Builders charging for quotes

jonnyburgo

Looking to get a toilet/shower room put into our garage, not the biggest job for a builder, so put it out on a couple of those sites a few eeks ago, findabuilder etc. Had 3 responses, one didn't show up to do the quote another had poor reviews so didn't bother with him  and then the latest one wants £50 for the quote to be deducted from the price if the job. 

What the fudge?? 

chillidoggy

It’s a pain trying to get some of them to quote. And let’s face it, you’re hardly going to just take the first one without getting other quotes.

Maybe try Checkatrade, I had a couple of decent guys via that site, and if you have a local advertising magazine, that’s another good source. Also, there’s a site called Nextdoor, which is populated but those living within the area, and you could ask for recommendations on there. 

Sassafras

If they charge for a quote, I dread to think what they charge for the work.

stratman3142

Just checking. Is the builder saying it's only payable if they get the job? 

Simonh

I guess they get a lot of people wanting quotes for stuff that then never bother to go through with the work. Good builders are hard to find, I generally go off recommendations from friends who have had work done

Teetonetal

Simonh said:

I guess they get a lot of people wanting quotes for stuff that then never bother to go through with the work. Good builders are hard to find, I generally go off recommendations from friends who have had work done

I would imagine that is a problem for the builder, but surely it's expected? I always want 3 quotes for any work done and part of the quoting process is also an opportunity to meet the builder and take a first step onto their world. 

Shoddy quotes, inaccuracy, speed of communication,  the general conversation and personality is something I want to check.

strtdv

stratman3142 said:

Just checking. Is the builder saying it's only payable if they get the job? 

Sounds like they're saying the reverse of that, it'll be deducted from your bill if you go with them.

It's a big enough job that tbh if it's an otherwise decent builder I wouldn't necessarily begrudge £50 (I don't think you'll be getting change from £15k), but probably shows the demand for small builders at the moment with all the home improvements people are spending money on when they can't go on holiday

Rowby1

There’s a lot of work out there at the mo and it’s probably a good way to get rid of time wasters. As a one man band I’m now selective about quoting, I could spend more than half my working week on quotes if I wanted...... I’d never actually have time to do paying work.

fretmeister

I don't see an issue. They still have to put a fair few hours in - working out times, materials etc.

stratman3142

strtdv said:

stratman3142 said:

Just checking. Is the builder saying it's only payable if they get the job? 

Sounds like they're saying the reverse of that, it'll be deducted from your bill if you go with them.

It's a big enough job that tbh if it's an otherwise decent builder I wouldn't necessarily begrudge £50 (I don't think you'll be getting change from £15k), but probably shows the demand for small builders at the moment with all the home improvements people are spending money on when they can't go on holiday

If it's an upfront charge I'd be a bit wary.

We had some major building work done a couple of years ago and there weren't upfront charges for the three quotes. Even though it turned out that it was costing the builders to quote as they used the services of quantity surveyors. I know it cost one of them about £450. So you need to at least be honest with the builders if you're getting other quotes.

viz

It’s a seller’s market at the moment and they’re all busy, so yes, it makes sense. In leaner times they’d almost want to pay to quote! It’s basically a deposit.

A shower in the garage would be anywhere from 3-6k I’d have thought unless you’re going for ultra swanky. 

Iamnobody

If you look on adverts a lot of tradesman still use wording like free no obligation quote. 

It can take a lot of time to price a job - I’d imagine the ones that charge are very small, enjoying being very busy at the moment and can’t really afford to lose the time it takes to quote. 

This sounds like a relatively small job though and there should be plenty out there offering free quotes. 

ICBM

It's a double benefit for the builder - puts off timewasters, and makes it more likely he'll get the job if there's more than one quote at nearly the same price.

My initial reaction was to say just don't bother with that builder since he clearly doesn't want the work, but on reflection I'd say the other way round - this is more likely to be a highly in-demand professional who knows the value of his time and doesn't want to bother with unnecessary speculative quotes when he could be doing a productive job.

Musicwolf

viz said:

It’s a seller’s market at the moment and they’re all busy, so yes, it makes sense. In leaner times they’d almost want to pay to quote!

