Hi. I am in the process of getting quotes to have my house re-roofed. Long run corrugated iron. I've had two quotes come back. Everything was listed, labour, materials, scaffolding, etc, but there were no prices against each item listed. Just a grand total at the bottom, plus GST. I asked why this was and was told "no roofing company breaks down the costs. It's just the way it is". I have yet to get in the third quote. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it the norm?
pauldw,
Mar 27, 7:17am
So long as it is for installing the same product does it matter? You can't cherry pick cheapest material, labour & scaffolding suppliers.
woody89,
Mar 27, 8:28am
Most quotes from tradies have been as you describe. So long as the job is well described, since that is in effect, the contract, then you know what you're getting & compare the overall price against other quotes. Sometimes components may differ eg allows for scaffold or scaffold to be supplied by xxxxx separately. If you seek clarification of anything, ask via email or txt do it is in writing.
gabbysnana,
Mar 27, 9:33am
what you are really saying I want to see everything to ensure the roofer makes no profit and does the job fir free. If you want a detailed cost analysis be prepared to pay for it. Roofers will have a per sq metre formula, you either accept or don't.
andrew1954,
Mar 27, 9:37am
What have you to gain to be told that the roofer is going to use 547 nails at 23 cents each? Also it leaves the roofer open to “I’ll will supply the nails I’ve got mate who can do a better price than that”! Also a phone later after the job has been done “you quoted us for 25 metres of ridging, I went up on the roof and I can only measure 23.5metres”. At the minimum the quote should split out the material and labour costs, and perhaps any inspection / regulatory costs.
johotech,
Mar 27, 9:38am
At least you would know to avoid them, because they aren't using screws.
trade4us2,
Mar 27, 9:39am
What is wrong with the old roof? My corrugated iron is up to 100 years old and is perfectly OK.
flagheaven,
Mar 27, 10:02am
the all up price is what MOST folk look at so guess thats why also.
pauldw,
Mar 27, 11:43am
As you probably know old corrugated iron was heavier gauge and had a thicker coating of galvanising than more recent galv roofing. To get it you'd need a house that was over a 100 years old. My parents house built in 1920 had its original roof replaced in 1965 so even 1920s iron wasn't as good as it had been.
trade4us2,
Mar 27, 12:44pm
My house is 160 years old but it started with wooden shingles. I don't know when the iron was put on. Come to think of it, I know where there's a photo of my house taken in 1895. I must check it out.
jkp58,
Mar 27, 7:38pm
If you dont like the qoute dont accept it
dee238,
Mar 28, 8:49am
Thank you for the above. I had plumbing and electricity redone and was given a breakdown of costs. So, all I was doing was just asking the question. woody89 - thank you for the constructive feedback. jkp58 - I had no intention of accepting a qoute if I didn't like it. trade4us2 - it's 52 years old, has rusted and water is leaking through.
mica3,
Mar 28, 12:07pm
We had a break down of the costs when we had our roof replaced, since we had would have scaffolding in place we had the house painted at same time. Employed a local builder to project manage. He itemised all the costs so don't think it is unreasonable for you to expect a break down of the costs. In the past when we have had major renovations we employed quantity surveyor to tell us what products and amounts and expected cost for same. Made reviewing the quotes very interesting easier to see the honest contractors
rpf,
Mar 28, 12:56pm
Definately get a breakdown and keep a close record of hours worked. Painter sent me quote, stated 4 days to paint small house, trim had already been painted. Sent final invoice after we paid 50% deposit, which was for other half of quote. It only took only 3 days. so difference of 16 hours labour for 2 painters.
bryshaw,
Mar 28, 5:54pm
Mine is mid 1950s and solid as, and the tin fence is made of the same UK iron and is rust free. Heavy gauge of course and the only things that rust are the lead heads which i have replaced. Use good quality roof paint though.
