£16,500 to redecorate - am I being ripped off? How much were you charged?

[themummyway]

Being quoted the following:

£2.5k for stripping old wallpaper + carpets and clear.
£7k for "complete decorating" (assuming this is painting 3 bedroom, living room, hallway + a installing flooring in said bedrooms)
£7k to plaster all rooms

Based in London. Average 3bed 1930s house. Is this reasonable? Anyone done similar? How much were you charged?

@themummyway Excellent! I'm hopeful this will all work out for you. It's such a learning experience honestly.

Bloody hell, I've been charged 400 for skimming over of all artex downstairs and 200 for replacing of all downstairs skirting board in downstairs loo, hall, living room and kitchen diner.
I do my own decorating as I'm good at it. Its a pain but i'm not spending good money on things I can do myself.
Mind you I live in Somerset.
London prices are crazy.

*GuiltyBark

Rewiring our three bedder a few years back defo under 2k.*

Not even close a 3 bed rewire is likely to range from 3.5K upwards depending on what you want, a install with smokes throughout, wired data tv and downlights is likely to be 5-6K. Smart home and you can end up in the 10K+ range

Get a few quotes for comparison.

We have always got wide ranges for everything we got done. There's a lot of factors. The biggest one seems to be who is actually going to be doing the work??

A few years back we paid about 10k for 3 bedrooms and a family bathroom to be re-plastered, suite changed, tiled , rewired etc - so completely new ( in London area ).

Back again with another question!

Has anyone ever been asked to pay a 30-50% deposit for works before starting? Moreso if the project is a big one?

I've heard of 10-20% but one potential vendor has asked for 45%, while the other has said 30-50% depending on the project's size...

If "complete redecorating " includes all the woodwork, ceilings and doors all perfectly prepped and finished with 2 or 3 coats - and assuming it's in a horrible state to start with and you end up with a flawless, gorgeous finish throughout - I would probably pay £7k

People are struggling and therefore need money to get started.

Just make sure you have an amazing contract - there is a RIBA one I think you can ask your architects to advise on how to protect yourself.

We always used this and very worth it

www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/riba-domestic-building-contract#

Do you look like you can afford that as I think quotes can be dependent on what tradesmen think you can afford.

My sister has fancy very good job and pays a fortune for work done, I don't earn much and don't.

@morriseysquif

Do you look like you can afford that as I think quotes can be dependent on what tradesmen think you can afford.

My sister has fancy very good job and pays a fortune for work done, I don't earn much and don't.

I definitely don't look it but my job isn't going to be cheap and my second fix choices aren't, so I'm guessing he's trying to get what he can...

Regardless, it seems like a red flag to me. It's ironic because he told me that he goes with his gut and to never ignore that and my gut is telling me to run in this case..

You're not still talking about the first guy are you op?

@Horehound

You're not still talking about the first guy are you op?

No, he was ditched - no chance of a comeback after the guidance of the lovely ladies on here + a male relative who had a look through the quote x

Phew!

The only thing that sounds ok is the boiler.

Everything else is a rip off.

Just read all your updates.

So glad you didn't go with the rip off guy.

I personally haven't ever paid 50% upfront.

We had our entire bathroom pulled out, tiled and redone. He didn't ask for a penny until he was about 50% done.

Ladies, what do you think of the below quote for Howdens kitchen?
We have not chosen the kitchen yet, just told the guy we want Howdens for convenience: the depot is 5 minutes from our house.

"Kitchen works
1 Strip out existing kitchen, supply and install new kitchen with worktop, Price £12,500.00
( kitchen and worktop finish to be agreed with client)
1st and 2nd fix plumbing to kitchen, installation of tiles to splashback.
Price excludes electrical work, the supply of wall tiles, tile adhesive & grout."

Not sure how one can quote a price including kitchen units if they have not been chosen yet?

Also the below seems to be too much for a small 2-bedroom house with total area of 60 sq meters^

"Decoration works
3 Decoration works to property throughout, walls to be painted in magnolia Price £6,000.00
emolsion, woodwork to be painted white satin or eggshell finish.
Price based on property being cleared of all furniture by client."

Another guy quoted £1000 only for decoration of the whole house. How the spread can be so big?

We are in SW London.

@Lily7050 How large a job is your kitchen. £12.5k seems a lot if it's not large. What worktops are you going for, and does the cost include all appliances?

The decorating cost is extortionate imo.

@themummyway Deffo do not pay a huge deposit upfront. Payment should be made in stages. The only payment made in advance should cover cost of materials needed to begin the work

p.s. I've only just paid my carpenter who has been working on my property for 3 weeks now. He has a few small jobs to do in a week's time, and he'll bill me separately for that. He didn't want anything upfront.

My electrician recently asked for a partial payment, but again, this is for work he has carried out over the last 3 weeks, of which 90% is now complete. He will bill me for the rest once all is complete.

I had a decorator in yesterday who was filling in my walls in the kitchen, living room and hallway, as a result of new radiators being installed and lots of electrical tracing. He charged a day rate of £120 and will probably work two days. I paid him yesterday for the first day and he will return tomorrow to sand down the walls and do a day of painting, at the same rate.

@themummyway

I have always been ASTONISHED on mumsnet about how cheap posters apparently get things done

And sometimes when you dig deeper, the cheap de orating doesn’t include the woodwork or posters have done the (time consuming ) prep

I think the £7k for decorating a 3 bedroom house, with floors and materials, is decent

I too live in a 3 bedroom house in (south) easy London!

@Lily - you are paying for the name by a corporate, guarantee and convenience

@Smallgoon our kitchen is approx 6 square meters

Your costs include hardwood flooring for 3 rooms in the £7k though.

@themummyway

OK so full quote:

Total is c. £70k sans kitchen.
Context: house is old 1930s. Not much has been done in over 40 years.

£2.5k for stripping old wallpaper + carpets and clear.
£7k for "complete decorating" (assuming this is painting 3 bedroom, living room, hallway + a installing flooring in said bedrooms)
£7k to plaster all room
£6.5k rewire house (inc. new meter box)
£6.5k new combi boiler and plumbing (replace hot water cylinder)
£15.5k clear old kitchen, fit new. new roof, re
move wall, install rsj
£4k kitchen worktop
£4k new window in kitchen + bifold door
£3.5k new lights in lounge, remove back boiler, new flooring, new lights, remove french doors
£4.5k downstairs loo - tiling walls, floor, install new fan, new sink, loo, shower (+ clear existing)
£6.5k upstairs loo - new bath, toilet, sink, flooring, walls (+clear existing)
£3k new bedroom doors + fit

With new boiler, £2.5-3k max Window and bifold door probably about right the loos - far too much money Kitchen works, about right if kitchen units are cheaper ones New doors! £3k! Far too much!

HTH

I'm going against the grain here but I don't think it sounds over the top for the whole job. Its sounds like a complete renovation including building work and an RSJ being installed, new roof, re-wiring and new heating plus fitting cupboards, bathroom, kitchen, new wood floors and plastering and decoration. That's a huge job.

I'm sure you could get individual elements cheaper but I think there is a huge benefit to having the builder coordinate all the trades and assure quality. I'd just want to see other houses he's worked on to check that he does do quality work.

I've done a complete reno on admittedly a larger house without a new roof and it cost a lot more - doing it piecemeal as we didn't have the budget at the outset.