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I don't price like that, got stung in the past, I work for insurance firms on day rate but they give a steady income of work.

Say you have a stair case to plaster going to take 3 days Inc ceilings, no boarding

Same staircase wants Plastering still takes 3 days but you overboard ceilings (extra 2 hours) and can charge an extra £120.00 for the extra work and rightly so.

A block price is for the job being complete (however long it takes) as long as the work doesn't change.

Done the day rate thing to death, price for what your doing not how long your there.

I'm Plastering a staircase next week, will take 2 days, charged £700, does that mean im charging £320 per day labour..... Or does it just mean im charging £700 to skim a staircase

Or should I be charging £360.00 by pinning a day rate on it, because no fooking way will be charging a little as that.

Same with wooden beading, which I take out and bond up usually inbetween trowels usually charge an extra £30-£40, I'm still there for the same amount of time but there having more work done.
 
A standard staircase walls only straight PVA and skim would be £400, I wouldn't touch 1 for less, not worth the fooking about.

the guy wanted the ceilings (landing and hallway) plastering too, so add £50.00 per ceiling

thats £500, then the customers asked for a board & skim price on his ceilings which I put down at £110.00 each (£60 to board £50 to skim each ceiling) 2 x 110 = 220

so the original £400 + £220 = £620.00

he has 5 x wooden beadings to remove and re-bond the angles, £50.00

£670.00

It takes 2 days to do the above

it also would take more or less 2 days to PVA and skim his walls only, probably finish an hour or 2 earlier.

Why the fook would I charge him the same to when the first option has a lot more labour in it, it's fookin stupid, I could drag it out for 3 days but I could also be on a different job earning more.

if he's not happy with the price, he can just have his ceilings just re-skimmed to save himself some brass, but that's up to him, if he's still not happy he can get some other clown to do it.

day rate is not for domestic customers, iv never had a problem with how I price domestics and it has kept me pretty busy over the last 4 years.

if a customer asks me what my day rate is, I say I don't have one, you get a price for the job and pay when it's done, simple, no matter how long it takes, how long I'm there.

1 guy last year tried telling me after I charged him £800 to patch fully re-skim his living room and dining room, took 3 hard days, tried saying I didn't deserve over £200.00 per day which he'd magically plucked from his arse, the fact is I don't hire myself out for the day to nobody.

its the same with any job, whether it's 10000m2 or 10m2, that's the price, pay when it's done.
 
mac_plastering said:
A standard staircase walls only straight PVA and skim would be £400, I wouldn't touch 1 for less, not worth the fooking about.

the guy wanted the ceilings (landing and hallway) plastering too, so add £50.00 per ceiling

thats £500, then the customers asked for a board & skim price on his ceilings which I put down at £110.00 each (£60 to board £50 to skim each ceiling) 2 x 110 = 220

so the original £400 + £220 = £620.00

he has 5 x wooden beadings to remove and re-bond the angles, £50.00

£670.00

It takes 2 days to do the above

it also would take more or less 2 days to PVA and skim his walls only, probably finish an hour or 2 earlier.

Why the fook would I charge him the same to when the first option has a lot more labour in it, it's fookin stupid, I could drag it out for 3 days but I could also be on a different job earning more.

if he's not happy with the price, he can just have his ceilings just re-skimmed to save himself some brass, but that's up to him, if he's still not happy he can get some other clown to do it.

day rate is not for domestic customers, iv never had a problem with how I price domestics and it has kept me pretty busy over the last 4 years.

if a customer asks me what my day rate is, I say I don't have one, you get a price for the job and pay when it's done, simple, no matter how long it takes, how long I'm there.

1 guy last year tried telling me after I charged him £800 to patch fully re-skim his living room and dining room, took 3 hard days, tried saying I didn't deserve over £200.00 per day which he'd magically plucked from his arse, the fact is I don't hire myself out for the day to nobody.

its the same with any job, whether it's 10000m2 or 10m2, that's the price, pay when it's done.
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Exactly, a man after my own heart.
 
So you've just said you struggle to get 200 a day then given an example of £200 a day and another of £320 a day. Im not saying youre wrong. But where do these figures come from. Do you have an hourly rate in mind? I just dont see how you struggle to get xx a day but charge xx for a job which works out the same?!
 
A bedroom ive just over skimmed for example. I allowed two days. Straight forward micro and skim. I allowed for 5finish 3 beads and 1 bag pf bonding. Microd all the ceiling and walls 1st day. Plus skimmed the ceiling and 1 wall. Finished about 1. Next day skimmed the other 4 walls and reveals. Finished for 2-3. Charged 2 good days plus mats and they were easy days. Thats logical to me.
 
