It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work, so
I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and frame
to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the inside wall
filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the top. How will a
builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ? Or just a price for
the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what ballpark figure I might expect
to pay for that job and how long it would take ?

Arfa

On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work, so
I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and frame
to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the inside wall
filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the top. How will a
builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ? Or just a price for
the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what ballpark figure I might expect
to pay for that job and how long it would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's being
removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work, so
I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and frame
to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the inside wall
filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the top. How will
a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ? Or just a price
for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what ballpark figure I might
expect to pay for that job and how long it would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's being
removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically with
a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with the old
bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be continued. The
latter looks much better, but takes longer.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work, so
I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and
frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the inside
wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the top. How
will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ? Or just a
price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what ballpark figure I
might expect to pay for that job and how long it would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's being
removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically with
a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with the old
bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be continued. The
latter looks much better, but takes longer.


Thanks. I was thinking that, but didn't know how to express it. My
attempts at brick laying are pretty awful. It's one of those jobs that's
a lot harder than it looks.

On Friday, 21 September 2018 02:01:18 UTC+1, GB wrote:
Thanks. I was thinking that, but didn't know how to express it. My
attempts at brick laying are pretty awful. It's one of those jobs that's
a lot harder than it looks.

Some trellis over the wall is quite effective at disguising mismatched brickwork.

Owain

On 21/09/2018 02:01, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work,
so I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and
frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the
inside wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the
top. How will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ?
Or just a price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what
ballpark figure I might expect to pay for that job and how long it
would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's
being removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically
with a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with
the old bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be continued.
The latter looks much better, but takes longer.


Thanks. I was thinking that, but didn't know how to express it. My
attempts at brick laying are pretty awful. It's one of those jobs that's
a lot harder than it looks.



Yes, agreed. The house is about 30 years or so old. Pretty 'standard'
"golden fleck" were they called ? When I had the conservatory built 10
or so years back, they managed to get a pretty good match. Yes,
understood on the outside finish. I prefer to have the new bricks 'cut
in' but appreciate that it's more work. The door faces onto a side path
with a fence and then the neighbours side wall, which is blank brick, so
not terribly important how it looks to the outside world, because in
that location, there isn't much of a one, but I would still prefer it
done 'proper-like' ... I've got a local lad coming Monday, so I'll ask
for prices on both. I was just after getting a ball-park idea of what
it's going to cost. Two hundred quid ? Five ? Half a day ? A day ?
Presumeably, inside cant be skimmed until the blockwork is dry ?

Arfa

On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work, so
I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and
frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the inside
wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the top. How
will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ? Or just a
price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what ballpark figure I
might expect to pay for that job and how long it would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's being
removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically with
a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with the old
bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be continued. The
latter looks much better, but takes longer.



Hi John, long time no speak. Trust you are well ? I see my current
operated switch is still going strong on the Wiki :-)

Seems to still get 2-300 hits a week. I wonder how many have been built
world-wide ... ?

Arfa

On 21/09/2018 09:33, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work,
so I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and
frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the
inside wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the
top. How will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ?
Or just a price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what
ballpark figure I might expect to pay for that job and how long it
would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's
being removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically
with a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with
the old bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be continued.
The latter looks much better, but takes longer.



Hi John, long time no speak. Trust you are well ?

Yup not bad, thanks for asking.

I see my current
operated switch is still going strong on the WikiÂ* :-)

Indeed, over 30k hits last time I looked.

Got any other handy circuits worth doing an article on?

Seems to still get 2-300 hits a week. I wonder how many have been built
world-wide ...Â* ?

Might be an interesting statistic - especially when compared to how many
are sat on people's todo lists waiting for the appropriate shape of tuit!


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work, so
I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and
frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the inside
wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the top. How
will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ? Or just a
price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what ballpark figure I
might expect to pay for that job and how long it would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's being
removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically with
a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with the old
bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be continued. The
latter looks much better, but takes longer.


But only if matching second-hand bricks can be sourced :-)

On 21/09/2018 15:00, Andrew wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work,
so I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and
frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the
inside wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the
top. How will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ?
Or just a price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what
ballpark figure I might expect to pay for that job and how long it
would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's
being removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically
with a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with
the old bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be continued.
The latter looks much better, but takes longer.


But only if matching second-hand bricks can be sourced :-)


I still think it looks better with them chopped in than the vertical
half-brick line, even if the bricks don't match exactly ...

