Come share your extortionate quotes

[WalterWitty]

All trades are charging more than usual, totally understand that COL etc.

What I’m not loving is that if It’s me who arranges the quote and the guy thinks it’s just some woman living here they’re quoting ridiculous amounts - it’s actually starting to get amusing…this year…

Quote to connect a dishwasher (most of the plumbing work done) £350…he even laughed a little when he said it

Quote for 3.67 square mtrs of tiling (all tiles supplied by us) £450.

Obvs didn’t go with either of these guys…please tell me it’s not just me that gets this…

That dishwasher quote is slightly less than wickes charge for connecting one as part of their kitchen fitting service (£400) which I agree is extortionate. I can’t keep up with how expensive everything is at the moment.

Old Ercol chair.. 2 cushions needed replacing foam and upholstery material and some light sanding arms chair…£1000.00 - I actually laughed.

A land scape gardener wanted £15k to rip up some decking, replace it with paving and a new fence. I went elsewhere

It’s not just you OP.

I was recently quoted £260 + VAT to fit some kitchen taps. I managed to get them done for a little under £200 in the end….. but I was shocked even at that much (it took the plumber less than half an hour!).

£350 to install a dishwasher is crazy. It can’t be THAT difficult surely!

I do think that if a tradesperson doesn't actually want a job once they visit, they'll quote a ridiculous price rather than just saying they don't want the job.

What I’m not loving is that if It’s me who arranges the quote and the guy thinks it’s just some woman living here they’re quoting ridiculous amounts - it’s actually starting to get amusing…this year…

What's just as annoying is when they assume a bloke lives there and controls everything. I've had several tradesmen ask me to "check with my husband" when upping a quote, despite me arranging the quote and not mentioning my partner at all!

If I ever ask on fb for work of any kind, I always get my partner to post it, for the reason you mentioned!

I think this is definitely true. Or if they are busy and booked up then maybe that's their minimum price? It's hard to find people that are reliable and good and I think it's really difficult to find people to do small jobs.

We were getting quotes to replace our roof last year. Two came in around c£20k and one came in at £33k using exactly the same materials! Needless to say we didn’t go with the expensive one…

As PPs have said I think a lot of trades have a minimum price for a job and that explains some of the high prices quoted.

I.E. £350 to connect a free standing dishwasher, when John Lewis charge £25, or £90 if it's an integrated one - but obviously, the people JL send to do this are not skilled trades people, so it's a bit horses for courses.

Trades might be run off their feet with work and it may not be worth their while to do bitty little jobs.

Are there really no handy persons or odd job type people any more (as opposed to bona fide trades)? I thought that would be more appropriate for some of the jobs quoted here.

In the recent past I've had very small jobs done (often same day) by putting an ad on Checkatrade. This may vary by area of country but I might get an apprentice who wants to earn an easy £50 or whatever it happens to be.

It's pretty easy to install a dishwasher yourself. That tiling quote seems fair enough. it is a small job but may well end up taking two days worth of time as they can't just find another small job to fit in.

Bloody hell, about 3 years ago I paid £200 for a brand new dishwasher (not Bosch or Miele or anything but it's been fine..) for the dishwasher itself, and you're being quoted £350 to plumb one in!

Last year I paid £50 for a local appliance guy to both diagnose my faulty dishwasher and, once realised it wouldn’t be cost effective to replace, he installed the new one. Integrated too.

I thought £50 was good at the time but I didn’t realise it was THAT good!

Bloody hell! It’s only costing us £300 to have wiring run from the circuit box in the front of the house to the kitchen at the back so we can have a double oven fitted.

Just before Christmas we had wall panels fitted to the en-suite, a new sink put in and glass shower doors fitted for £200.

Thankfully DH can plumb the dishwasher in and replace the kitchen sink and taps.