Me, Cassie a d mac-plas live in Sheffield and no one will pay £200 a day. There are plenty of telephone numbers available andeople ring around. If they want 6 quotes they will get 6 quotes. The young ones will take a chance and go for cheap. They will learn like we all have.

For me I have my price and I am not cheap but dream on with £200 a day. So me, my other spread and lab say £550 a day x 7 days to hack off and 2 coat render a house that is £3850 just for labour then materials and scaffold, skip, kango hire? Eh?

There are idiots doing job lot up here for £3000 all in! Working of ladders, towers.

If I look at 6 jobs, 3 are dreamers they will never happen just wasting my time. Out of the other 3 I will get 1. Some already know who they want for the job they have me for a price comparison BASTARDS!!!

I pay my men nothing like what has been mentioned on here, even I dont get paid what has been mentioned on here. £150 a day with basic tools and get picked up, dropped off. £750 a week for no responsibility, no doing quotes, invoices, no looking at jobs at nights and weekends. I will be overjoyed just doing a weeks work 40 lhr max for £750 a week. That kind of money I will be in S11 and be running a jag. Bugger working for myself. Mugs game.

Like Cassie, I have earned, saved and invested in property to let. Money for nowt. Read The Richest Man in Babylon to get you on the right mental track. Audio book is better. The money will never be right, never known it be right, always need more.
 
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You'd struggle to get £200 per day from any builders, joiners or small building companies, you'd also struggle to get £200.00 per day if you walked in a customers house and told them you charge £200.00 per day.

but I don't work on "per day" I work on "per job"

Why pin a daily rate on a job that varies day to day?

Granted, I'll happily do it for the insurance firms that pass me work regularly, but even with their external work I visit the job and give them a quote on any rendering because it donkey work and I made it clear that the day rate they have is for plastering, boarding and coving only.

any builders or maintenance companies that approach me get told I will price the work for the lot to be paid on completion, then if they continue to pass me work and I trust there judgement on works, I will happily arrange a day rate + mileage pay structure, I tell them this.
 
I dont tell the customer I charge x a day but thats how I work out a price. They get given a price and that's that. What i dont grasp is how you come up with your figures? Again not saying its wrong cus its clearly working for you
 
beddy said:
A bedroom ive just over skimmed for example. I allowed two days. Straight forward micro and skim. I allowed for 5finish 3 beads and 1 bag pf bonding. Microd all the ceiling and walls 1st day. Plus skimmed the ceiling and 1 wall. Finished about 1. Next day skimmed the other 4 walls and reveals. Finished for 2-3. Charged 2 good days plus mats and they were easy days. Thats logical to me.
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5 bags of finish over 2 days. You hung that one out didn't ya :RpS_biggrin:
 
I rarely work on day rate unless it's the odd day for one of the builders I work for.i price the same as Mac-plastering,go in look at the job and price it.some ask how long it will take some don't ask.i supply mats on nearly all the jobs I'm involved in.if I do work on a hourly I make off my blokes so always cover costs that way.
 
I'm not saying you are wrong either, if your happy with that and it's working for you, but day rate on domestics didn't for me, the only way I can describe it is possibly that I look at area and effort and not time (probably going back to my site pm2 days)
 
TAn old plasterer told me the only way to make decent money is to have men working for you,you can't do it all on your own you have bullshitters on here saying they wouldn't work for less than 150 aday,but I bet they wouldn't pay that to another plasterer who was working for them and if I was earning around agrand a week wouldn't shout me mouth off
 
One thing that really pisses me off is when builders other trades tell you your are to expensive...I charge myself out at £160 to plumbers, electricians builders and they have said to me before I'm not paying that...one even told me plasterers aren't worth that, another said plasterers shouldn't be getting that kind of money...my response is what is your day rate then...they are the same or higher...why the f**k should other trades thing they should earn more than a spread? do they work harder?
 
bobspread said:
TAn old plasterer told me the only way to make decent money is to have men working for you,you can't do it all on your own you have bullshitters on here saying they wouldn't work for less than 150 aday,but I bet they wouldn't pay that to another plasterer who was working for them and if I was earning around agrand a week wouldn't shout me mouth off
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Whose earning a grand a week?
 
I've fell out with too many builders because of that,done an extension for one,the lady wanted the rest of the house replastering,the builder said put £500 on your price for me
 
bobspread said:
TAn old plasterer told me the only way to make decent money is to have men working for you,you can't do it all on your own you have bullshitters on here saying they wouldn't work for less than 150 aday,but I bet they wouldn't pay that to another plasterer who was working for them and if I was earning around agrand a week wouldn't shout me mouth off
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I've had blokes help me in the past, and a lad off here also to push jobs on, and if their rate is as above then that's what I pay them everytime, visa versa if I was to give them a chuck id expect my rate else id turn the work away.
 
