Patching and skimming for kitchen refurbs.

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Yeah each job gets priced on the obvious like size, shape, complexity, plus the other stuff. Things like access can have a big impact on time, how far way the room is from the van, narrow doors, steep awkward stairs, and so on.

I just needed to make sure that the starting point was right. So I'll take three days as a minimum for plastering and then go from there. (y)

The industry norm seems to be a 2 week turn around again im going to use the word average but as we all agree theres variables.

Example

Week 1

Monday - Kitchen Ripout
Tuesday - 1st fix Electric & Plumbing
Wedneday onwards - Plastering to complete

2nd week - New Kitchen instalation & 2nd Fix to complete.
 
It's the little things that make a difference when you add them up. Collecting materials for example, anything from anywhere has a delivery cost. It doesn't matter if you put 10% on the materials, or charge a flat fee, or charge for the time, but you need to allow for it.

If you charge £150 for a day rate of 8 hours, but you spend two hours the evening before collecting gear and do five miles round trip for it you are losing money. Two hours £37:50, plus five miles at 40 pence a mile (running costs) £2, so you've effectively given away £40:00 on one two day job, which means your gross day rate has gone down to £130 a day.

If your day rate was £150, and you're keeping busy, how would you react if someone asked you to work for £130?

It's the little things that make a difference when you add them up. Collecting materials for example, anything from anywhere has a delivery cost. It doesn't matter if you put 10% on the materials, or charge a flat fee, or charge for the time, but you need to allow for it.

If you charge £150 for a day rate of 8 hours, but you spend two hours the evening before collecting gear and do five miles round trip for it you are losing money. Two hours £37:50, plus five miles at 40 pence a mile (running costs) £2, so you've effectively given away £40:00 on one two day job, which means your gross day rate has gone down to £130 a day.

If your day rate was £150, and you're keeping busy, how would you react if someone asked you to work for £130?
It's the little things that make a difference when you add them up. Collecting materials for example, anything from anywhere has a delivery cost. It doesn't matter if you put 10% on the materials, or charge a flat fee, or charge for the time, but you need to allow for it.

If you charge £150 for a day rate of 8 hours, but you spend two hours the evening before collecting gear and do five miles round trip for it you are losing money. Two hours £37:50, plus five miles at 40 pence a mile (running costs) £2, so you've effectively given away £40:00 on one two day job, which means your gross day rate has gone down to £130 a day.

If your day rate was £150, and you're keeping busy, how would you react if someone asked you to work for £130?
You've asked a question in the post which is basically how long does it take to prep and plaster a room and then gone on to answer it yourself in a huge amount of detail . Also if it takes you half a day to sort out materials (or even a couple of hours) for a kitchen reskim you're doing something very wrong or slowly. Nip to Travis after the job the day before, buy 6 bags of multi, bag of bonding, adhesive, and whatever board you need and that's pretty much you set for 3 days. Although an average size kitchen even with the walls in a right state shouldn't take more than 2 very comfortable days at work. £500 and jobs a gooden
 
Where do you lot get materials from? I use wickes, 10% Trade discount and I order it off laptop. Turn up and it's sitting there loaded on a trolley.

For convenience I mostly use EH Smiths. Plastering stuff for example, if I need a load of boards and bagged suff I get them to put it on a pallet ready for me, then call in with the tipper and get it lifted on without faffing. If it's a couple of pallets then I get it delivered on a hiab or Moffat truck depending on where it's going.

Timber will be Smiths if it's studding, ply etc. Anything more specialised like green oak, or birch ply I use Davies timber merchants.

I use Screwfix for consumables, and then other stuff that needs ordering in (pre bagged lime or whatever) I just shop around.
 
You've asked a question in the post which is basically how long does it take to prep and plaster a room and then gone on to answer it yourself in a huge amount of detail .

I didn't, have another read. I asked what the plasterers on here thought was their average time, compared to how I'm pricing it in currently with the way I charge for it as part of the total job.

It makes no odds at all to me if the plastering takes 2 hours, 2 days or 2 weeks. I'm not doing it the plasterer is, and I'm not paying for it the customer is.

The reason I asked is that I'm changing things around a bit next year. Part of that will involve more stand alone kitchen work, but before I do that I need to get a base minimum.

As for "Nip to Travis after the job the day before " fcuk that. I have better things to do with my time than give it away for free.
 
The industry norm seems to be a 2 week turn around again im going to use the word average but as we all agree theres variables.

Example

Week 1

Monday - Kitchen Ripout
Tuesday - 1st fix Electric & Plumbing
Wedneday onwards - Plastering to complete

2nd week - New Kitchen instalation & 2nd Fix to complete.

I've always had my starting point as 10 working days for a small basic 'L' shape, but I've only done two or three small basic kitchens in the last five years. I tend to get large rooms or knock throughs with islands etc. So as I'm heading for more of that type of work next year I want to break it down into elements. That way I can look at the job and then price it on multiples of those elements.