Arfa

On 22/09/2018 12:59, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 21/09/2018 15:00, Andrew wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work,
so I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door and
frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the
inside wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on the
top. How will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus materials ?
Or just a price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts on what
ballpark figure I might expect to pay for that job and how long it
would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's
being removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically
with a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with
the old bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be
continued. The latter looks much better, but takes longer.


But only if matching second-hand bricks can be sourced :-)


I still think it looks better with them chopped in than the vertical
half-brick line, even if the bricks don't match exactly ...

Arfa

+1 My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the extension
hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up the new and
old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and made me worry
what else might be bodged.

On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:
On 22/09/2018 12:59, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 21/09/2018 15:00, Andrew wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/09/2018 01:10, GB wrote:
On 21/09/2018 00:53, Arfa Daily wrote:
It's been a long time since I've had any trades in to do any work,
so I'm well behind with the current rates. I want to get a door
and frame to the outside removed, the outside wall bricked up, the
inside wall filled in with blockwork and then a plaster skim on
the top. How will a builder charge that ? Hourly rate plus
materials ? Or just a price for the job as a whole. Any thoughts
on what ballpark figure I might expect to pay for that job and how
long it would take ?

Arfa


What sort of finish do you want to the outside, where the door's
being removed? It may be very hard to match the bricks.

Also it will depend on if you want an abrupt brick join (typically
with a stainless starter kit hidden to hold the joint), or one with
the old bricks properly toothed out so the same bond can be
continued. The latter looks much better, but takes longer.


But only if matching second-hand bricks can be sourced :-)


I still think it looks better with them chopped in than the vertical
half-brick line, even if the bricks don't match exactly ...

Arfa

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the extension
hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up the new and
old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and made me worry
what else might be bodged.

I have an extension that goes the full depth of the house plus another
3m to the back. At the front, I had the bricky chop in and he did a good
job. Some years on, and you would never know that the front wall of the
house hadn't always gone all the way across. At the back, I let him do a
stainless steel joint because it forms an internal right angle with the
rear wall of the house, and is inside the conservatory that we had
always planned to have there. If you look really closely, you can see
that it's not a toothed joint, but I don't have a problem where it's
hidden inside a right angled joint like that ...

Arfa

On 22/09/18 17:59, wrote:
+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the extension
hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up the new and
old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and made me worry
what else might be bodged.

When I subbed out the first bit of my house renovations, the builder had
to move a doorway 12" to the right.

Not only did he not tooth the bricks in to the existing bricks, he used
blocks. Then he didn't tooth those in. Then he didn't use a keystrip.

Imagine a column of halfblocks (lightweight celcon) keyed to the
original brick by 2 random screws.

As soon as I tapped the blocks with a chisel, they moved.

It was at that point I fired him.

I got an angle grinder, took out every other half brick, built up a new
brick column fully bonded and packed a damp 3:1 string mix in with a
stick and mallet (having wetted the bricks first).

End result - as strong as the original wall...

On 22/09/2018 19:16, Tim Watts wrote:
On 22/09/18 17:59, wrote:
+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

When I subbed out the first bit of my house renovations, the builder had
to move a doorway 12" to the right.

Not only did he not tooth the bricks in to the existing bricks, he used
blocks. Then he didn't tooth those in. Then he didn't use a keystrip.

Imagine a column of halfblocks (lightweight celcon) keyed to the
original brick by 2 random screws.

As soon as I tapped the blocks with a chisel, they moved.

It was at that point I fired him.

I got an angle grinder, took out every other half brick, built up a new
brick column fully bonded and packed a damp 3:1 string mix in with a
stick and mallet (having wetted the bricks first).

End result - as strong as the original wall...


It seems to be hard to get a local builder. I looked in the village mag
expecting to see several. One. Whose name was something joinery services
with access to all trades being claimed. Hmmm ... So I asked a mate who
grew up here (I'm a newcomer at just 44 years) and he recommended a guy
who had always done all of his parents building work. I rang him. "Sorry
mate, I don't really do any now as I've not been very well for the last
year ..." I asked him if he had any recommendations, and he gave me the
number of a local lad who has recently gone out on his own, and he's
coming to look at the job on Monday.

Hence why I was trying to get a bit of a handle on what his rates were
likely to be. Another mate told me £150 to £200 a day depending on
experience. Anyone got anything to add ?