gamefisher,
Mar 28, 7:12pm
If it was me I would specify NZ made colour steel and also be aware there are to different NZ quality standard of colorsteels COLORSTEEL® MAXX and COLORSTEEL® ENDURA.
wind.turbine,
Mar 28, 8:03pm
an hourly quote is way different to a price per square meter which it likely is. As a fencer we charge per meter of the fence that is to be installed with the exception that corners and gate ways are not included and are on top of the meter rate as this changes 10 times over before we start the job then will no doubt change again once we start. most contractors use this way of quoting as it gives them the chance to make it easier to give a rough quote over the phone, then if the potential client decides that they can afford it then get us out for a look at the job which then it ether stays the same price per meter or it goes up if its a difficult job, ie steep or up and down ground requiring more materials.
the other reason us contractors do this is because our quotes are commercially sensitive, meaning we have done that hard yards working everything out to the last nail, we have spent the time doing this and we don't want people then taking out quote that is broken down to another contractor, believe me this happens a lot! so rather then give out all our prices for all the individual material, labor charges ect, we do a written quote outlining what the job is going to be, whats included, and what is not included, ie if they decided that they wanted to staple the battens on them selves, doesn't happen often but we do get that odd one that tries to save a buck.
if we broke down our quotes then every other contractor in the area would eventually get hold of our hourly rates, material prices etc, this is not what we want and other contractors also feel this way.
if a client was to ask for it to be broken down then they would get told take it or leave it because we know everyone else in the area charges out the same way so good luck getting anyone to do that for you
clangie,
Mar 28, 9:07pm
thats not how a quote works man, you ask for a fixed price quote-tradesman gives you that, if he said 4 days-thats just a rough time. doesnt matter if he does it in 3 days or 5 days-you still pay the same price. thats what a quote is. you cant give a quote down till the last minute or even hour
pico42,
Mar 28, 9:11pm
That seems rather cynical take of OP’s request. I don’t think a general breakdown is unreasonable, eg materials, labour, scaffolding.
rpf,
Mar 29, 10:51am
As you said ROUGH time. His quote was over on hours. When questioned about the time difference. The reply was. oh yea I didn't check the time sheets. Inv deduction 16 hours. no problem. If people want to be happy to over pay for a job. that is thier choice. when the quote states APPROX 512 hours. any smart person would keep track. You can bet if it took longer he would of had his hand out. I didn't complain about the late starts. hour + lunch breaks 2 x 30 min cuppa breaks = actual time working on job maybe 6 hours if lucky.
thats not how a quote works man, you ask for a fixed price quote-tradesman gives you that, if he said 4 days-thats just a rough time. doesnt matter if he does it in 3 days or 5 days-you still pay the same price. thats what a quote is. you cant give a quote down till the last minute or even hour[/quote]
clangie,
Mar 29, 7:50pm
rpf wrote: As you said ROUGH time. His quote was over on hours. When questioned about the time difference. The reply was. oh yea I didn't check the time sheets. Inv deduction 16 hours. no problem. If people want to be happy to over pay for a job. that is thier choice. when the quote states APPROX 512 hours. any smart person would keep track. You can bet if it took longer he would of had his hand out. I didn't complain about the late starts. hour + lunch breaks 2 x 30 min cuppa breaks = actual time working on job maybe 6 hours if lucky.
well if that says APPROX 512 hours-thats an "estimate" which can be +/- 10%, a quote is a fixed price to do the job inc labour/materials and doesnt usually get itemised. it states what the plan to do and products they plan to use, also stuff like scaffolding etc. doesnt say the exact amount of materials-just what it is a quote you pay the fixed price whether he takes 2 weeks with 1 man or 3 days with 4 men
clangie,
Mar 29, 7:51pm
if you wanted a breakdown of time/materials then you would have employed as a "time and materials" contract where everything is itemised
rpf,
Aug 6, 5:14pm
Not worth splitting hairs over. :) but when it comes to 16 hrs @$60.00 = $960. Even without the word APPROX. You can bet your sweet patooey I will query it.
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