Labour Cost for Fence Works etc

Hi all

One of my not-too-DIY posts - sorry. I am about to invite quotes for the erection of a fence to 2 sides of my back garden. As the site is quite exposed I intend to specify conrete posts. Q1 - what height of post would be recommended (ie how much post in the ground)? - The fence will be 1800 high panels on top of 150 high gravel board. Q2 - what sort of labour cost would be expected? - There will be 12 panels in all and one gate to be fitted (14 posts total).

Thanks in anticipation

Phil

Reply to
TheScullster
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At least a third of the post in the ground.

Labour depends on removal of old fences/obstacles, ground conditions, vegetation, accessibility etc - but very roughly 3 days.

Reply to
dom

----- Original Message ----- From: "TheScullster" Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 4:45 PM Subject: Labour Cost for Fence Works etc

I can lend you a cement mixer and a spade:) Fence posts are a pice of piss unless you have a glass back.

I am about to invite quotes for the erection of a fence to 2 sides of my

You need at least a quarter of the post in the gound . I will look later for you but there is a recommended size requirement for the width of the concrete base as well.

I managed to erect 7 posts (properly aligned and set in 2 feet deep) on a steep garden and built my own fence panels with the help of a friend in 2 man hour days. We staged it over a weekend to let the posts set. Or was that because we went to the pub on the Saturday afternoon?

I would expect a pro to do yours in 2 days max on his own. £200 a day is very reasonable for a self employed guy to dig holes.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadworth

8 foot high would be fine, but if you are really worried, then I'd put 9 feet posts in.

To supply and fit, I'd charge £90 per panel (for feather edge board panels, £10 cheaper for cheaper lapped panels), plus £70 for a gate. £1150 all in. For labour only, that'd be taking the old down,digging the holes, then putting the new up, probably 2 days work, £250. Personally, I'd rather do such jobs as labour only, as it takes another day ordering/collecting,and getting rid of the waste, as well as tying up over £500 in cash to pay for the materials. Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

Put me down as glass backed wimp: I found a conventional 2.5m intermediate post weighed around 80kg which I concluded was a bit much. If the OP has not used them before worth checking before ordering or having strong mate(s) to hand?

(The "Supreme lite" posts I used were easy-peasy - but I may yet live to regret them if they crack/rust/whatever quickly.)

Reply to
neverwas

As discussed in previous threads, you are too cheap. You are also supposed to have a mark up on your parts and materials to allow you to order and collect them. Think bigger. It is a supply and demand world (at least the UK is) so unless you are not in demand put your prices up. £125 a day is not a real day. You have to have days off, go on holiday, pay for tools, transport, advertising, tax, insurance. Your daily rate has to pay for these things on your days off.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadworth

I reckon thats under estimated. Fencing is a 2 man job IME. I reckon 2 blokes x 2 days is more realistic for 14 posts.

I'd go in at £220 a day, but only because I have a mate who only wants £60 a day.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

I forgot to tell my mate that helped me about the trench across my garden for the new water supply. It was covered over by the grass I had not cut. He fell straight down it whilst carrying a 7 foot post. I have it somewhere on my CCTV records.

Concrete fence posts are much easier fitted with two people.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadworth

I am only £40 out on my estimate then.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadworth

The guy who did mine and the neighbours either side 4 years ago, (all fences are concrete posts 1' gravel boards and 5' high 6' long Heavy Duty weatherboard(?) panels) told me as a rule of thumb he worked on £50 a panel installed and the old stuff removed, then again he had a big wood burning stove/heater in his workshop so was glad of the scrap. I am in West Yorkshire if that helps.

Chheers

John

Reply to
John

TheScullster used his keyboard to write :

2 to 3 foot into the ground. The gravel board is a good idea - helps stop the panels rotting too soon. If the site is very exposed, it might be worth looking at some measure to prevent the panels being blown out by the wind - extra battens plus some wire around post and through panels.
Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Well, yes, i know that, but actually getting the work is not quite as easy as people think. I've had a reasonable past 2 months, as I'm starting to get repeat customers, but it is difficult getting work at all times, and if I started asking for £200 a day, then I'd get no work.

I put an ad in the local paper, and got around 25 phone calls that weekend. It made me feel really busy. But, a week later, it dawned on me that I had got no work whatsoever out of the ad.