Hicky said:
I've had blokes help me in the past, and a lad off here also to push jobs on, and if their rate is as above then that's what I pay them everytime, visa versa if I was to give them a chuck id expect my rate else id turn the work away.
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I do exactly the same but you and I don't go shouting your mouth off on here
 
I don't work for other plasterers, nor builders do a bit for a couple of good joiners, insurance work and the majority are private.

different strokes for different folks
 
Plasterers graft, it is hard laborious work but we will never get the money or respect plumbers have.

I am going to upset a few here but dont get too upset us on here are different to those down in the pub at the mo. Plumbers are inteligent and smart. There job is technical and not a job for any non acheiving school leaver. Now I have never met a plasterer with A levels. Most trainees who have the right mental attitude soon pack this mucky job in, they are off! It is the ordinary lad of the local Council estate what sticks it out sometimes.

Plumbers do not undercut each other or fear competition. How they have guts to ask for x£ I do t know. But you can bet if they dont get it the next man will.

Now us spreads might have pride but we dot not respect each other rather the opposite. You only have to listen to some on here to see what I mean. I am out of the plastering game have been for 26 years and do not regret it. Builders loathed me if I employed, if I was charging £2.50m2 and paying £2.20m2 I was a *******. If the plasterers getting £2.20m2 found out I was making 30p m2 profit I was a *******. The hate what plasterers had for each other got the better of me and at 30pm2 profit I was never going to become a millionaire.

It is part of the job that we look scruffy and cant be helped but when you get a joiner tell you that plasterers always look unkept, tatty vans, cars etc and we always look poor is it any wonder we look like we should be cheaper than those in smart sign written vans, combed hair and shaven face, with clean cargo trousers and a polo shirt with his logo on it.

But you know what they say, you should never judge a book by its cover.

Sorry if I have offended anyone but I have spoken from the view of the 'other trades' on how they see us.
 
100% true @ rigsby.

Quite uncannily I went to a school reunion around 5yrs ago. I used to knock about in a gang of 5 and truth be known we were all your classic school dropouts etc.

Anyway not seen any of these guys for over 20yrs etc and I kid you not 4 out of 5 of us had become plasterers!

Also we had all taken the same route e hadn't gone through an apprentice but had all had various shitty jobs from 15-20's including labouring for other older mates who were spreads and slowly come through the ranks so to speak.

This is only possible really with plastering & painting of all the building site trades as eventually you need to go to college etc for electric/plumbing/joiners/bricklaying etc.

Then the cycle just continues the next generation of naughty school leavers bumble about then became cash in hand labourers to spread and climb the ladder!

The biggest difference now though is that when I started late 90's plastering was paid as well as other trades and in some cases better and it was great for a school drop out to get stuck in and then finaly catch up in earnings with the brighter school leavers etc

Now its just bloody hard work for little reward.

Theres always a younger,thicker lad ready to earn just enough for what he needs this week not for what he needs to charge for a lifetime in the trade!
 
I agree with you rigsby, but it doesn't have to be like that regarding how you plasterers present themselves.

I win a lot of my work not because I'm the cheapest, because I'm not, but because I put the effort in, I put a clean polo on with company logo, I don't use my van to price work up, very rarely I price jobs on my way home from work because I look a scruffy ****, take a lot of care in how I present myself to customers.

you do get the Jack the lads, who (thankfuck) I don't have to work near anymore, talking bollox, I can do this I can do that, I had one with me, thick as fook, I asked him if he could rule render, he said yes and 10m of mono ended on floor mixed with mud, his excuse, the straight edge wasn't right, he just didn't have the balls to admit it and let me show him.

its not just about turning up and chucking $hit on wall, gobbing off and acting a c**t anymore.
 
This trade is hard work, but working smart and clever, you can still earn decent money, not ever day or every week, but you can.
 
FreeD said:
One thing that really pisses me off is when builders other trades tell you your are to expensive...I charge myself out at £160 to plumbers, electricians builders and they have said to me before I'm not paying that...one even told me plasterers aren't worth that, another said plasterers shouldn't be getting that kind of money...my response is what is your day rate then...they are the same or higher...why the f**k should other trades thing they should earn more than a spread? do they work harder?
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Generally is say they work less, but because they have to do courses etc frequently in some trades they have to cover that. I'm not saying they are worth it as half the time the joiner/plumber/sparky leave work looking **** as WE cover it up for them and it saves them time. Time = money as we all know. Plus other trades can 'float' to 2-3 jobs or more a day, earning whatever they choose to charge whereas we can't do that, I'd probably say 2 jobs a day max to split in to half days, but there's no money in that in domestics.
If I were to charge £200 a day I'd be sat at home hungry with my kids. Speaking to a builder I work for quite regular who's a decent bloke last week, I asked where I ranked in the price market, and he said middle of the road. I won't say what I charge a day but it's a lot less than £200 a day!!
Sometimes I get well paid for certain jobs, ones that go smoothly and get away at a good time. Sometimes I don't. It's that simple. I'd never say 'I won't get out of bed for that' as I need work if I don't have it, but I certainly wouldn't be putting the same effort in for less than what I get.
 