Arfa

On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the extension
hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up the new and
old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and made me worry
what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really joined
on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad, but
we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy

On Sunday, 23 September 2018 01:43:13 UTC+1, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 22/09/2018 19:16, Tim Watts wrote:
On 22/09/18 17:59, wrote:

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

When I subbed out the first bit of my house renovations, the builder had
to move a doorway 12" to the right.

Not only did he not tooth the bricks in to the existing bricks, he used
blocks. Then he didn't tooth those in. Then he didn't use a keystrip.

Imagine a column of halfblocks (lightweight celcon) keyed to the
original brick by 2 random screws.

As soon as I tapped the blocks with a chisel, they moved.

It was at that point I fired him.

I got an angle grinder, took out every other half brick, built up a new
brick column fully bonded and packed a damp 3:1 string mix in with a
stick and mallet (having wetted the bricks first).

End result - as strong as the original wall...


It seems to be hard to get a local builder. I looked in the village mag
expecting to see several. One. Whose name was something joinery services
with access to all trades being claimed. Hmmm ... So I asked a mate who
grew up here (I'm a newcomer at just 44 years) and he recommended a guy
who had always done all of his parents building work. I rang him. "Sorry
mate, I don't really do any now as I've not been very well for the last
year ..." I asked him if he had any recommendations, and he gave me the
number of a local lad who has recently gone out on his own, and he's
coming to look at the job on Monday.

Hence why I was trying to get a bit of a handle on what his rates were
likely to be. Another mate told me £150 to £200 a day depending on
experience. Anyone got anything to add ?

Arfa

By the time you've buggered about finding a suitable builder, paid the price & dealt with the problems, you could have done a better job yourself quicker for a fraction the price. And sometimes be left with yet another tool. This is why I diy.


NT

On 23/09/2018 23:06, wrote:
On Sunday, 23 September 2018 01:43:13 UTC+1, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 22/09/2018 19:16, Tim Watts wrote:
On 22/09/18 17:59, wrote:

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

When I subbed out the first bit of my house renovations, the builder had
to move a doorway 12" to the right.

Not only did he not tooth the bricks in to the existing bricks, he used
blocks. Then he didn't tooth those in. Then he didn't use a keystrip.

Imagine a column of halfblocks (lightweight celcon) keyed to the
original brick by 2 random screws.

As soon as I tapped the blocks with a chisel, they moved.

It was at that point I fired him.

I got an angle grinder, took out every other half brick, built up a new
brick column fully bonded and packed a damp 3:1 string mix in with a
stick and mallet (having wetted the bricks first).

End result - as strong as the original wall...


It seems to be hard to get a local builder. I looked in the village mag
expecting to see several. One. Whose name was something joinery services
with access to all trades being claimed. Hmmm ... So I asked a mate who
grew up here (I'm a newcomer at just 44 years) and he recommended a guy
who had always done all of his parents building work. I rang him. "Sorry
mate, I don't really do any now as I've not been very well for the last
year ..." I asked him if he had any recommendations, and he gave me the
number of a local lad who has recently gone out on his own, and he's
coming to look at the job on Monday.

Hence why I was trying to get a bit of a handle on what his rates were
likely to be. Another mate told me £150 to £200 a day depending on
experience. Anyone got anything to add ?

Arfa

By the time you've buggered about finding a suitable builder, paid the price & dealt with the problems, you could have done a better job yourself quicker for a fraction the price. And sometimes be left with yet another tool. This is why I diy.


NT


Well yes. I've DIY'd pretty much everything on all of my houses for the
last 40 odd years, but bricklaying and plastering is something that I've
never mastered, so in this case no, I wouldn't do a better job myself
than an experienced bricklayer. Not all tradesmen are inept rip-off
merchants, and I have faith that I will find one locally who takes the
same pride in doing a good professional job at a sensible price, as I do
for my customers in my business ...

Arfa

On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really joined
on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad, but
we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with regs
and standards by his department ...

Arfa

On 24/09/2018 01:46, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really joined
on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad,
but we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with regs
and standards by his department ...

Arfa

Well, I had a guy round tonight. He says that he wouldn't do the outside
brickwork any other way than toothed, so that's a promising start.
Because the inside floor is a suspended type with a deep void
underneath, he said that if I went blockwork on the inside, he would
have to put a lintel in the floor to build up from, so he is going to
quote for both that option, and building an indoor stud faced in ply and
plasterboard so that there is a good fix available for the replacement
boiler I'm looking at having put on that wall. I guess he would have to
be careful where the studwork went though, such that there was a
'straight thru' path for the boiler flue. I'm expecting having prices
from him on Thursday, so I'll keep you posted ...

