how low would you go m2 price to get a contract (PRICE WISE)

[SMITHS DECOR]

How low people you guys go with your m2 price to get a contract?
or even if you had to do price work for a company?

[TonyM]

£2.50 supply & fix, for 3 coats, sanded,and the boarding had better be good. If I think that there is an excessive amount of bead work, then that would be charged for too.

[belmoreboy]

Same as Tony but would prefer £3.00 - Actually what am i on about would Prefer £5.00 !!
Prices have been the same or less this year than 5 years ago (sad state really!) especially when everyone else seems to increase prices every year without fail (eg materials)

[TonyM]

I'm doing a few jobs at the moment. One at £2.25 labour only, one at £3.50 s&f + extra for beads, and one at £120 a day daywork + materials. It's what you can get! I'm not prepared to work for f*ck all.

[amestaper]

Get in there with the ultimate question on everyones mind....

I would charge a little less than last years prices, and maybe, just maybe, take an even thinner slice off it if the job was a large one to keep me busy for several months. Renovation work is still commanding half decent prices at the moment. A price war isnt a good thing when materials and fuel prices are sky high, just try and raise your prices when things return to the way they were. Some of your customers would go elsewhere.

Like Tony I dont take kindly to customers taking the piss and knowing what I am going to charge even before I measure the job, because everyone including your competitors then knows your square metre rates and will beat your prices every time you bid against them.

You've got to have something else in your box of tricks to compete with other than just a keen quote. Surely?

[turrican_007]

We have just taken on a job for £1.70m2 labour only, the only good side is its 12,000 m2 and its close to home, But i bet when we start (on Monday) the phone rings with a better offer. So do you hang out for the the better price or take whats offered? I know what i`ve done, but what would you lot do?

[coastaldrywall]

i have had phone calls from guys willing to work for £1.50m2 labour only, so somewhere along the line we are a little to blame, because everyone is dropping prices to get work, i know a couple of guys that have worked for us in the past, that would always do three coats but have now dropped to doing two coats because the prices are bad, so now they just use easy fill for everything and put two coats on.

Sometimes its not the price its the meterage, like turrican_007 said they have 12,000 to do at £1.70 labour only, its close to home, labour only at £1.70 with meterage like that you could make a killing, if there is enough area ready to go at and you can box and bazooka, you can soon knock some meterage out,

[SMITHS DECOR]

I have just came off the phone to mate of mine and he has been offered £1 per m2 and 90p m2 for beads(labour only ofcourse) but the advantage is that there is alot of m2 in front of him(a few years work) would you guys do it
things must be really bad tho.....

[TonyM]

I have just came off the phone to mate of mine and he has been offered £1 per m2 and 90p m2 for beads(labour only ofcourse) but the advantage is that there is alot of m2 in front of him(a few years work) would you guys do it
things must be really bad tho.....

No, because someone will come along soon and do it for 90p and you'll have to drop your price or be off down the road. Tell them to get f*cked.

[SMITHS DECOR]

yeah thats what I said but then you have to weigh up the options cause then you have a couple of years work in front of you then nego the price after say 6 months hopefully when things pick up. its up to him at the end of the day and I know what I would do.

[turrican_007]

If you need the work take it mate, pride before a fall and all that...

[belmoreboy]

Thats crazy prices what the hells going on in the trade right now!

ps Turican_007 just realised who you are, hope things are good

Marcus

[SMITHS DECOR]

as the song goes

THINGS COULD ONLY GET BETTER....... Hopefully anyway.

[thomas.savage]

Well all is pants for anyone working in the south west at the moment. its getting busy again but i am supplying and fix for 1.67. working for burnum plastering. others pay a little more some a little less... our margins are eroding every year, the jobs a waste of time unless your super quick and that brings its own problems (drying times pressure ect). i can two coat a four bed in ten hours on my own to a good standard but its asking alot to do this regularly. i used too but getting old now lol would love a powerful electric fan heater in every house, and practical stair safe system over a price rise. the respect has gone and we all get treated like naughty kids these days. i for one am loosing my motavation!

[Captain perfect]

After taking nearly 9 months off with no work, but still pricing the odd job, Things have started to pick up this year with sevaral
enquries, I refused to drop or lower my prices by more than 15% which in the short term cost me work. But many a contractor
is now coming unstuck as subbies struggle to meet their commitments & or overheads.

I have just picked up 7 £3.5 million houses for a timber frame company who we regulary worked for but decided to
take on cheaper labour, They are now living to regret it! on 1 unit alone they had a 2.5K bill from the painters.

PAY CHEAP PAY TWICE

[crack filler]

what you have to take into account is can you afford not to do it, if you have been out of work for a little while the bills are probably stacking up, in a perfect world we would all stick together and refuse to go that low but in reallity if you don't do it someone else will. If your subbing do it and walk away when it gets better elsewhere.
I had a site agent on a show house last week newly promoted snagging my work with a torch and his nose 6inches from the wall, no price pays for that.

The point is do whats best for you our time will come around again and they will pay for good tradesmen.

[turrican_007]

I know a lot of bad tapers that have had no work for ages, and i know good tapers that have had work but at a reduced rate.
The contractors are having to drop there price to get the work themself, because of the competition. So the lower rate will be passed onto us, thats business. If you have continued to work over the last 2 years at whatever rate you must be a half decent taper. The contractors can pick and choose, they dont have to put up with shite trademans at the moment, and when the industry picks up it tapers like us, that will be in a strong position to get the rates we deserve and the contractors know that. Contractors will pay for good tapers but only when they are getting the rate that they want....

PAY CHEAP PAY TWICE, not always true my friend...

p.s. Hi Marcus

[matt]

I know of Painting Contractors in Scotland who have been paying £1 m2 rates for the last ten years and getting away with it. They get the rough squad in pay them shite money, pay a supervisor to go round and pencil it all up, get the guys back in to fix it before they will release the huge retentions they have taken. If they just pay decent guys decent money then there is no supervisor with a copper pipe roaming around in a company van!!
Waste of money

[thomas.savage]

iv been on strike twice in the last ten months. in the end we all do what we have too. in an ideal world it would be lovely to be able to allow every coat to dry and do a perfect job but in this country thats impossible without propper heating. no contractor wants to pay for heaters nor do they like the idea of leaving a job to dry inbetween coats. you only go back to top off, to find the dumb c**ts have put the kitchen in and the chippy is getting a cob on because you have started to throw his shit out the window lol... had some dumb painter miss coat one of my units the other day befor i had rubbed it down...painters dont know enough to charge a battery never mind contra charge me... i say we all get together and burn down the headquaters of barrats and persimmon etc. its us the workers that are paying for the down turn, i got a tax rebate this year for the first time since i went self employed, it was i nice suprise but then again it was confirmation that i had earned f*ck all in 2008 2009...

[saleen836]

Well all is pants for anyone working in the south west at the moment. its getting busy again but i am supplying and fix for 1.67. working for burnum plastering. others pay a little more some a little less... our margins are eroding every year, the jobs a waste of time unless your super quick and that brings its own problems (drying times pressure ect). i can two coat a four bed in ten hours on my own to a good standard but its asking alot to do this regularly. i used too but getting old now lol would love a powerful electric fan heater in every house, and practical stair safe system over a price rise. the respect has gone and we all get treated like naughty kids these days. i for one am loosing my motavation!

That would be just walls only with cove to every room! otherwise your either doing a really really rough job or talking pants!