Am I being ripped off?

[absentbf]

It is so difficult to know what is a fair price and what isn't with all the price hikes of late.

We have a 30sqm 1 bed flat in London. It is a period conversion with a big bay window and tall ceilings. Builder is charging 7k for the following:

• Supply and fit of 1 UPVC front bay window (it is a large bow bay, the house was a large Victorian semi before it got converted to flats, 1 UPVC small side window and 1UPVC medium side window. These will be casement style.

• Paint and decorate the living room and all woodwork, remove mould/damp, fit new blinds, fit laminate floor in whole room (15sqm).

• Refurbish the kitchen area (it is part of the open plan living room) by installing 6 new doors, vinyl wrap the worktop and fit a new shelf.

• Paint and decorate the hallway and all woodwork and fit laminate floor in whole area (5sqm).

• Paint and decorate the bedroom and all woodwork and fit laminate floor in whole area (5sqm).

• Refurbish the bathroom, to include painting and decorating, regrouting the wall and floor tiles, fitting new basin taps and waste, fitting new bath taps and waste, fitting new shower hose.

Does this seem reasonable

How long is all the work going to take and how many people will be working on the job?

Does the 7k include materials too?

7k seems very cheap to me.

With the bay window, replacement of all flooring and the bathroom refurbishment, that sounds reasonable for London.

That doesn’t mean I’d pay it: a lot of it is stuff you could very easily do yourself with little skill. Decorating, hanging blinds and replacing kitchen unit fronts is simple. Even switching out taps and shower is a doddle if you watch a couple of YouTube videos and real a manual.

Tradespeople doing work like this (with the exception of the window fitting and floor fitting, which does require experience to do well) know that what customers are really paying for is the convenience of not having to do it themselves. You just have to decide how much you want that convenience.

@Geneticsbunny

How long is all the work going to take and how many people will be working on the job?

Does the 7k include materials too?

7k seems very cheap to me.

Apparently 8 days with 2 people, doing 8am to 8pm.

The 7k includes some materials, but I've had to pay an extra £200 pounds for all the paints, grouting and sand machine.

Sounds cheap as chips to me. And I’m in the North.

That's a lot of work in 8 days, and not a bad price I would say.

Wow, and I was complaining to them about the price! Thanks all

Bargain! I’ve just paid £1500 to paint one room

Builders will be earning at least £200 a day (probably a lot more in London) and that is 16 person days so at least half the quote is the labour costs. Windows are a few hundred each and the bay will count as 3 windows. I think you have got a very reasonable quote.

this seems very cheap to me. my living room cost £1800 to laminate and paint and i paid £900 just to replaster some walls

The flat is very small, only 30 square metres to be fair.

Absolute bargain!

Sounds very cheap. I've just been quoted £8k to replace some decking in the garden!