Arfa

On 25/09/2018 01:13, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 24/09/2018 01:46, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really
joined on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad,
but we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with
regs and standards by his department ...

Arfa

Well, I had a guy round tonight. He says that he wouldn't do the outside
brickwork any other way than toothed, so that's a promising start.
Because the inside floor is a suspended type with a deep void
underneath, he said that if I went blockwork on the inside, he would
have to put a lintel in the floor to build up from, so he is going to
quote for both that option, and building an indoor stud faced in ply and
plasterboard so that there is a good fix available for the replacement
boiler I'm looking at having put on that wall. I guess he would have to
be careful where the studwork went though, such that there was a
'straight thru' path for the boiler flue. I'm expecting having prices
from him on Thursday, so I'll keep you posted ...

Arfa


Hmmm. Nothing back from that guy, so I contacted someone I've known for
years who I had lost touch with.

Remove existing door and frame. Exterior bricked in matching bricks and
toothed in. 140 bricks I think he said. Blockwork inside tied in to
existing. Plasterboard over blockwork. Plaster skim over that and
general making good. He reckons him and his chum for one day should get
all the bricking and blocking done, and inside should be dry enough to
get the plasterboard dot and dabbed on by the end of the day. Then just
his chum who is actually a plasterer back for another day to finish the
inside off. 865 quid ... That seemed like a lot to me. I knew he wasn't
the cheapest from other work we've had him do in the past, and I'm
pretty sure that he wouldn't be deliberately over-quoting the job to me,
so is this a reasonable estimate of the time required and the cost ? Am
I just way out of touch ?

Arfa

Arfa Daily Wrote in message:
On 25/09/2018 01:13, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 24/09/2018 01:46, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1 My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really
joined on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad,
but we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with
regs and standards by his department ...

Arfa

Well, I had a guy round tonight. He says that he wouldn't do the outside
brickwork any other way than toothed, so that's a promising start.
Because the inside floor is a suspended type with a deep void
underneath, he said that if I went blockwork on the inside, he would
have to put a lintel in the floor to build up from, so he is going to
quote for both that option, and building an indoor stud faced in ply and
plasterboard so that there is a good fix available for the replacement
boiler I'm looking at having put on that wall. I guess he would have to
be careful where the studwork went though, such that there was a
'straight thru' path for the boiler flue. I'm expecting having prices
from him on Thursday, so I'll keep you posted ...

Arfa


Hmmm. Nothing back from that guy, so I contacted someone I've known for
years who I had lost touch with.

Remove existing door and frame. Exterior bricked in matching bricks and
toothed in. 140 bricks I think he said. Blockwork inside tied in to
existing. Plasterboard over blockwork. Plaster skim over that and
general making good. He reckons him and his chum for one day should get
all the bricking and blocking done, and inside should be dry enough to
get the plasterboard dot and dabbed on by the end of the day. Then just
his chum who is actually a plasterer back for another day to finish the
inside off. 865 quid ... That seemed like a lot to me. I knew he wasn't
the cheapest from other work we've had him do in the past, and I'm
pretty sure that he wouldn't be deliberately over-quoting the job to me,
so is this a reasonable estimate of the time required and the cost ? Am
I just way out of touch ?

Arfa


So 3 man days at 200 each plus all materials? whereabouts in the
world are we? Darn sarf - fair enough. Oop narth - bit steep for
cash....
--
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On 28/09/2018 16:01, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 25/09/2018 01:13, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 24/09/2018 01:46, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1Â* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even
lined-up the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible
bodge and made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really
joined on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad,
but we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with
regs and standards by his department ...

Arfa

Well, I had a guy round tonight. He says that he wouldn't do the
outside brickwork any other way than toothed, so that's a promising
start. Because the inside floor is a suspended type with a deep void
underneath, he said that if I went blockwork on the inside, he would
have to put a lintel in the floor to build up from, so he is going to
quote for both that option, and building an indoor stud faced in ply
and plasterboard so that there is a good fix available for the
replacement boiler I'm looking at having put on that wall. I guess he
would have to be careful where the studwork went though, such that
there was a 'straight thru' path for the boiler flue. I'm expecting
having prices from him on Thursday, so I'll keep you posted ...