I'm thinking that doing ti that way will save me time quoting.
 
I didn't, have another read. I asked what the plasterers on here thought was their average time, compared to how I'm pricing it in currently with the way I charge for it as part of the total job.

It makes no odds at all to me if the plastering takes 2 hours, 2 days or 2 weeks. I'm not doing it the plasterer is, and I'm not paying for it the customer is.

The reason I asked is that I'm changing things around a bit next year. Part of that will involve more stand alone kitchen work, but before I do that I need to get a base minimum.

As for "Nip to Travis after the job the day before " fcuk that. I have better things to do with my time than give it away for free.
I don't class it as giving my time away for free, I class it as doing my job. I start work at 8, usually home by 4. And everyone on here said it'll take 2 days, your response was 'yeah what I said 2-3 days. I'll allow 3'. Why ask? Lol
 
I don't class it as giving my time away for free, I class it as doing my job. I start work at 8, usually home by 4. And everyone on here said it'll take 2 days, your response was 'yeah what I said 2-3 days. I'll allow 3'. Why ask? Lol

 
I don't class it as giving my time away for free, I class it as doing my job. I start work at 8, usually home by 4. And everyone on here said it'll take 2 days, your response was 'yeah what I said 2-3 days. I'll allow 3'. Why ask? Lol

He’s a headache aint he? Lol
 
Where do you lot get materials from? I use wickes, 10% Trade discount and I order it off laptop. Turn up and it's sitting there loaded on a trolley.

Wickes if possible or Selco, I hate builders merchants! Much prefer serving myself!
 
He’s a headache aint he? Lol

Only if you don't read the thread and post bollox.

More people have said three days than two, one of whom works regularly for kitchen companies and states he prices that way. You have said two days, but then gone on to say that you collect materials on another day, and also that some take three anyway. So saying 'everyone said two days' is just cr4p.

The other part about me being argumentative really only stems from you disagreeing, which is fine, but it doesn't mean you're right. Especially in the face of you contradicting yourself.

The point of the question and the post was to try and find the average time allowed for a kitchen to be plastered following rip out and change. Hopefully you know how to work out an average, and when you do it for the replies on this thread you'll see that two is the answer. However that answer doesn't include collecting materials or making any allowances for things taking longer.

So when I asked originally what people thought, and stated that up to now I'd allow three days, the majority of replies backed that up. So you'd have to be as thick as sh1t or deliberately disingenuous to try and make out that the responses pointed to anything else.

Some seem to think that because they don't charge for something that means it doesn't count. That's fine, work how you want, but it's a p1ss poor way to run a business.
 
I reckon some where between 1 n 3 days depending on size .. plus fetching materials etc. That sound about right
 
Allow 4 days...f**k em! :D

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b*ll***s. You post threads then chat s**t until you get the answer you want to hear lol.

Makes absolutely no sense, if you have a plasterer @Nisus working for you why not just ask him!???

It’s also an impossible question. Price or day rate will be 2 completely different durations. Also every kitchen is different.

It’s like saying on brickie forum:

“How long will it take to build a wall”

There’s no right answer, it’s a stupid question.

Also, me grabbing materials for the following day on way back from the job isn’t costing more money. I’d have to grab them in the morning anyway, it’s called preference.

I know exactly how to run a business, I’m more than happy with what I earn.
 
Only if you don't read the thread and post bollox.

More people have said three days than two, one of whom works regularly for kitchen companies and states he prices that way. You have said two days, but then gone on to say that you collect materials on another day, and also that some take three anyway. So saying 'everyone said two days' is just cr4p.

The other part about me being argumentative really only stems from you disagreeing, which is fine, but it doesn't mean you're right. Especially in the face of you contradicting yourself.

The point of the question and the post was to try and find the average time allowed for a kitchen to be plastered following rip out and change. Hopefully you know how to work out an average, and when you do it for the replies on this thread you'll see that two is the answer. However that answer doesn't include collecting materials or making any allowances for things taking longer.

So when I asked originally what people thought, and stated that up to now I'd allow three days, the majority of replies backed that up. So you'd have to be as thick as sh1t or deliberately disingenuous to try and make out that the responses pointed to anything else.

Some seem to think that because they don't charge for something that means it doesn't count. That's fine, work how you want, but it's a p1ss poor way to run a business.
Long and short of it is it's a fecking 2 day job lol. A really cushty 2 day job. So if things go abit badly or there's more prep than expected it's not going to run into a 3rd day anyway. If you want to allow a day for picking up some multi then yes you are right, it's a 3 day job.
 
Long and short of it is it's a fecking 2 day job lol. A really cushty 2 day job. So if things go abit badly or there's more prep than expected it's not going to run into a 3rd day anyway. If you want to allow a day for picking up some multi then yes you are right, it's a 3 day job.

I disagree entirley.

Some that we do are far from easy/cushy infact there F*****g horrible!

