Price Base Rate!

[diamondtiling]

As with cornish every job should be priced on it's merits, A 1000m2 would'nt be priced £30m2 for ceramic, where as on domestic you may get that kind of money.

Depending on your tile

I completey disagree with these comments, 5 years ago I was doing L.A.Fitness, Fitness First and Total fitness clubs, the minimum was 30 per mtr, falls in shower areas were day rate, mosaics were £13 per linear mtr, each club took 2 months, The overall meterage was big but they used me because of the end finish, I reject this argument about having to pay the rent, everytime you sell yourself low then you can only ever go lower, I would rather have fewer jobs on my books if they were all money minded, there are companies out there that check up on your previous work and award their projects on the basis that it will be done properly to the BS standards, they want to hand a project over to the customer knowing that it has been carried out to the highest possible degree. I have worked in Ireland, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Scotland, Spain, I have been from Brighton to Aberdeen and that work comes from recommendation, Sell yourself on the cheap..................?????????????? Stay Cheap!!!!

 

[doug boardley]

whitebeams comments make sense to me, on a big job your profit margin is gona be bigger than on a small job, hence, a bit more flexibility in the price imo

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Lads - I think the market has changed since this thread was posted in July last year.
There are pricing guides that indicate to quantity surveyors the going rate for building works and in the domestic market the customer often gets 2/3 estimates and make their choice on factors that don't always include the price.

Timeless John.

 

[doug boardley]

the concept remains the same tho' John, One that I totally disagree with tbh

 

[obobsmith]

Lads - I think the market has changed since this thread was posted in July last year.
There are pricing guides that indicate to quantity surveyors the going rate for building works and in the domestic market the customer often gets 2/3 estimates and make their choice on factors that don't always include the price.

Timeless John.

I agree price is not always the main factor. I quoted for a job last week ( domestic ) I was honest with the lady told her I was just setting up , that I was'nt the fastest but that I would do one floor for her ( four rooms in all) and If it wasn't up to spec I would not get the rest of the floors.

Having spent time talking to her and telling her how I would approach the job, she turned round to me and told me not to undercharge that she knew the going rate, she liked me and that she thought I would more than likely be getting the job.

Start monday 27m, biggest to date chuffed/terrified, walked into a second quote 5m splashback got it, both at the rates I thought no undercutting.

:hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray:

 

[curlycan]

As I have just started I'm using the rates explained to me at they training school. I've got 1 job for a woman I work with (my part time job) floor and kitchen splash back quoted the price for both and she was well happy as she thought it was going to be more. another job I start in January quoted them and as soon as I gave them my quote they asked when could I start. Obviousley I haven't come up against people with other quotes yet and time will tell but you have to trust your pricing and stick with it because from what i've read on other pages as long as you are good then there is work out there even if it is repairing some cowboys work.

 

[Nardini]

For what it's worth, after quite a long time working for myself - in business in reality as I was employing quite a few people as well - I long ago came to the conclusion that my accountant was right (the one and only time!) when he suggested I work it all out. By that, I used the format for creating a profit & loss chart, where I wrote down every expense - van, insurance, maintenance, fuel, tyres, oil, etc and that is only the transport line! - and looked at how much chargeable time I was actually billing out - NOT what I was capable of, but what I actually did. It takes a while and you might need a bit of help to do it properly, but you get a figure that you MUST charge out as a minimum at the end of the exercise. Once I had the calculation, I then had a figure to charge out onto which I could add my profit margin to ensure I didn't lose money. It helps bring home the "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity" statement as a reality. If you are in business at all, you need to know that you can actually stay in business or you are out of work - as well as anyone else you might be employing.

 

[Stan001]

I think it is a good idea to in some way communicate between us the base line prices (especially as surveyors etc. are stating what the rate should be – even Sarah Beeny in her house build book is quoting rates for tilers)

However, the application of it will only work half the time, I think half the customers work on price (ref those reverse auction bid for business sites where gardeners suddenly become tilers and win the job), but the other half of the customers actually look to employ a tiler for tiling, a plumber for plumbing and a chippy for their wood etc. These people’s key buy-metric is quality, finish etc. and not price – they expect to pay the ‘going rate’. This is the market I believe most of us are after.

For this half of the market I think Dan’s suggestion is good. (at least as a commonly communicated baseline for us to at least work above and below).

Also speaking bluntly, ref what others have said, we are here to pay our mortgages and feed our kids and actually make a proifit. I don’t think we help ourselves driving the prices down, other trades don’t. In the middle of the recession I still have plenty of high quotes from chippies, sparkies etc. for my property side of things. I actually assumed going back a year ago that in the recession I could get labour cheaper from the trades, surprisingly this has not turned out to be true (though I notice I can get really great deals on materials now).

 

[Nardini]

I think half the customers work on price (ref those reverse auction bid for business sites where gardeners suddenly become tilers and win the job), but the other half of the customers actually look to employ a tiler for tiling, a plumber for plumbing and a chippy for their wood etc.

Couldn't agree more, Stan. I used to work in the exhibition industry - for quite a few years, back in the Joint-Working days. It was very noticeable that after the end of JW, all sorts of other trades became interested in our industry and started giving really stupid quotes for jobs. Whereas we might have quoted a job at £20k, it was common for firms of kitchen fitters (coffin-makers as we used to call them) to come in with quotes of £8 or 9k for the same sort of job - at least, that is what they would tell the punters! We stuck to our guns over prices as I knew that we would be losing money if we didn't! Although, there were certainly some that dropped their prices to "buy work" - they are the ones that went out of business, sadly. The kitchen fitters seemed happy just keeping their men in work by taking the food out of the mouths of those of us "in the trade" and vanished again when the fitted kitchen trade picked up again, leaving out punters feeling that the exhibition contractors were ripping them off - a sad tale of ignorance (the customer) and greed (kitchen fitters), in my view. Sorry - rant over now. As you were...

 

[aejrd]

I'm about to compile a list of ways I'd be making money as a tiler - and I'd be trying to not get the trowels out as often as most do.

Some of the ways that are obvious include:

1. Perhaps offering installation of electric underfloor heating - you make on the materials and the job.
2. Try to make a % on the adhesives, grout and tiles AT THE LEAST. Personally my customers didn't get a discount - they paid the list price - I made ALL the profit between that and trade - and then some (As I sold the shop the underfloor heating in most cases too)
3. Never leave the spare tiles with the customer - take them with you - label them - stick them in the garage - leave the customer with 10 cards randomly placed around the room (behind radiators and things) and tell them they're there - though give them some too - when they have problems they'll call you! Even if it's a tile replacement due to a chip - you may find going there will get you more work elsewhere in the home - or from their friends - or as the van has now been in the street on two occasions the neighbours may start to like you too
4. My list goes on - I would have a very unique (or I'd think it was) setup and I think that's key - DON'T follow the 'trend' and do your own thing.

i once got called a thief for taking 2 spare tiles away!!...most people are going to wickes and b&q for their tiles now ,so i cant make anything on supplying them, make a little on sticky...getting less per metre now than i was 5years ago..cant refuse any work because theres far too many tilers out there now!! and i KNOW that i am not alone !...lucky to get 3days graft a week .£500 is a good week now,it used to be £1300.every time i go to price a job now they say ..well i have already had one bloke round and theres a couple to come after you!! unless its off one of the plumbers i get work from!! wish i had stuck in at school!! my son is a civil engineer ,loves going to work..and makes a fortune!!!!