Arfa


Hmmm. Nothing back from that guy, so I contacted someone I've known for
years who I had lost touch with.

Remove existing door and frame. Exterior bricked in matching bricks and
toothed in. 140 bricks I think he said. Blockwork inside tied in to
existing. Plasterboard over blockwork. Plaster skim over that and
general making good. He reckons him and his chum for one day should get
all the bricking and blocking done, and inside should be dry enough to
get the plasterboard dot and dabbed on by the end of the day. Then just
his chum who is actually a plasterer back for another day to finish the
inside off. 865 quid ...Â* That seemed like a lot to me. I knew he wasn't
the cheapest from other work we've had him do in the past, and I'm
pretty sure that he wouldn't be deliberately over-quoting the job to me,
so is this a reasonable estimate of the time required and the cost ? Am
I just way out of touch ?

If you assume say 180 - 220 per man day, for at least 3 man days, plus
the materials, plus ordering them and getting them on site etc. Plus a
bit of contingency. Does not actually sound that unreasonable IMHO.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 28/09/2018 17:12, Jim K wrote:
Arfa Daily Wrote in message:
On 25/09/2018 01:13, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 24/09/2018 01:46, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1 My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really
joined on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad,
but we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with
regs and standards by his department ...

Arfa

Well, I had a guy round tonight. He says that he wouldn't do the outside
brickwork any other way than toothed, so that's a promising start.
Because the inside floor is a suspended type with a deep void
underneath, he said that if I went blockwork on the inside, he would
have to put a lintel in the floor to build up from, so he is going to
quote for both that option, and building an indoor stud faced in ply and
plasterboard so that there is a good fix available for the replacement
boiler I'm looking at having put on that wall. I guess he would have to
be careful where the studwork went though, such that there was a
'straight thru' path for the boiler flue. I'm expecting having prices
from him on Thursday, so I'll keep you posted ...

Arfa


Hmmm. Nothing back from that guy, so I contacted someone I've known for
years who I had lost touch with.

Remove existing door and frame. Exterior bricked in matching bricks and
toothed in. 140 bricks I think he said. Blockwork inside tied in to
existing. Plasterboard over blockwork. Plaster skim over that and
general making good. He reckons him and his chum for one day should get
all the bricking and blocking done, and inside should be dry enough to
get the plasterboard dot and dabbed on by the end of the day. Then just
his chum who is actually a plasterer back for another day to finish the
inside off. 865 quid ... That seemed like a lot to me. I knew he wasn't
the cheapest from other work we've had him do in the past, and I'm
pretty sure that he wouldn't be deliberately over-quoting the job to me,
so is this a reasonable estimate of the time required and the cost ? Am
I just way out of touch ?

Arfa


So 3 man days at 200 each plus all materials? whereabouts in the
world are we? Darn sarf - fair enough. Oop narth - bit steep for
cash....


Neither oop narth nor darn sarth. Smack in da miggle neery nuff ...

That's what I figured. Bricks £1 plus each in that sort of quantity.
Blocks a quid or so each. Board, sundries. I reckoned he'd arrived at
£265 materials and as you say 3 days at a coupla hundred a pop so 600,
working out at 25 quid an hour by my reckoning. I've no idea if that's
the going rate now. It's certainly more than I'm able to charge for my
very skilled services, but then again, less than most garages.

Needless to say, the missus choked on her diet coke and said it's not
gonna happen ... :-/ Thing is they could actually do it next week, but
not after for a few weeks. I know I would get a first rate job done with
this guy as well, but nearly 900 quid is a lot to find. If this sort of
building work was something that I felt comfortable with I'd give it a
go, but it's not. I can do all the rest - all the cabinetry, floor,
tiling, plumbing, decorating and so on, but the building work ? Not really.

I'm depressed now ... :-(

Arfa

On Friday, 28 September 2018 19:53:04 UTC+1, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 28/09/2018 17:12, Jim K wrote:
Arfa Daily Wrote in message:
On 25/09/2018 01:13, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 24/09/2018 01:46, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1 My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really
joined on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad,
but we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with
regs and standards by his department ...

