Undercutting madness!!

[Martyn Leeds]

I would have priced it at £700 and told him it would take "about" 3 days, and I would have been done by dinner on the second.

40m floor, from start to finish, setting out, cuts, grouting, polishing off, all done in 2 days, on a domestic?

 

[aytiling]

Yes, I have been doing this job for circa 35 years. I get on a job and don't even really have to think about it, and I don't stop when I start. I will arrive at 7:30-8am and within half an hour I am laying tiles, then work straight through till 6pm without so much as a drink, just the way I am. I can shift 20-30 mtrs a day of easy stuff. Have a look at the reclaimed terracotta pic on my profile. If I remember it was about 15-20 mtrs. I laid, oiled, grouted, oiled again, waxed and buffed it all in a day. There is not an instruction book in the land that would tell you to do that but when you have done the job for years you try things out, some work some don't, you make mistakes and learn how to cut time down.

 

[CJ]

Yes, I have been doing this job for circa 35 years. I get on a job and don't even really have to think about it, and I don't stop when I start. I will arrive at 7:30-8am and within half an hour I am laying tiles, then work straight through till 6pm without so much as a drink, just the way I am. I can shift 20-30 mtrs a day of easy stuff. Have a look at the reclaimed terracotta pic on my profile. If I remember it was about 15-20 mtrs. I laid, oiled, grouted, oiled again, waxed and buffed it all in a day. There is not an instruction book in the land that would tell you to do that but when you have done the job for years you try things out, some work some don't, you make mistakes and learn how to cut time down.

Why the rush.......life's too short.

 

[High Peak Tiling]

Not having a go at you at all peak but people keep on shouting about standardising the industry including prices so that people are earning a wage that reflects their skill because there are always some that will work for buttons and undercut everyone else. How many thready have we seen on here where someone has been undercut by a stupidly low price and people assume that because the price is cheap the job will be done to a lower standard and with inferior materials. I think your prices are far too cheap, if you had knocked the £56 off for them that would have been £12.5/m2 or £125 a day and that would work out to about 30k a year but by the time you have taken off your tax, fuel, tools, etc you won't be left with a lot and would probably be earning less than minimum wage.


If you're undercutting slightly to get the job then fair enough but being almost half of what everyone is charging your just going to end up doing a lot of graft for not a lot of money. I would sit down and work out how much you need to earn per day to give you a wage, cover your expenses and holiday pay etc, i would say it will be a fair bit more than you are charging at the minute. Your just ripping yourself off at the minute.

Like i said i'm not having a go at you, if what you charge is enough to cover expenses and give you a wage then more power to you, your in a good position to get a lot of jobs booked in but it is a lot easier to drop your price to get a job than to add money on when its booked in and your prices will follow you on other jobs

Hi there Amtek, I have structured rates which I charge now which seem to bring me in work and a decent wage.
just got save for the insurance next year!

 

[thompsonbrown]

Can't believe they tried to knock you down £56 then told you about the other quotes

 

[High Peak Tiling]

The second job they asked me to was 24m2 bigger than the first, and they wanted it for same price as the other!