Builders charging more after quote agreed!!!


No I saw that all right.

It is easy to edit posts up to I think it is 24 or 48 hours after they have been written.

Posts don't have bad moods.
 
Thanks again for all of your views, sorry if I have caused some arguments but it is interesting to get everyones point of view. It actually gets worse.... today they told me that they need to charge even more as we misunderstood their quote. I am going to have a word tomorrow, offer what I feel is fair and if they want payment there and then or wont accept the offer then I will find someone else.. We have paid them half the money already and only half the work is done.
 
yvonkey, I, and probably most of the tradespeople out here would love to know how these guys can justify charging you more by saying you misunderstood their quote.

If they have done half the work and have half the money I would be rid of these guys.
 
We were given a quote for 3 things that needed to be done. We agreed on two of the things and told them what we wanted. The first job was to remove existing Bathroom, put in new bathroom was and the other job was to remove existing wardrobes (this meant removing a bit of a stud wall as we wanted to combine wardrobes in two rooms). They have told us that the amount quoted for the second job was for a different room??? Sure they knew as soon as they came the first day what room we were talking about!!!

Then for the bathroom they said that when they removed the tiles some of the plaster came away and so they need to charge us an extra two days for this.... (we thought that we were paying a fixed price and not by day). Basically for the work that they are carring out they are now wanting to charge..... wait for it...... no kidding here...... an extra €1,300!!!!!

They only sent us an email this evening asking for this.

I now have another question.... they have been here now for nearly two weeks and we have been without our bathroom all that time. So far they have removed the tiles, half retiled the bathroom, put in the bath, removed the wardrobes and plastered. Everyday when I go up after they have finished I hope to have my toilet or sink but really very little has been done. Out of curiosity.... how long does it take to strip a bathroom (floor and wall tiles) retile and put in new bathroom suite???

I am properly raging now at this stage... i dont even have a business number for these guys so I sort of know I am being had.... Can all you lovely builders (tradesmen) out there please send a quote for what you think is fair.... It would just be good to have a guideline... or indeed take you on to finish the job
 
I'm not a tradesman, but if I was given this schedule, I'd think it was reasonable:

Strip existing bathroom - 1 day
Make good walls and retile - 2 days
Replumb bathroom fittings - 1 day

Let's say another day for contingencies, ordering the skip, going down the shops for the Daily Star, etc. and we'll call it a week.
 
That is mental... Thanks for that extopia.... 2 weeks and still no toilet, only half tiled, no sink and we just got our shower back today!!

We ordered our own skip, supplied everything... tiles, grouting, suite everything... oh and the wardrobes are flat packs form Ikea, still sitting gathering lots of dust in the sitting room.... feel so so foolish now... grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
 


Not far off the mark there..
 
Extopia's week is reasonable.

BTW how many guys are involved in this project? Seems like they have nowhere else to be during the day & are filling time.
 
Two guys, there should have been three but the guy who was our initial contact has gone "AWOL" their words... not mine!!! They are here now today and I am trying to pluck up the courage to confront them.... can someone please tell me how much is should cost to... removed tiles and bathroom, replace tiles and bathroom. remove wardrobes (meaning a part of stud wall) replace stud wall in other room (just moved back) remove ensuite (sink and shower) and put up Ikea wardrobes in their place. Just a rough guess would be great... our bathroom is quite small. PM's would even be great... just something to go on pleeeeease!!
 
Sorry S.L.F, they weren't recommended, we met the guy who was meant to be here and he told us he had worked in the trade for years... we have no references :O(
 
Yvonkey, it would be very hard for anyone to give you even a reasonably accurate quote without seeing the job but Extopia's week would seem reasonable if it was straightforward. If you think that they are taking the proverbial and, judging by your posts they do seem to be, get an opinion from a proper tradesman as to what the work done so far is worth, pay them that and get rid of them.
 
I don't know if this is any help but when I got a small bathroom replastered (and by the way it is impossible to strip a bathroom of tiles without taking some of the plaster off - and I stripped it as gently as I could), it was finished in two days. I can't remember exact cost as it was several years ago, but don't think it was too much (plus he kindly threw in a new window sill in his price, which I hadn't asked for).

I got my floor retiled in a different bathroom last year - tiler had to remove old tiles, toilet and handbasin and refloor underneath before laying new tiles. It was all done and grouted when I got home that night! cost was €800.

OP, I think your guys are definitely dragging it out, especially if they now say they are charging by the day. I always insist on paying for the job itself and not the time taken. I don't think you should pay them a penny more.
 
the bathroom makeover, on a swap old for new ware basis, max €2000, time generally 4 days, rarely the 5, definitely would not leave a client without a toilet, the wardrobe affair while not really my field, around €300, also assuming you are using reasonably standard tiles
 
Thanks again for the replies, they left on Friday and all of their equiptment is in the house. I did confront them and told them that as we were not made aware of the additional cost that we could not budget for it and couldn't afford it. One of the guys got really angry with me and to be honest I am a little scared now at this stage. I told them not to come back until I get someone to have a look at the work completed to date to give a fair evaluation. Now could someone recommend someone to pop out and give an estimate on work done and work to be done with a view to finishing off the work?? Any help at this stage would be great as I really want to get my house back!!
 
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