Extension - labour only

[Milliz139]

Hi
My builder has offered to charge labour only for our kitchen extension (he's non vat registered so this keeps him under the threashole and I don't pay vat ). Does anyone know a fair price per square meter? I have no way of comparing with other quotes as they include the materials. Thanks in advance. M

I don't know about extension work but 5 years ago our builder was £300 a day.

Thx Lesley 1980. Did that include other trades i.e. Electrician and plumber or was that not needed? Also was it to cover more than one builder and if so how many-2? Sorry for all the questions but any extra info will help I'm sure. Thx

how big is is the extension, and what will your builder be doing (excavation, footings, brickwork,floor, roof, windows/doors, electrics, plastering, decorating etc)? where are you?

...for what its worth, an architect friend tells me for a small 1 story extension in London to expect around £500/day, that's for one trade and one labourer.

4 years ago I had a kitchen extension built. I am in Leeds, my builder arranged materials and I paid the builder's merchant directly.

At the end of the week the builder invoiced me for his labour, he was £120 per day, his skilled labourer was £80 per day and his unskilled labourer was £50 a day.

He too wasn't VAT registered because he kept his salary below £75k and I paid other trades people directly. When he quoted for the job it was the total cost of everything, then as each person came along ie window fitter, I paid them directly and because my builder had been doing this for 20 years his estimate quote was correct.

So overall I paid the equivalent amount the builder quoted to lots of different people and suppliers.

Mine worked out to be £1600psqm but my house is on a slope and on a full concrete pad, so instead of trench foundations (where you dig a strip out) I had to have the whole extension dug out and a new slab laid and tied in with the original house.

Luckily my extension wasn't that huge but the soil heap in my garden was over 2m tall

For info, my digger chap was £180 per day and the grabber truck chap who scoops the soil out of the garden was £200 per time.

That's very helpful all. Our extension is quite bit and involves pulling down a conservatory and old lean to. It's about 40sq m and there will be all trades needed at some point. Thx.

My builder organised all the trades and they just showed up, worked and then I paid them all individually by cheque. I have to tell you that is was sooo easy, apart from feeling like I was never alone, it was the least stressful build ever.