Arfa

Well, I had a guy round tonight. He says that he wouldn't do the outside
brickwork any other way than toothed, so that's a promising start.
Because the inside floor is a suspended type with a deep void
underneath, he said that if I went blockwork on the inside, he would
have to put a lintel in the floor to build up from, so he is going to
quote for both that option, and building an indoor stud faced in ply and
plasterboard so that there is a good fix available for the replacement
boiler I'm looking at having put on that wall. I guess he would have to
be careful where the studwork went though, such that there was a
'straight thru' path for the boiler flue. I'm expecting having prices
from him on Thursday, so I'll keep you posted ...

Arfa


Hmmm. Nothing back from that guy, so I contacted someone I've known for
years who I had lost touch with.

Remove existing door and frame. Exterior bricked in matching bricks and
toothed in. 140 bricks I think he said. Blockwork inside tied in to
existing. Plasterboard over blockwork. Plaster skim over that and
general making good. He reckons him and his chum for one day should get
all the bricking and blocking done, and inside should be dry enough to
get the plasterboard dot and dabbed on by the end of the day. Then just
his chum who is actually a plasterer back for another day to finish the
inside off. 865 quid ... That seemed like a lot to me. I knew he wasn't
the cheapest from other work we've had him do in the past, and I'm
pretty sure that he wouldn't be deliberately over-quoting the job to me,
so is this a reasonable estimate of the time required and the cost ? Am
I just way out of touch ?

Arfa


So 3 man days at 200 each plus all materials? whereabouts in the
world are we? Darn sarf - fair enough. Oop narth - bit steep for
cash....


Neither oop narth nor darn sarth. Smack in da miggle neery nuff ...

That's what I figured. Bricks £1 plus each in that sort of quantity.
Blocks a quid or so each. Board, sundries. I reckoned he'd arrived at
£265 materials and as you say 3 days at a coupla hundred a pop so 600,
working out at 25 quid an hour by my reckoning. I've no idea if that's
the going rate now. It's certainly more than I'm able to charge for my
very skilled services, but then again, less than most garages.

Needless to say, the missus choked on her diet coke and said it's not
gonna happen ... :-/ Thing is they could actually do it next week, but
not after for a few weeks. I know I would get a first rate job done with
this guy as well, but nearly 900 quid is a lot to find. If this sort of
building work was something that I felt comfortable with I'd give it a
go, but it's not. I can do all the rest - all the cabinetry, floor,
tiling, plumbing, decorating and so on, but the building work ? Not really.

I'm depressed now ... :-(

Arfa

I'm wondering why you can't do it. I'd have to be incapable of getting up off the floor to get a pro in.

Just do it man. You'll learn another skill and be £700 better off.


NT

I'm depressed now ... :-(

Arfa

I'm wondering why you can't do it. I'd have to be incapable of getting up off the floor to get a pro in.

Just do it man. You'll learn another skill and be £700 better off.


NT


I know what you're saying and I am tempted. If it were something other
than an outside wall of the house - say a garden wall or something - I
might. But the last thing that I want to finish up with is a half-arsed
looking job on an outside wall, and a poor plaster job on the inside. In
my experience, good bricky-ing to match existing is a long-learned
skill, and plastering is a black art. I've done a fair bit of looking
around on the 'net in the last few hours, and remarkably quite a few
people have asked pretty much the identical question, and the concensus
seems to be 2-3 man days for the job. So if that's what it is going to
take a pro to do a decent job, then there's no way that I am going to be
able to do it in anything like that. Plus with it being an opening to
the outside, it's got to be dismantled and at least bricked back up
within a day to remain secure. The guy that came today reckoned that it
was a day's work for two of them to get it basically back to secure.

On top of all that, I find now that with getting older, the mind is
willing, but the body is weak. Whereas a few years ago, I would
cheerfully start a job at 7am and work thru until 10pm, I just can't do
it any more.

So I think that for me, on this particular job, it's got to be done by
someone that knows what they are doing and can just get on with it. If
what I've been quoted seems to fall within the going rates, then fair
enough. We'll either just have to live with it, or not bother at all and
move to a design plan 'B' ...

I'm off to the lottery website now to see if I've won ... d;-)

Arfa

On Saturday, 29 September 2018 01:40:25 UTC+1, Arfa Daily wrote:
I'm depressed now ... :-(

Arfa

I'm wondering why you can't do it. I'd have to be incapable of getting up off the floor to get a pro in.

Just do it man. You'll learn another skill and be £700 better off.


