On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 04:08:10 +0100, tarquinlinbin wrote:

On 2 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, (cubicsupport)
wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.
My apologies but i must quote my usual rant about people wanting to
buy a mans labour cheaply. It seems that if a man carries a toolbag,he
is less worthy of payment than if he carries a pen or bashes a pc.

It costs money to operate as a gas man/heating installer/whatever.

IMHO speaking as somone with 23 years experience, the quotes are not
excessive.

I would tend to take longer than a day to do this job. Maybe its just
that I'm a slow worker,maybe its because i take more care?.

Good heating installers/gasmen are as rare as rocking horse muck. This
you have already found becuase its even hard to get someone to call
round and quote!.

I have never yet seen a thread on here along the lines of "....my
estate agent/solicitor quoted me £800 to do x/y/z..am i being
over-charged?". This of course is becuase the common perception is
that white collar workers are "professionals",whilst blue collar
workers are thieves/cheats and incompetent.

One thing that really ****es me off is if i quote for a job and the
customer says,well i had a quote from Bert Bodgitt and sons and they
quoted £500 cheaper. I feel all warm inside and just walk away and
advise them to get Bert to do the job then. Good tradesmen dont need
to tout for work or be haggled down.

Sorry to rant,nothing personal.


Yes! I find it annoying when I have quoted at around the going rate to
start haggling. In fact, like you, I just tend to say good bye and leave
them with the thought that since they are selecting on price I hope they
get better than what they pay for.

Most people are however that you returned their call and have the sense to
know when they are not being ripped off.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html