I'm laying some easy-clic laminate for a friend of a friend. 2 bedrooms about 10sq metres each, plus a hallway, also about 10 sq m. The job will also include cutting and fitting the underlay boards and beading for the edges. Also disposal of old carpets and a bit of architrave work and also fitting 2 new doors. Will probably take about 2 days.
I reckon £250 all in. Does this sound about right, too much, or too little.
Cheers
Jon
If you're doing the work for a friend 250GBP sounds too much for 2 days - but I reckon it'll take you 3 or 4 days! ;-)
Hmmm, well if you think it'll take twice as long, then surely that means twice as much, sooo £500 ;-}. Although it's for a friend of a friend, it's supposed to a "trial job" for maybe a new career as "odd-job" man. So the cost has to be realistic ;-}
Jon
I think that the day rate sounds very reasonable (perhaps too cheap, depending on region). But I would budget on more time. Laying the laminate will be quick and easy; finishing the job nicely can take a long time.
Agree - I reckon it will take much longer than 2 days, unless you do this stuff for a living.
I did a living room (15m2), bedroom (9m2) and a wiggly bendy hall...
First time I did that type of job. It took (IIRC, few years ago):
1 day to get the carpet up (glued down foam backed) and scrape the crap off the floor for the living room and pull the skirting off. 1 day for bedroom and hall.2 days so far - good deal less if you don't have manky glued down carpets.
2 days to lay the green board (easy) and the laminate in the living room including the fiddly bits.1 day for the bedroom (getting the hang of it now)
2 days for the hall - total b**tard, >50% of the boards needed profiled cuts round door frames, inside cupboards etc.Less than a day to cut and fit new skirting. 1/2 day to stain finish new skirting.
That's 8 days! But those were 7 hour days (I'm lazy), on my own pretty much. But I was aiming to do "all the trimmings" so I made the job harder than some would.
OK - I wasn't racing the clock but it will take longer than you think - there's random fiddling about trimming the doors (if needed) and suchlike.
You're beading, so save 2 days for not removing/replacing skirting.
If you don;t have manky carpets to scrape off, save most of two days.
Yeah - 4 days would be nearer the mark I reckon. The big square rooms are easy - less cuts and mostly straight.
HTH
Tim
What's your day job???
SlicK
I did actually start a business a a handyman in Feb. The jobs where I've seriously under estimated were flat pack assembly (beware of drawers) and laminate flooring.
With laminate flooring, the smaller the room, the longer per sq metre it takes because you have more cutting, but the real time consumer is cutting around stuff like pipes, door frames etc. Bathrooms are a nightmare; pipes, WC's, washbasins etc.
You also want to watch out for the type of laminate. I refuse to lay the 'glue' together type. I don't want the job. Also, some types have to be 'clicked' together with the board at a 45 degree angle to the previous one. This type is terrible in a small room, damn near impossible in a small bathroom.
I'd say that £125 a day is a little low, but that depends on where you are.
Good luck - do let us know how it went!
Wimp. Mine took me over a month :-)
Evenings and 2 weekends. They are a bugger to keep mated until cured.
Paul.
To cut a long story short, was an IT Manager, had been at the same company for over 10 years. Following a restructuring program, we were given the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy. With my wife and I considering having a second child, and me thoroughly bored in my current job, I decided to take the money and run, primarily to look after our 2 boys.
That was 3 years ago, the young-un is now nearly 3, and hence ready for pre-school nursey. Which means I now need to find a job. Don't fancy going back to the "office" enviroment.
I know, that it probably won't pay that much, but at my age I'd rather be poor and happy, than vice-versa.
Jon
Dave,
Yep, layed many a floor already, glued, easy-loc, real wood, laminate, in halls, bedrooms and bathrooms. Just that I've never charged money for it until now.
As for the price, as I'm just starting out I'd thought I'd err on the side on value, so as to get some recommendations. Then if I'm swamped with work, I can strart to gradually up the price, and cherry-pick the best jobs.
How your business coming along, making a living yet?
Jon
The message from snipped-for-privacy@technologist.com contains these words:
Fast PVA and webbing clamps. Each row will grab in perhaps ten minutes if you're lucky.
The bit I find hard with laminate floors is getting the first row straight. The wall against which you're laying it is invariably wonky or not square to the centre line of the room. Sometimes building a raft of dry-fitted boards so you've got something to work against does it.
I started from the centre of the room and worked out in both directions due to similar problem - double checked joints after getting to 3 panels deep as it should be holding its own alignment by then...
Cheers
Tim
E-mail me directly so we can talk. snipped-for-privacy@medwayhandyman.co.uk
Dave The Medway Handyman
This is click loc, so should take less time. Glued, and thick boards, and lots of angled cuts is where he'd lose time.
In any case, =A3250 for the job sounds a bit light to me. He needs to look at a more reasonable day rate, esp if it takes more than 2 days.
P=2E
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