it could take 3/4 hours like your husband told you? So you've got it half price.

Is your DH abusive towards you? It's not healthy to feel scared of someone's anger because you made a financial choice.

I read that we three quarts of an hour and was wondering why it took the handyman so much longer.

If I had extra money I would have bought a non flat pack drawers. I wouldn't pay that, but then unless its a very big item of furniture I do it without any 'help'. Stbxh gets really nasty if involved in flat pack construction. Even when things were good by the end of the flat pack construction I'd be thinking longingly of divorce. The concerning bit of your post OP is not the cost but your worries over DH reaction. Does he get nasty/abusive over things like this?

BounceyB · 07/03/2023 18:54

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If a woman did everything that her lazy arse of a husband couldn't be bothered to do she would never have time to sleep.

I can appreciate why OP got someone to do it. If it had been me, I would have done it myself but then I'm single and choose all my stuff according to how easy it is to assemble.

NomadicSpirit · 07/03/2023 18:54

I assume it's the Argos Home Scandinavia 5 Drawer Chest - White and if so, 2 hours seems about the time people took to build it according to the reviews. I think your husband was underestimating quite a lot.

£26 an hour is very cheap for a handyman and I think your idea was a good one, especially as any damage while building it would have been against the handyman. So you've not been a mug at all... aside from the part where you thought your husband would have assembled it 3 months ago.

butterfliedtwo · 07/03/2023 18:58

Reasonable. Neither of you wanted to do it, so you pay someone what they want to it for you.

The issue here is not that but you seemingly worrying about your husbands anger.

Mindymomo · 07/03/2023 19:00

I don’t think that’s too bad. People forget that it was probably his job for the morning or afternoon, so along with travel, petrol and time, it’s a fair price.