NT


I know what you're saying and I am tempted. If it were something other
than an outside wall of the house - say a garden wall or something - I
might. But the last thing that I want to finish up with is a half-arsed
looking job on an outside wall, and a poor plaster job on the inside. In
my experience, good bricky-ing to match existing is a long-learned
skill, and plastering is a black art. I've done a fair bit of looking
around on the 'net in the last few hours, and remarkably quite a few
people have asked pretty much the identical question, and the concensus
seems to be 2-3 man days for the job. So if that's what it is going to
take a pro to do a decent job, then there's no way that I am going to be
able to do it in anything like that. Plus with it being an opening to
the outside, it's got to be dismantled and at least bricked back up
within a day to remain secure. The guy that came today reckoned that it
was a day's work for two of them to get it basically back to secure.

On top of all that, I find now that with getting older, the mind is
willing, but the body is weak. Whereas a few years ago, I would
cheerfully start a job at 7am and work thru until 10pm, I just can't do
it any more.

So I think that for me, on this particular job, it's got to be done by
someone that knows what they are doing and can just get on with it. If
what I've been quoted seems to fall within the going rates, then fair
enough. We'll either just have to live with it, or not bother at all and
move to a design plan 'B' ...

I'm off to the lottery website now to see if I've won ... d;-)

Arfa

Brickwork is quite doable. The 2 key things are aligning the bricks right, use a spirit level all round, and not splatting mortar on the faces.

Security can be done by boarding it up during work.

An hour a day or 2 would still get it done.

Plastering... plasterboard is as flat as it gets, you can always dot & dab that. For wet plastering you could do all bar the final skim coat.


NT

In article ,
wrote:
Brickwork is quite doable. The 2 key things are aligning the bricks
right, use a spirit level all round, and not splatting mortar on the
faces.

I'd say it rather easier to brick up an opening than to build say a wall
from scratch. Based on my having bricked up a window opening - and on a
solid 9" wall so a bit more tricky. Very pleased with the result. Took as
much time to find some decent secondhand London stocks to match. Went
round several yards with a sample before finding them. I did have to
re-point the entire wall to get a decent match there, though.

--
*Your kid may be an honours student, but you're still an idiot.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 29/09/2018 13:39, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
wrote:
Brickwork is quite doable. The 2 key things are aligning the bricks
right, use a spirit level all round, and not splatting mortar on the
faces.

I'd say it rather easier to brick up an opening than to build say a wall
from scratch. Based on my having bricked up a window opening - and on a
solid 9" wall so a bit more tricky. Very pleased with the result. Took as
much time to find some decent secondhand London stocks to match. Went
round several yards with a sample before finding them. I did have to
re-point the entire wall to get a decent match there, though.



Hi Dave, long time no speak. Trust you are well ?

I don't know quite what it is about this job - although I think it
probably says more about me than the work itself - but for some reason I
just can't get behind myself to give it a go. Normally - or in the past,
normally - I would have thrown myself at any job in the trades with a
high degree of confidence in my ability to do at least as good a job as
a paid one, if taking a litle longer to get there. I'm still quite
confident with carpentry, plumbing, electrics, tiling and so on, but I
just can't seem to bring myself to get enthusiastic about this job
beyond making cups of tea for someone else ...

Maybe it's just a side effect of getting old - which sucks of course ...

:-/


Arfa

On 29/09/2018 02:39, wrote:
Brickwork is quite doable. The 2 key things are aligning the bricks right, use a spirit level all round, and not splatting mortar on the faces.

I tried once. Frost had eaten the top row on a low retaining wall in the
garden. I put a single row of engineering bricks along the top. I got
the wall pretty much level and in line - but the 1/4 inch wobble along
the top always annoyed me.

Andy

In article , Arfa Daily
scribeth thus
On 25/09/2018 01:13, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 24/09/2018 01:46, Arfa Daily wrote:
On 23/09/2018 21:36, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 22/09/2018 17:59, wrote:

+1* My son nearly bought an extended house. Whoever built the
extension hadn't toothed the original walls and hadn't even lined-up
the new and old brick courses. It looked like a terrible bodge and
made me worry what else might be bodged.

We looked at a house once, same thing - extension wasn't really
joined on, just adjacent.

I called the council to ask if it had PP. Doesn't need it they sad,
but we have no record from building control...

I walked away.

Andy


Mine has full planning and had multiple visits from the building
inspector during construction, and was signed off as complying with
regs and standards by his department ...

