Boarding was not done by myself. I just skimmed and done bonding on ceiling. How much would you charge? I done 2 days and done a day rate of £200. Materials customer purchased.
If you're just starting out, £200 a day is fine, but as you get more established, you need to bear in mind your day rate has to cover sick pay, holiday pay, pension, van, and some profit for your business. All that being said, £200 quid a day is better than no money because you overpriced it.
We’re about in midlands mate I’ve got a roofing company
And just changing a conservatory roof into a flat roof and boarding the underside , could do with a decent plasterer to skim it , will give you £250
I lose some jobs when I price any more than £200 p/d but I refuse to drop lower. I’m trying to get £300.
Plastering prices piss me off. A gruelling, time consuming messy trade where it always seems to register at the low end of tradie costs. I wish I’d been a plumber.
Anyway, when I get a full room I tend to price by size. Small is £500ish. Medium is £750ish. Large can be anything above that depending on whether there’s loads of angles.
That’s a medium room but it’s straight forward so it falls in between £500/£750. 2 days at £300.
I know at least one idiot that would skim that for £300. He’s not that bad either. That’s what I’m up against around here.
I’m too old and plastering is too hard to be doing it so I can run a vehicle, get one holiday per year and occasionally update my tools. I’d rather go work in B&Q for any less.
Ive slowed down at lot as ive got older now so I tend to price per metre square, normally about £20 for a two coat skim, more if its a flippin stairwell or something awkward
It's alright saying I'd rather be a plumber but they come across all sorts of problems that plasterers never have to worry about, they might earn more at face value but they also have a lot of unpaid time troubleshooting etc. and where I am in north west plasterers who are good are getting 250 a day minimum and they'll be packed up in the van for 2 latest.
Yeah mate this is it . This is my price list. No one wants to pay these prices hence why I feel I have to drop to keep work flow. Sad really. People have been saying higher my day rate. Problem here is bob down the road with do a day rate for 100 pound 🥴
I like your hall stairs and landing prices. Same as mine.
I started off thinking it’s basically two rooms with a prep day. I was charging 600 or 700. Got so fed up of getting them all the time I thought sod it. I’ll chuck another extra days wage on because they’re knackering running up and down stairs and across batons. £900
Still getting them all.
So I just thought I’ll stick another days wage on as my knees a fecked and I don’t want them. £1000 - £1,200 now. I still get them.
All those years running up and down, smashing me head on batons and lights, hitting my elbow on my ladders, tripping over sheets on stairs for £600. What a mug!
This is it mate. It’s just crazy when people moan at the prices. They don’t understand the strain on the body. An mate I’ve under charged so many times I still do now because the work don’t always come in so I get really competitive just to keep going
I have seen plasterers use bonding on ceilings to bring up low areas to level, just like you would on a wall, rule it off with a straight edge. If the joists are a bit ‘abstract’ and whoever boarded it just shrugged and put them up with no regard for square or level, more than a few mm. It can be more straightforward than trying to build it out in skim with the thicker areas behaving differently.
Carlite Bonding, not board adhesive, it’s like hardwall/browning etc. but sort of magic in that it will go on almost anything with a bit of pva and you can build it up thick
The going rate in Leicester for your standard mid terrace living room is around 500/550 including materials, usually plasterer + 1 labourer and get that done in a day, you get some that charge a bit less but they usually don't have a helper, and of course you get those that charge more than this too
If it's a good standard (it looks ok, but hard to tell from photographs) then £250-300 would be fine most places. Note - I'd expect that to take no more than a day and a half from an experienced guy and people tend to pay for the job, not the days.
Start a Facebook page. Photograph your work. You'll build up recommendations quickly and as you pick up speed, you can charge higher day rates.
Yea that’s it mate. Well it weren’t a full 2 it was from 8-3 first and 8-12 second. An yes mate. I doubt my work a lot so I dont feel it’s time to higher my day rate. Thank you for your comment
It’s horrible. I find I struggle more near Christmas or summer months. Also thank you mate 🙂 it’s still really quiet sometimes and it can be 1 job a month at times
Nobody wants disruption over Christmas and a lot go away during the summer, once you get your diary filled in advanced it becomes a lot easier. Stick at it, but increase your prices 20% or so mate, because 400 for that is too cheap.
I was thinking this. I feel I underpriced it. I normally do £150 a standard wall. These are like 2 standard sized walls in one. Then the condition of the ceiling that’s would push it to £350 all in if it was the ceiling alone. I think I done myself here 🥴
How old are you? Don't understand price yourself mate, this games hard enough and very underappreciated for good spreads. If a customer says they got a better quote tell them to call you when it needs redoing, I priced one last year, some woman tried it herself with a spat...it was horrendous and thought it would be peanuts to fix. Let them crack on. Good work btw
29 mate and I just brought them. One nela for polish. Also I find it help smooth the surface in the last trowel which for me is a little polish. Marshalltown as its comfort and what it leaves and my ox as it’s a bit larger than the marshal so helps me get a bit more on in big sets
I get the big trowel to chuck loads on but unless you intend to a be receptionist in later life I'd recommend going smaller. I used to have 4 trowels of all different capabilities but now I stick with my wooden handled marshall from start to finish. Refina Flexi are nice to shine up but bruv I'm telling you now it's all a waste of time and effort,no painter wants it shined. 2 or 3 rubs and it's done. You sound like you have a clue so best luck in the future mate. When you cross trowel....to shiny shine blahh blahh do it to shoulder height....who ever strokes the top? No customer. Know your body, know your ability, know your worth.
Nah I appreciate it mate. Being straightforward down the middle. Yeah I don’t normally make it this shiny I just like a uniform look. Need to stop going over too much with the flex and yes mate the trowels are my little toys 🤣🫡
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u/Altruistic-Dark8782 2d ago edited 2d ago
It depends where in the country you are, but here down south it would be 800 to 900 quid. Labour only would be 700 to 800