I would say only 20% of the ones we do we complete in 2 days!

80% of ours are in the 3-4 days bracket at least!
 
I disagree entirley.

Some that we do are far from easy/cushy infact there F*****g horrible!

I would say only 20% of the ones we do we complete in 2 days!

80% of ours are in the 3-4 days bracket at least!

I’ll come show you how it’s done with the Lurpak system
 
I take a week ,
PVA , bond out chases, wipe over all surfaces with I thick coat MF not being too fussy , push beads in place and tape
Go back 3 day's later scrape off high points and PVA /skim, better quality with a consistent suck
The charge is 2 days on most
 
I’ll come show you how it’s done with the Lurpak system

With the greatest of respect im sure we will be ok!

We must do at least 50 a year for a local firm, the point im making is everone jumps on the thread based on the couple of little mrs jones poxy kitchen jobs they do in a year which can be completley different to what other peoples work specs are.

People think kitchen and just assume little poxy room, but most that we have to sort out we would almist skim a house in same time due to all rhe different aspects to sort before even thinking about skimming etc.

I think the high end work that @imago is targetting is more complex work than just sorting couple of ex tiled walls and chases etc
 
I take a week ,
PVA , bond out chases, wipe over all surfaces with I thick coat MF not being too fussy , push beads in place and tape
Go back 3 day's later scrape off high points and PVA /skim, better quality with a consistent suck
The charge is 2 days on most

Who the f**k taught you to work like that!!!!
 
b*ll***s. You post threads then chat s**t until you get the answer you want to hear lol.

Makes absolutely no sense, if you have a plasterer @Nisus working for you why not just ask him!???

How dense are you? Really, are you impared in some way?

Nothing you (or anyone else replying) has said anything to disagree with my first post/question :-

I'm working on two or three days in an empty room with all the first fix done. A day for boarding and filling chases, another day for bonding and prep, then a day for skimming. Obviously it's going to vary on the size, shape and complexity of the room, but as a base time does that sound about right?

I have asked Lee, however he can only answer from himself in the same way that you can only answer how you do it. This forum is a good opportunity to see how others do things, then I, you, or anyone else can adapt bits to improve things if they want.

It’s also an impossible question. Price or day rate will be 2 completely different durations. Also every kitchen is different.

It’s like saying on brickie forum:

“How long will it take to build a wall”

There’s no right answer, it’s a stupid question.

It's an impossible, stupid question? Well where does that leave all your answers?

Anyone with an ounce of brain and business sense can see it's a perfectly reasonable question. Any information you can get on how other people provide the same service or product to the business you run can be useful. So asking for an average job duration will give a benchmark which will speed up the time taken to quote.

Also, me grabbing materials for the following day on way back from the job isn’t costing more money. I’d have to grab them in the morning anyway, it’s called preference.

I know exactly how to run a business, I’m more than happy with what I earn.

So you're doing part of the work for free whether you collect evening, morning or at midnight. Yet you reckon you know how to run a business? Yet again you seem to be trying to substitute arrogance for ability. Anyone who doesn't think that they can learn from others, and help themselves by asking questions and looking critically at the way they do things themselves is a tw4t.

There's a wealth of knowledge on this forum which goes far beyond flinging sh1t up a wall as fast as you can. If the majority had replied to my original question with "it always takes me/us .." and then given a number quite different to my original "I'm working on two or three days in an empty room with all the first fix done." then I'd be happy to change my opinion and do things differently.

But no one, including you, has said anything different. The job you posted showing that you'd done a decent job in a day is fine, but that kitchen is about the size of my downstairs shower room. I wouldn't even be quoting for a room that small, it's not what I/we do. So your average is a two day job, plus collecting the materials the evening before. Which is EXACTLY what I said originally, but as you're an expert at running a business you seem to think the bit you do for free the evening before changes something. It does, but not in the way you'd like as it means you're doing work for free that you could/should be getting paid for.
 
How can you even answer the question not knowing size of kitchen what making up there is

You can answer the question very easily if you think about it for a second. Of all the kitchens you've done in the last year or two, what would you say was the most frequent time it took to do? That is the answer to the question of average time taken to do one.

No one asked how long it'd take to do the kitchen at number 56 St Bernard's Road, Solihull.

So if you said to me how long would it take to build an extension I'd say it depends on the extension. If you said what's the average time for you to build an extension I'd say 8 to 10 weeks on the sort of stuff we do.
 
I heard you was a nice bloke @imago but you’ve got an awful potty mouth. Are you as vocal face to face as you are behind the keyboard?
 
The other problem with kitchens and bathrooms, in order to get a good standard of fit and finish and the job to run smoothly is communication of the trades involved.

Most of the kitchens I fit, I'm in charge of the whole job, but the few that I just fit usually have issues with poorly laid out electrics, bad plastering which causes issues with worktops and tiling and a general lack of foresight.
A shame when the customer is paying a lot of dosh out.
 
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