Arfa

Well, I had a guy round tonight. He says that he wouldn't do the outside
brickwork any other way than toothed, so that's a promising start.
Because the inside floor is a suspended type with a deep void
underneath, he said that if I went blockwork on the inside, he would
have to put a lintel in the floor to build up from, so he is going to
quote for both that option, and building an indoor stud faced in ply and
plasterboard so that there is a good fix available for the replacement
boiler I'm looking at having put on that wall. I guess he would have to
be careful where the studwork went though, such that there was a
'straight thru' path for the boiler flue. I'm expecting having prices
from him on Thursday, so I'll keep you posted ...

Arfa


Hmmm. Nothing back from that guy, so I contacted someone I've known for
years who I had lost touch with.

Remove existing door and frame. Exterior bricked in matching bricks and
toothed in. 140 bricks I think he said. Blockwork inside tied in to
existing. Plasterboard over blockwork. Plaster skim over that and
general making good. He reckons him and his chum for one day should get
all the bricking and blocking done, and inside should be dry enough to
get the plasterboard dot and dabbed on by the end of the day. Then just
his chum who is actually a plasterer back for another day to finish the
inside off. 865 quid ... That seemed like a lot to me. I knew he wasn't
the cheapest from other work we've had him do in the past, and I'm
pretty sure that he wouldn't be deliberately over-quoting the job to me,
so is this a reasonable estimate of the time required and the cost ? Am
I just way out of touch ?

Arfa


Very reasonable but a lot will depend on where you are in the UK!...
--
Tony Sayer

In article ,
Arfa Daily wrote:
I'd say it rather easier to brick up an opening than to build say a
wall from scratch. Based on my having bricked up a window opening -
and on a solid 9" wall so a bit more tricky. Very pleased with the
result. Took as much time to find some decent secondhand London stocks
to match. Went round several yards with a sample before finding them.
I did have to re-point the entire wall to get a decent match there,
though.



Hi Dave, long time no speak. Trust you are well ?

Can't complain. But I do. ;-) Hope you are well too?

I don't know quite what it is about this job - although I think it
probably says more about me than the work itself - but for some reason I
just can't get behind myself to give it a go. Normally - or in the past,
normally - I would have thrown myself at any job in the trades with a
high degree of confidence in my ability to do at least as good a job as
a paid one, if taking a litle longer to get there. I'm still quite
confident with carpentry, plumbing, electrics, tiling and so on, but I
just can't seem to bring myself to get enthusiastic about this job
beyond making cups of tea for someone else ...

Maybe it's just a side effect of getting old - which sucks of course ...

It definitely doesn't help, Arfa.

I'm always impressed by a good tradesman - and watching the speed and
accuracy of a good brickie is a pleasure. I know top end plastering is
beyond me - but decided to have a go with bricking up that window opening,
flushed with the success of having installed the new window in a different
place complete with new lintel which meant propping up the wall. And
having almost enough bricks from that to do the job. Couldn't really
expect anyone else to search for decent used ones to match, so having done
that decided to have a go. And actually rather enjoyed it.

--
*A dog's not just for Christmas, it's alright on a Friday night too*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 30/09/2018 21:48, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 29/09/2018 02:39, wrote:
Brickwork is quite doable. The 2 key things are aligning the bricks
right, use a spirit level all round, and not splatting mortar on the
faces.

I tried once. Frost had eaten the top row on a low retaining wall in the
garden. I put a single row of engineering bricks along the top. I got
the wall pretty much level and in line - but the 1/4 inch wobble along
the top always annoyed me.

Andy

And that's where the skill level comes in that I haven't got. In my
business, I see a lot of bodge jobs that 'have a go heroes' have
undertaken with only limited success, and with this being an outside
wall of a very plain and unforgiving nature, the last thing I want is
any job to the brickwork to stand out like a sore thumb, and if I come
to sell the house at some point in the future, for it to be perceived as
a less-than-professional job ...

Arfa

Very reasonable but a lot will depend on where you are in the UK!...



Per earlier when someone else asked the same thing, smack in de miggle
me duck ... :-)

Arfa

In article , Arfa Daily
scribeth thus


Very reasonable but a lot will depend on where you are in the UK!...



Per earlier when someone else asked the same thing, smack in de miggle
me duck ... :-)

Arfa

The problem around our way Cambridgeshire, is that its not paying for
the tradesman in question its getting the beggars to QUOTE in the first
place and then turn up;!..
--
Tony Sayer