1 bloke asked if I could do block paving. I told him no, as it was a bit too specialised. He insisted that I go to have a look, so I went round, said, OK, I'll do it, (it was a small section in a garden, around 5m x 1m with a curve at one end). It'll take 2 days (though I expected it to take only around 10 hours), so I said £160 labour only. The bloke thought I was joking, he said I could do it for £50 the next day if I wanted. I declined. I charge a fixed rate of £30 to fit a new internal door. A woman wanted 5 new doors putting on. OK, as they are all in one place, I'd do it for £100. She again thought I was taking the piss, and tried to bargain me down to £75.

To show what I'm up against, a Pikey came up to me when I was cutting down some conifers (I started off doing a bit of gardening, but dont do it any more apart from existing customers who ask). He said he'd cut all the trees down, and take away the waste for £60. I was charging £200, which included £100 to hire a skip. If my customer had heard him, I'm sure I'd have got the boot, and pikey man would have been there with his flat bed, chopping them down, then fly tipping. So, yes, I know I should be charging more, but getting it is more difficult. Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

That'd be close to material cost price now. Cheapest panels are £18, posts £10, gravel board £10, cement £1, ballast £1.50. Better quality panels are £7 - £10 more. I'm cheap, but couldnt even get near £50 per panel. I start at £65 a panel for an all wood fence with the cheapest panels.I'm not a fan of the concrete posts, mainly as they are so ugly, but they are also not as long lived as people think, the wooden posts in my garden are 15+ years old and are still very solid, but younger concrete posts in the neighourhood are started to chip/crack/break, with occasional rust spots showing through from the rebar. Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

You failed, A No should mean a NO. Be stronger.

Tell her to piss off (in a polite manner).

The best tool to under cut a Pikey is a scythe.

Stick with it mate. You will get there if you want to.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadworth

Whereabouts are you? Around here (London E5) the going rate would be much higher; and the quality of your English would allow you to command a premium from a minority of the residents. And that's before even thinking about going over the borders into Islington, the City etc.

Indeed, looking ahead to when/if I get the spare bedroom sorted, what'd be your daily rate for London (with free bed/meals/beer/wine/jasmine tea/whatever included) to help do a bathroom, garden shed, dry lining, kitchen, ...................?

Reply to
neverwas

Wise words from Adam.

There is certainly an upper limit on what you can charge, but I remain busy at my prices (check the web site) and some consider me too cheap.

Its not as simple as that. The occassional ad in the local rag won't keep you busy. You need to generate enough enquiries to be selective in what you take on.

You have to consider how your customers are seeing you. How you present your 'brand'. They obviously see you as a cheap odd job man - not as a professional handyman. Thats why they are surprised at your prices.

You will always lose some work to people who undercut you. Many customers are willing to pay a reasonable rate to avoid pikeys & cheap jobs. You need to direct your marketing towards them.

Where abouts in the UK are you? ISTR Leicester?

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Think about this Alan. You recently spent £400 on a Festool drill driver when you could have bought a Challenge Extreeme from Argos for £30.

A small proportion of the members of this group would consider the Festool good value. I suspect the majority would consider it too expensive.

A large proportion would consider the Challege Extreeme too cheap to be any good, a minority would think it adequate for their needs.

Many would consider Bosch Blue, Makita & DeWalt a good balance between price & quality. Some would think Ryobi or Green Bosch a better match for their needs.

You are getting Challenge Extreeme customers & quoting Makita prices.

Its all about 'positioning'. Andy Hall seems to know a thing or two about this and may be along shortly - he can probably explain it better that I.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Thanks to all. As I am looking at fancy panels and want long posts, I'll budget on £1500 total. Should have pointed out that the fence is to replace a line of unruly conifers, so these will have been removed prior.

Phil

Reply to
TheScullster

Sorry, a bit too far for me - I'm in Leicester. And if I advertised on here, it could upset the 'locals'! Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

The Festool drill is worth every penny IMO. It really is good.

Yes, I know. I'm working on my new advert in the next few days, I think I'll be targetting bathrooms and kitchens, both of which I am good at, and I like doing them. The trouble with being a 'handyman', is that people expect you to be cheap, (well, thats what I've found). Saying you are a kitchen fitter immediately makes you stand out a little, but obviously narrows the market. I dont really advertise, but will be making an effort over the next weeks, as, TBH, I'm probably below minimum wage now, but, on the up side, I have a lot of good kit that I didnt have 6 months ago, so can tackle jobs that I couldnt do then. All of my profit goes back into new kit etc, I do expect to see some profit back in future years, but at the moment, it is a struggle. Ta Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

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