Well I'm really depressed now!
And the plumbers I normally work with are more scruffy than us spreads covered in mastic and shite.
 
Rigsby said:
Plasterers graft, it is hard laborious work but we will never get the money or respect plumbers have.

I am going to upset a few here but dont get too upset us on here are different to those down in the pub at the mo. Plumbers are inteligent and smart. There job is technical and not a job for any non acheiving school leaver. Now I have never met a plasterer with A levels. Most trainees who have the right mental attitude soon pack this mucky job in, they are off! It is the ordinary lad of the local Council estate what sticks it out sometimes.

Plumbers do not undercut each other or fear competition. How they have guts to ask for x£ I do t know. But you can bet if they dont get it the next man will.

Now us spreads might have pride but we dot not respect each other rather the opposite. You only have to listen to some on here to see what I mean. I am out of the plastering game have been for 26 years and do not regret it. Builders loathed me if I employed, if I was charging £2.50m2 and paying £2.20m2 I was a *******. If the plasterers getting £2.20m2 found out I was making 30p m2 profit I was a *******. The hate what plasterers had for each other got the better of me and at 30pm2 profit I was never going to become a millionaire.

It is part of the job that we look scruffy and cant be helped but when you get a joiner tell you that plasterers always look unkept, tatty vans, cars etc and we always look poor is it any wonder we look like we should be cheaper than those in smart sign written vans, combed hair and shaven face, with clean cargo trousers and a polo shirt with his logo on it.

But you know what they say, you should never judge a book by its cover.

Sorry if I have offended anyone but I have spoken from the view of the 'other trades' on how they see us.
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i think your generalising there, might have been the case in the past

but times are changing I know spreads /renderers that are smart , new clean sign written van/s and are professional.
they treat there work as a profession and are more business savvy, why should we as renderers or plasterers not aim higher and be on a parr with other trades its a skilled job, you could argue that the trade is being dumbed down but so are most trades, take plumbing with push fittings very little soldering work these days.
I agree as someone else has said, the smart way is to employ others to do the graft, and you reap the rewards and run the outfit.
its just down to attitude I guess, you just need to box clever.

Ive got a levels before I started my time at 18, that was the way I went.
 
mac_plastering said:
This trade is hard work, but working smart and clever, you can still earn decent money, not ever day or every week, but you can.
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BUT.... if not earning good every day/week....when you allow for bad days/weeks...your average salary is still crap mate for the graft...enough to pay for today but nothing towards the future!

Sole-traders don't treat themselves as a company trying to create profit and re-invest in the company (vans/tools/training etc)

They just treat themselves as a contractor on bubby rates its a mentality that people cant get there head around they leave firms to go on there own but charge subby rates???? tis bizarre!!!
 
one of the most eye opening threads in a long time...

Prices are always a sore subject but have to agree, renderers are taking plastering to a different league and you see a lot more plasterers working better at pr and marketing... @Wezly has showed that being ocd with cleanliness works wonders :) Have you seen his van????
 
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zombie said:
BUT.... if not earning good every day/week....when you allow for bad days/weeks...your average salary is still crap mate for the graft...enough to pay for today but nothing towards the future!

Sole-traders don't treat themselves as a company trying to create profit and re-invest in the company (vans/tools/training etc)

They just treat themselves as a contractor on bubby rates its a mentality that people cant get there head around they leave firms to go on there own but charge subby rates???? tis bizarre!!!
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This is why I got out of being a plastering contractor it simply was not business. I had to earn a wage and finance the plastering side of the job. The builder gets me in to buy him all the materials, pay for all the plastering labour and take all the responsibility for all the work.

The m2 profit was in pence and that was wrong to have in the builders and plasterers eye. Then after getting the job with all my money chucked in I would then have to wait the average 5 weeks for the builder to pay me back. Their attitude was 'until they pay me I can't pay you' but if I tried that one on a plasterer they would threaten me with a lath hammer!

Being the early 80's and in a recession I always thought 'next year will be better' but it never was. No, it was not business it was a fools game.

Mac, yes you are right with the way you present yourself. You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

Cassie, someone on SF wants a tiler. Someone has found them one for £80 a day! see what I mean!

Owls, you have your head on your shoulders. Respect.
 
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