How low can it get?

[aytiling]

I priced up a job a couple weeks ago, 900 Sq. Mtrs total. Floors circa 700 mtrs wood strip effect porcelain, walls mixed with mosaic feature wall in hall, slate feature in kitchen and assorted large (1 Mtr+ length) tiles to 3 bathrooms. To keep it simple as he didn't have a real clue what he was having except for the floor I said £16 a mtr. Sq. labour only for the whole lot as it was around the corner near enough and would have kept me out of trouble for a while. Gave him my reference contact at Fired Earth, shown photos, talked about what he wanted in terms of time scale etc, etc, could start when he wanted. Told him he only had to pay me after each week when we would both go round and measure up.
Got a phone call from him this week saying he had a price of £80 a day daywork from someone and if I could go to about £10 PSM I could have the job. Told him to keep my number for when he has to have the job sorted out.
This guy was a dentist, have you ever worked for a dentist, if he had told me what he did to start with I would have gone in at £22, these guys have a keen eye.

 

[Andy Allen]

could end up costing him more if the other tiler takes twice as long and drags his heels. at least with your price he new what it was going to cost, cheap *** customers, don't you just love them..

 

[Diggy]

Never buy work.

Let him get on with it.

Diggy

 

[Time's Ran Out]

That's a big job not to get!
Labour only and close to home.
Hope you have plenty other work lined up. Other work that came in could have been priced well knowing you had this to get on with.
Imho we should always be flexible with meterage rates when quantities are attractive.
When I employed that's the type of job I'd get to keep the lads interested (bonus time) as they'd be doing 40 metres a day each.

 

[aytiling]

That's a big job not to get!
Labour only and close to home.
Hope you have plenty other work lined up. Other work that came in could have been priced well knowing you had this to get on with.
Imho we should always be flexible with meterage rates when quantities are attractive.
When I employed that's the type of job I'd get to keep the lads interested (bonus time) as they'd be doing 40 metres a day each.

To be honest I did consider it, but the unknown of the bathrooms and other feature walls (the mosaic would have been near 25 mtrs, the slate feature wall bout the same). Also he kept going on how he would be on site every day to keep an eye on things just lead me to walk away.
No I don't have plenty lined up, I am sort of semi-retired (made my money when the going was good and saved) and only do the jobs I want to and pay well. I could have made money at £16 and felt as though I wasn't being shafted. But doing it at £10 it wouldn't have taken much to make me feel as though I wished I hadn't bothered, and I am too old to be feeling like that about work.

 

[Lincoln-tiler]

I priced a job the other day via email. Charged £150.00 including materials for 2.7m2 porch which is 50 miles away. 100 mile round trip. Best part of the day with travelling, drying times ect ect. Customer said "I was thinking more £75.00" after materials, petrol I would walk away with £40.00 ermmmm no thanks!

 

[aytiling]

Well well, got a call last night from the guy. Am I still interested, he has had 2 tilers so far on the job. The first one was OK but was only doing 10 mtrs a day. The second lasted 3 days and just never returned. Customer was away and when he got back has had to get someone in to rip up all the work he did, about 50 mtrs.
He says that the whole floor area seems rather bouncy, it's a floating floor and he has had a board laid over that he says is guaranteed to be OK to tile straight onto. I did tell him at quoting phase that he should belt and brace with Ditra over the whole area, he wants me to come back out to discuss this further lol

 

[Alan.P]

As has been said so many times on this forum, let the bodgers go in cheap, we'll make money out of fixing their **** up's out.

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

Charge him £17 pm for messing u around lol

 

[aytiling]

Charge him £17 pm for messing u around lol

Funny enough, I charge £5 PSM to lay Ditra but will tell him it's £6.50 PSM, "discount for large area" but be prepared to go down to £6 if he balks.

 

[Colour Republic]

So the first one was too slow, he tried someone else, now he's had to swallow his pride and call you.

Try not to be too smug about it though :lol:

BTW What is ditra going to do with regards to bounce?? How are the floors constructed at the moment?

 

[aytiling]

So the first one was too slow, he tried someone else, now he's had to swallow his pride and call you.

Try not to be too smug about it though :lol:

BTW What is ditra going to do with regards to bounce?? How are the floors constructed at the moment?

When I looked first the floor was just joists with ply laid on top so you could walk around. He said that the finish would be polystyrene with 8x4 sheets of "board that you could tile straight onto" his words. I didn't see it at that stage. I am going out again to look and will post some pics. I have tiled onto some really bouncy floating floors in the past that I covered in Ditra and have been amazed at how well it deals with the flexing.

 

[widler]

i went to one the other month,2 bathrooms in a big barn,spending a fortune on everything materialistic ,but my labour price for 50m2 of tiling
" i want it all running in line,floors walls ect,i want no lips i want a top class job,im very fussy ect ect ect"
i told her £1200,her reaction
"oh my goodness thats expencive,more than the other tiler,and he only measured it at 42m2,how much for cash"
me
"that is cash "
i told her to ring me if she wnts me to do it,she aint,thank god,oh and she was a ' im a engineer you know' ;( lucky escape if you ask me

 

[John Benton]

i went to one the other month,2 bathrooms in a big barn,spending a fortune on everything materialistic ,but my labour price for 50m2 of tiling
" i want it all running in line,floors walls ect,i want no lips i want a top class job,im very fussy ect ect ect"
i told her £1200,her reaction
"oh my goodness thats expencive,more than the other tiler,and he only measured it at 42m2,how much for cash"
me
"that is cash "
i told her to ring me if she wnts me to do it,she aint,thank god,oh and she was a ' im a engineer you know' ;( lucky escape if you ask me

Amazing how they all want to spend £k's on all the materials and fancy expensive accessories but want the labour done for pennies. Why do they not realise when they want a perfect finish they have to pay for it, otherwise it ends up on the TF rogue traders thread!!!!

You wouldn't buy a Bentley and take it to a back street bodger to service it!!!

 

[widler]

Amazing how they all want to spend £k's on all the materials and fancy expensive accessories but want the labour done for pennies. Why do they not realise when they want a perfect finish they have to pay for it, otherwise it ends up on the TF rogue traders thread!!!!

You wouldn't buy a Bentley and take it to a back street bodger to service it!!!

Not only that john, she had all the doors on and painted up, when i said they will have to come off cos you can't tile over chipboard floors it will have to have cement boards down, she looked at me smuggly and said " well, you can really can't you"
I just smiled and said
"you can,but i can't"
The mood went downhill somewhat after that