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cr0ft

Plumbers Arms member
Plumber
Gas Engineer
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Just priced up a massive domestic installation, an eco build home. It did make me laugh as he was mentioning the spec he wanted when he was on about saving a bit of money plumbing it in plastic...

14KW Air source heat pump.
450L thermal store.
plumbed ufh up and downstairs with overboards upstairs.
first and second fixing all hot and cold pipework plus wastes/drainage.
Running water mains from old house to correct position in new house including trench digging.
Pumped circuit from solid fuel stove to thermal store including safety devices and metal header tank plus 2x heatsink towel rails.

Price? £36k inc. VAT supplied and fitted. That will be my biggest quote yet and I've priced it very high as I know the customer is going to need a lot of guiding. Am I hugely off the mark supplied and fitted? There's around £20k of materials in there I reckon and probably a lot of hand-holding of the 'self builders' to boot. Am doubting myself as I've never priced a pure plumbing job this big before.

The house is around 180 square metres over 2 floors and there are 15 separate underfloor heating zones off 2 manifolds.

It just seems like a very scary high price!!
 
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If that's what you have worked out. Then go with it.

Do you need it?
 
If thats what it worked out too. Always find that jobs over a certain size just eat your time and you end up less productive.

My main concern would be agreeing the payment schedule.

Hope you get it.
 
Ive just done a bathroom 3 week job two fellas 8k all in 3.5 materials 4.5 labour and mark up so 16k for a full hit isn't too Bad when you think about it
 
Wouldn't know whereto start. Well done for having the balls to take it on.
Hopefully it comes off and you make plenty from it.
How long are you expecting it to take.
2/3 men 1 month?
 
Just priced up a massive domestic installation, an eco build home. It did make me laugh as he was mentioning the spec he wanted when he was on about saving a bit of money plumbing it in plastic...

14KW Air source heat pump.
450L thermal store.
plumbed ufh up and downstairs with overboards upstairs.
first and second fixing all hot and cold pipework plus wastes/drainage.
Running water mains from old house to correct position in new house including trench digging.
Pumped circuit from solid fuel stove to thermal store including safety devices and metal header tank plus 2x heatsink towel rails.

Price? £36k inc. VAT supplied and fitted. That will be my biggest quote yet and I've priced it very high as I know the customer is going to need a lot of guiding. Am I hugely off the mark supplied and fitted? There's around £20k of materials in there I reckon and probably a lot of hand-holding of the 'self builders' to boot. Am doubting myself as I've never priced a pure plumbing job this big before.

The house is around 180 square metres over 2 floors and there are 15 separate underfloor heating zones off 2 manifolds.

It just seems like a very scary high price!!


I think you are about on the money with that ,just done house same sort of size but had rads instead of underfloor which came in about 36k plus vat jobs that size eat up your time as I found out the first one we priced as did not allow enough management time.

Good luck enjoy the stress !!!
 
Forgot to say set up payments every three to four weeks max very easy to have lots of materials on site .
 
I have taken on a few bigger jobs lately, and you do find you aren't as productive as normal. Easy to get distracted and also lots of little visits to get stuff sorted for other trades etc. One job similar recently is a big 5 bed 4 bath town house in London. Boiler, unvented, accumulator, couple underfloor zones, basement sump pump, designer rads, complete re-pipe from the road and all underground drainage etc. All floors on different heating zones, secondary returns etc etc. The total for all that not including the bathroom suites comes to about 45k. Its taken longer than expected as well. Spent ages testing certain legs of pipework so walls and floors can be closed before everything could be properly fitted. If the builder is a nightmare then add extra on, as not working in a sensible manner will cost you time.
 
What heat pump are you fitting Croft?

Are you getting someone in for sign off or is the customer not interested in RHI?

You know you can charge 5% on the heat pump install and associated gubbins, although it won't matter if he's a self builder who will claim it back regardless, just makes the price look a little more manageable.
 
My biggest was 40 k and i'm a one man band ,

It was never the labour side of things but the cost of materials once they start going in and the bills pile up you hope you have quoted accordingly.I remember pricing for commissioning valves saw them for £40.00 each but mis read spec and the ones they wanted were oven trop which are dear as hell , was about £600.00 out on just one type of valve.

So don't worry about it if you think your high as always something you missed
 
I've tried to over price all the materials by 10% on top of my usual margins to allow for bits I've missed/forgotten so I don't get too hacked off with that.

Got a team of 3 of us, 2 skilled and one apprentice. Should get it all done within 4 weeks I reckon as there's stacks to do. That's assuming we get it. I know if I got a bill that high I would never go ahead lol.
 
Refrigerant guy for the ASHP and HETAS guy is fitting the stove. We will be doing the rest of the plumbing/control wiring if we get it.
 
I reckon on 50/50 materials to labour, if one is out a lot I would go back and start again. Doesnt take much for labour costs to rocket on a build, as nothing ever goes to plan, trades get out of kilter and you spend time popping back n fwd. Plan for hassle, dont assume the rest of them will work to help you, profits can soon disappear on site, hence why builders always hit the trades working for them. I just saw a £500,000 contract go badly wrong when the builder used lots of local contractors they didnt know, along with suppliers they werent used towho didnt come up with the goods as required. Result poor job, I know the heating company hasnt been paid a penny to date, and the retention on the contract is unlikely to be paid to the builder in 6 months time, mainly as the likes of me are currently being paid to put right what should have occurred originally.
 
Always Leave with a smile on your face.
No smiley - no goody
 
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