In article ,
Dave wrote:
When I last had work done I spoke to the various guys that the builder
had brought in and found that there was a difference in the rate I was
being charged and the rate that they would have charged if they were
working direct. In particular, the guy who did the windows apparently
had to give a sizeable "bung" (his word) to the builder.

A half decent builder will have the key personnel - like chippy, brickie,
labourer etc on his books already, and will pay them some sort of retainer
if not full wages when there's no work on for whatever reason. So like any
employer he is going to charge you more than he pays them - or do you
really think your garage mechanic gets 110 quid an hour? ;-)

I know of people who say they saved up to half the builder quote by
managing their own builds.

I know of people who've tried and made a mess of it. IMHO, you need a deal
of experience to co-ordinate this sort of thing, and if you had it you
wouldn't be asking.

It would be good to hear some first hand experiences.

If money above all else is the prime consideration and you have plenty of
time on your hands and an even temperament, it might be worth a try.

--
*Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn