A second opinion please... this quote seems very high?!

[lizzieg]

Dear all

I am trying to sell a property that turns out to have some damp problems; my buyer has had a damp proofing quote and three quotes to prepare beforehand / make good afterwards and is expecting me to take this amount off the sale price.

The damp proofing quote is fine but the quotes to prepare and make good seem very high to me - can anyone advise as to whether these prices seem reasonable??

I wondered if it might be the electrics that are pushing the price up so have also posted in the electrics forum.

We are talking about a wall about 1m wide, with one double socket (DSSO).

The job entails:
Remove carpet and underlay
Isolate ring main to DSSO
Remove DSSO switch plate and terminate wires safely

Then, following remedial works by others for damp:
Replace skirting boards and make good
Make good plastering by others [i.e. skim]
Rewire DSSO and reinstall switch plate
Decorate replastered wall with mist & 2 coats of emulsion
Repaint skirting boards with eggshell paint
Refit underlay and carpet.

The quotes range from £1,200 to £1,300 for this one room.

(The job involves similar work in two other rooms - priced at relatively similar levels according to the amount of wall involved - so there is also the question of whether we should expect to get some economies of scale, e.g. you would only have to isolate the ring main once for all three rooms).

I just want to get some idea as to whether this kind of price seems reasonable / a bit on the high side but OK-ish / exorbitant before I decide what route to go down re: negotiating with the buyer.

The flat is in London so prices are generally higher as a rule, I guess.

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice you may have!

Cheers
Liz

[JRS]

Seems fine to me, 4 trades there, spark, plasterer, painter joiner. And a laborour. So all these mens time plus materials company costs soon mount up. I charged more for a couple of ceilings to be replaced with dampness.

[chris_on_tour2002]

sorry but i have to disagree - this sounds ludicrously expensive, totally within the capabilities of most handymen absolutely no need to get in four different trades.

isolating the ring main should take only seconds - straight to the fuse board/consumer unit and flick a switch/pull a fuse. removing the sockets and terminating the wires safely i'd say no more than half hour's work.

get more quotes if i were you.

[collectors]

Sounds about right to me. If you are in the congestion zone, you will have to allow £40-£50 minimum each day just for LCC & parking. Also depends if you have asked for individual prices on each room as this will be more expensive. It will be a bit cheaper if all is done at one time.

[lizzieg]

Thanks very much for the advice, guys. On the basis of your comments I took the approach of breaking the job down into the individual trades and estimated how much time each should take, allowing for a fairly generous rate per hour. It really helped me argue my case and my buyer agreed to halve the quote!

Thanks for your time - it's very much appreciated.