Absolutely agree with @Butthatsnotmyname - lots definitely go with a ridiculous quote rather than saying they don’t want the job.
Recently got quotes for a painter and decorator for a small retail premises. 1 coat of white emulsion on half walls (above built in wall units) and over the ceiling. 3 quotes of £430, £950 and £2200 😅😅😅

I've never understood why tradespeople would price themselves out of work. If they don't want the job, why not just say they're far too busy? If I was told that, I wouldn't discount them for future work, as I'd assume they must be good at what they do, hence being in demand. If they are preferring to put me off by quoting silly amounts, I'm going to tell others to steer clear.

I can only imagine there ARE people that pay these extortionate prices and the tradespeople aren't fussed so try their luck.

I need some repairs to my conservatory. They are fairly minor but if not done it will leak and deteriorate. First guy quited £100 arranged to come and do the work then ghosted me.
Three other firms refused to even quote.
Finally got another who quoted £400. I imagine he thought I would say no but I am desperate and said yes. He hasn't been yet.....

Landscaping. Not a silly quote but just the impossible task of finding anyone. I approched 6 companies. Two politely said no they were too busy. Two didn;t reply. Two arranged to come and look and never turned up. I finally used MyBuilder and got a really decent bloke who came on the dot and quoted less than I expected. Booked in for July.

£870 to tack blackout lining to six sets of curtains.

£2k to clean and reseal stone floor.

£1895 for a survey other folks wanted £800 for.

It really is the time to shop around. I am convinced there are many out there who are betting on people getting fed up of making phone calls to find folks are unavailable, only to go with whomever can help them, even if paying through the ear.

And yeah, plumbers. Not the slightest bit interested in any small jobs.

Wanted all the washers in the house changed. Three lots didn't even turn up to quote.

$250,000 to turn existing deck into a pool area.
(Australia)

$1.3 million to extend the house from all sides and add a studio. That one is a tough job as you technically just keep the posts and rebuild the house, but still.

We paid $30,000 just for the architect and drawings. Not going ahead with renos for now. Or for a long time. Or ever lol.

Glad to hear it’s not just us then!! some of these are just shocking..

Those saying they’re quoting themselves high to get out of the job. In those two I put in the OP it wasn’t the case at all, it was genuine cases of them trying to rip off little old me, pisses me off.

Like others are saying, We also struggle so hard to even get anyone to give quotes let alone do the work…think we need to go and train in a trade as that obvs where the money is now…

£65 per sq m to tile a floor. Same person £45 in November. We can't find anyone else and will have to go with it. He knows this and can charge what he likes.

18k to rip up old patio and put a new one in!

Had it done for 6k

It took a week, and was a really easy job as we have a huge gate at the back of the house with a driveway. And electrical points for equipment.

What this thread is telling me is that a lot of the trades are pricing people out of home renovations and maintenance, and we need to get better at teaching ourselves to do these things ourselves.

After all, the internet and countless YouTube videos exist.

I wonder if it will come back to bite them in future years because people have had enough and get themselves skilled up?

I have certainly had conversations about hacking off tiles, replacing bath and sinks myself and even trying to fit a kitchen with the OH that I wouldn't have dreamed of having a year ago.

Small jobs - not worth it. Would you travel all the way into your workplace, maybe book childcare, get dressed for work, maybe buy lunch out or coffee and get paid for two hours work, (or even for no work if you know the customer is getting three or four quotes so at best you've got a one in three chance of even getting the job)? Unlikely. These jobs used to go to the local chap, maybe working with a "lad" that he trained. We paid what he asked. That person has gone now. Agree we have to learn to do it ourselves - but that isn't always easy.

Leak from roof and I asked if they could patch it up, one guy said needs a new roof and it will be £2,000, another said £300 to patch. Always worth getting a couple of quotes.

The wall at the end of my garden needs replacing (someone drove into it and buggered off). I hired a skip and demolished the old wall, then I bought the materials for the new wall. But I need someone to construct the wall.

£6000 is what I’ve been quoted. To build a breeze block wall 25ft x 5ft, not supplying any materials. The builder estimated it would be two days work for him and his apprentice. So I still have no wall because there’s no way I’m paying that!