Composite decking - expensive quotes

[Flapjak]

Thinking of having this done for a smallish area, maybe 4m x 4m , have worked out with a mid range product materials are 1.5k ish, however i seem to be getting quoted in the range of 4-5k to supply and fit. Is it really such a long and difficult job that this is normal price or am i just getting chancers as there is a lot of demand?

We have a larger area of composite decking, and it was fitted as part of a total garden overhaul (all ground taken up, levelled, turf put down, new shed, path put in, trees and plants planted etc. that all took 3ish weeks) which all cost £11k in total. Plus we are in SW London so pricier than the rest of the country in theory.

So yes your quote sounds huge.

It was a couple of years ago we had ours done, but I’m sure the decking was only a couple of days of labour.

We had a quote of £6k for a relatively small area- it’s elevated though- like a balcony I suppose.
In the end we ditched the idea and my husband did it himself but in a different area of the garden and it cost £700 for materials. We had some composite samples and I dropped a screw driver on it and it dented quite badly (i thought it was going to be tough!) so in the end we just had the usual wood deck.

Ours was £3grand. More expensive that I thought it would be. It’s a reasonable sized area.

3k sounds more reasonablish. I am so in the wrong job. I know all these trades cant be easy and there is a lot of unpaid expenses, like quotes , insurance etc but it does seem a lot of the time they are charging 500 a day at least regardless of what the job is!! Wish i was more handy with a hammer!

How’s the access to the garden and what’s there already? Sometimes, that makes a job labour intensive and a pain but the quote sounds expensive.

11k for a garden overhaul in SW London sounds exceptionally reasonable.

Its a level garden, side access, patio / paving, so should be a straightforward job

When you've estimated the cost, have you included the base, the facia boards, steps, screws etc? I think its probably not just the labour thats expensive, it's all the extras.