This, combined with the fact that builders are being asked to quote for far more work than they can handle.

In the automotive component supply industry, where you have a relatively small number of big OEMs dishing out huge contracts, it has been the opposite for several years.  It was not uncommon for you to have to give discount on existing business in order to receive a request for quotation (RFQ) and then pay an upfront cash bonus upon receipt of award.  It was all 'just this side of legal'.

stratman3142

Come to think of it, maybe it does make sense that builders need to know it's a serious request, and our situation was very different. 

Now I recall, we got free estimates based on our architect's drawings submitted for planning approval. But we didn't get actual quotes until we had the fully detailed design drawings and structural calculations which were submitted for Building Regs approval. I guess that gave the builders confidence that it was a serious request.

strtdv

viz said:

It’s a seller’s market at the moment and they’re all busy, so yes, it makes sense. In leaner times they’d almost want to pay to quote! It’s basically a deposit.

A shower in the garage would be anywhere from 3-6k I’d have thought unless you’re going for ultra swanky. 

Depends what building regs apply and whether there is an external wall between your garage and the rest of the house. The shower room may need a proper external wall between it and the rest of the garage for fire safety purposes. (Had a quick look at the NI building regs there and basically any part of the structure adjacent to the garage needs a 30 minute burn time before it loses structural strength, any door opening to the garage needs a minimum 30 minute burn time and must be self closing, and the threshold must be over 100mm above garage floor height ie if you're having a door from the shower room to the garage you'll need to raise the floor height by 100mm)

Depending on what the current access to the garage is you could end up with:
-structural opening in existing wall to new shower room

-new shower room constructed with at least single solid wall but possibly full cavity wall

-new soil pipe and associated sewer if there's not an existing one nearby (you're not allowed to use an existing storm drain)
-plastering and/or tiling

-shower/cubicle/toilet/sink

-plumbing to bring hot and cold (and I'd recommend mains cold too if possible)

Just the tiling and sanitaryware will cost £2-3k, and that's assuming DIY fitting. If you're allowed just stud wall for the new walls and can use existing doorways for access, and there's an existing soil pipe nearby then the rest of the building work and getting someone to fit it all works probably be another £3k on top of that, but otherwise it could get expensive fairly quickly.

I'd recommend at least doing some sketches for building control submission, which will form the basis of your building tender/contract. If the quotes are expensive you could have a QS look at it but a basic costing will cost £150.

It is doable as a DIY project if you're handy (we put in a new downstairs wetroom including a new sewer for under £5k), but it took a while. You still need building control to sign it off, and regulations may be stricter in England than they are here in NI

russpm

It's tricky for contractors as they do have to quote for a lot of work and they know they will actually get say 1 in 5 jobs. However, that's the norm in this sector and its baked into their overheads and profit on all the work they do actually win.

I've worked in construction as a consultant for over 20 years and have seen these requests popping up lately. I would say don't bother with a contractor that wants paying for a quote as they probably don't want the job anyway. 

If it feels hard work now then when they get onsite it will be even harder. Trust me on this.
Listen to your gut feeling, if it feels wrong or hard work go elsewhere.

It's sometimes best to go with a builder that has done decent work for family or friends and you also have an 'in' with them that way. Usually the best builders don't even advertise as they just get repeat business and recommendations. That is the best route to go if you can. 

Hattigol

Did he make a charge for telling you he was going to charge you £50 for telling you how much he was going to charge you for the job?

drofluf

Hattigol said:

Did he make a charge for telling you he was going to charge you £50 for telling you how much he was going to charge you for the job?

I can answer that  but it will cost you  

Danny1969

Not a good time budget wise to have anything done as materials cost have increased about 40% for timber and other basics .... plus all builders are busy. 

In terms of paying for quotes your basically paying for someones times ... that seems reasonable to me and a written paid for quote is worth more a verbal estimate should anything go wrong during the job. 

maltingsaudio

Maybe your going to use his quote to get £50 off someone else doing the job? I can see his point, especially as using comparison websites encourages the lowest bidder.

Dont forget businesses who reply to enquiries from these comparison websites have to pay the website for your contact details.