Tradespeople costs

Hiring a tradesmen?Know the cost! We picked the typical costs for common building, plumbing, plastering, glazing, electrical and roofing jobs and their average duration, as well as some useful hints and tips.

ELECTRICIANS

INSTALLING A LIGHT SWITCH AND LIGHT FITTING:

Time: Half to 1 day
Price: £220
It takes longer if the circuit has to be rewired back to the consumer unit (also known as a fuse box) or if access to the circuits is difficult.

REWIRNG A 3 -BEDROOMED HOUSE:

Time: 1 week
Price: around £4.000
Rewiring takes longer if access to cables is difficult. You should use a Part P-certified electrician.

CARPENTERS

FITTING AN INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL DOOR:

Time: 2-3 hours
Price: £265 - £855
Fitting a door can take longer if the frame is out of shape as the door has to be trimmed to fit it. External doors may take longer if they need more locks.

BUILDING AND FITTING CUPBOARDS:

Time: 2 days
Price: £900 upwards
With fitted cupboards, as much as possible should be made in a workshop by a joiner. Cupboards should then be assembled on site.

PLASTERERS

PLASTERING A 4M X 4M ROOM BEFORE DECORATION

Time: Half a day to 1 day
Price: £500
If you have a two-coat system with a base coat and a top-finishing plaster, this requires the bottom coat to set first. At least one day is allowed for this between the coats.

REMOVING PLASTER AND RE-PLASTERING A 4M X 4M ROOM, REPLACING AND PAINTING NEW SKIRTING:

Time: 2-3 days
Price: £1,430 (with skirting); £970 (without skirting)
Allow extra time if you're having any redecoration done. This will take a while and you'll need a gap of several days to allow the plaster to dry out.

PLUMBERS

INSTALLING A BOILER:

Time: 1 day
Price: £1,560 to £4,320
If it’s sited in a tricky place and you need extended flues, it will take longer. The cheaper price given above is for a wall-mounted condensing boiler in a small terraced house.

SAFETY CHECK OF GAS FITTINGS:

Time: 1 hour
Price: £50 to £70+ (price from Gas-Elec Safety Systems, a national inspection company)
Engineers should check flues and appliances and carry out spillage tests. Use a trader registered with the Gas Safe Register (Corgi before April 1st 2009) for jobs involving gas.

PAINTERS

PAINTING A 4M X 4M ROOM WITH TWO COATS OF PAINT:

Time: One painter, 1 day
Price: £375
This time includes painting the ceiling and painting gloss on skirting and architraves around doors. Decorators will need to leave time for the paint to dry between each coat.

PAINT THE OUTSIDE OF 3-BEDROOMED HOUSE:

Time: Two painters, one week
Price: £2,580 to £3,580
To gloss paint fascias and soffits (the flat board under the eaves and fascia) properly, decorators should remove guttering and then replace it.

KITCHEN & BATHROOM FITTERS

FITTING A NEW 4M X 3M KITCHEN:

Time: 4 to 5 days
Price: £8,840 upwards
You’ll need to hire specialists if the fit involves rewiring or replumbing, so the job will take longer. Having floors or splash backs tiled will also add extra time.

FITTING A NEW BATHROOM:

Time: 3 to 5 days
Price: £1,900 to £2,050
A built-in shower will take extra time – often three days on top of the time given above. Any electrical work should be undertaken by a Part P-certified electrician.

GLAZIERS

FITTING A TYPICAL CASEMENT WINDOW OF 1.2M X 1.2M:

Time: 2 to 3 hours
Price: £630
Repairing sash windows takes longer – about two days. This allows time to replace sash cords and deal with any rotten or damaged timber.

INSTALLING NEW DOUBLE GLAZING FOR SEVEN WINDOWS IN TWO STOREY HOUSE:

Time: 3 to 4 days
Price: £4,420 to £7,740

ROOFERS

RE-COVERING A STANDARD GABLE-ENDED ROOF WITH PLAIN TILES:

Time: 3 days
Price: £3,460 upwards
The roofer should strip the old tiles and battens and fit new underlay and battens to the rafters. Hip tiles and lead work take longer.

REPAIRING A ROOF WITH LOCALISED REPLACEMENT OF CRACKED OR SLIPPED TILES:

Time: Two workers, 1 day
Price: £515
Bigger roofing jobs – having 10 to 20% of your tiles replaced – require scaffolding access.

Source: www.which.co.uk