r/DIYUK • u/Quantum_Object • Jul 31 '24
Quote Mum was quoted £1,095 to have her small consevetory guttering replaced... so went BnQ instead...
Bought a £20 roll of gorilla wet patch tape stuff and saved £1,075.
For context: it's 15 years old but still solid as a rock, she found him on google (not checktrade) - turned up in a nice fancy van, well spoken, latest Iphone.. (Yes they are very nice phones lol) etc.. blah blah.
I said we just want the corners replaced, he had a look, started talking. - Can't even really remember what he was saying... thought he was quite reasonable and knew what he was talking about... yeah cool, drop us a qoute..
I was thinking, yeah not exactly gonna be cheap, i'd have thought ... 500 quid max.. I said I just wanted the corners doing as the rubber had gone and it was leaking and causing damp issues in the winter in one of the corners. - otherwise it was alright, I certainly didn't want the whole lot replaced as the rest was fine, nothing wrong with it.
Got quote today and my mum nearly had a fit. - it was a proper qoute, all broken down.. and he'd wanting to replace the whole lot including the downpipe.
Yeah fair enough people got kids to feed and a mrs to water but yeh I didn't say replace the whole thing...
Maybe I should have been clearer with what I wanted..oh well... the gorilla patch stuff works like a charm... didn't take long to put in place either... the super glue on a tape roll is a pretty cool invention.. lol
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u/Anonaware Jul 31 '24
Jesus, I paid £500 to replace all the guttering/down pipes on a 3 bed detached.
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u/seager Jul 31 '24
DIY or got a person in? We’ve got shit old stuff on ours with 30years of peeling paint I’d love to sort.
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u/Anonaware Jul 31 '24
Got someone in, that was for removal, labour and materials. Look on Screwfix to see how cheap UPVC guttering parts are.
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u/DistancePractical239 Aug 01 '24
Same here but it was 4 houses in 1 go, team of 12 guys easily. They were done in 1.5 days.
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u/Fantastic_Push6212 Aug 01 '24
Damn, that seems very cheap in the current climate. Was it this year?
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u/Anonaware Aug 01 '24
November ‘23 so not that long ago. I was happy with the quote but at the same time I wouldn’t call it very cheap. £150/200 on materials so £300 for a days work isn’t a bad earner really.
Cash in hand and from the same village so wouldn’t have had to price in travel/fuel.
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u/ClingerOn Jul 31 '24
You can do guttering yourself if it’s a replacement. Guttering isn’t hugely expensive and you don’t have to climb too high to do a conservatory.
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u/minibloke Aug 01 '24
The fact that he gave you a broken down quote suggests he’s not a chancer. More likely a valid business with overheads and possibly Vat registered. He probably quoted the whole thing as no one likes fixing others work, especially if there’s issues like damp that may come back and bite you a the arse. Replace it all and you can happily guarantee your work. Also to do a small repair job is uneconomical for a larger company. The travel time and collecting parts could take longer than the job. You then have to have another job for the guys to do which is more travel time and more admin/quoting. Far easier to have the guys on a job for a whole day. Sometimes it’s better to find a self employed handyman as they won’t have all the overheads. You just need to find a decent one! Although if they are decent, insured, professional and value themselves they won’t be particularly cheap either.
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u/Fantastic_Push6212 Aug 01 '24
Honestly, it doesn't seem that bad to me. I'd want a breakdown, but making someone's day worthwhile + materials is bloody expensive these days regardless! Especially the last year or so with cost of living.
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u/Scarboroughwarning Aug 01 '24
I get the awful feeling this wasn't even a "can't be arsed/please fuck off" quote.
He was just genuinely ripping her off.
I inspect houses and get landlords to fix their shit. Sometimes, I provide recommendations, sometimes I give more direct orders. For a recent one, I asked the landlord to ensure the gutters are clear. They had a quote to replace sofits, fascias, £1800.
Landlord was going to pay.... I had to slam the brakes on. I read my instructions back to her. I said "look, it had a ton of ivy growing all over the property, some was in the gutter. just clear it out. £100, absolute max
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u/JAYGEORDIE Jul 31 '24
Replace the seals and guttering is straight forward and quite cheap... You pay for labour. If you feel comfortable up a ladder and aslong as there no majour issues like water gatherin or lob sided gutters . It should be very straight forward.
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Jul 31 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Quantum_Object Jul 31 '24
Yeah trades really need to start being realistic with their qoutes, I get they have bills to pay but c'mon. I'd expect a quote like that for an actual house. - not for, basically a large green house with a couple of windows and door.
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u/Wrong-Living-3470 Aug 01 '24
Realistic, I find that funny as tradesman. My trade insurance costs alone are £3.5k, I run a van, have all the tools needed to do the job, give a guarantee. And my waste disposed of properly. I certainly wouldn’t have used tape, you get what you pay for.
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u/Quantum_Object Aug 01 '24
I know as a trade you got bills... but such a high price just kinda scares people off. - im all for paying reasonable prices of course. - get it, i really do.
But people literally cannot afford some of the prices being asked, that's the issue.. and it just drives people away and they DIY it themselves. - yes, it'll be a bodge job but it'll work for them.
the only job i'd get someone in for would be something major like a roof, or something structural or anything to do with gas and electricity or some plumbing jobs.
anything minor that can be fixed with patch tape or some other bodge job that doesn't affect anything of the above people just DIY it and live with it. - maybe once it actually physically fails they may ask a trade or if it's easy to fix like guttering they'd just bodge it or try and do a half decent job and maybe learn a new skill.
I dunno. but 1100 for the job my mum wanted was just too unrealistic and it put her off.
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u/Wrong-Living-3470 Aug 01 '24
That’s fair enough and well done with the repair. I was merely pointing out that the many trades are realistic with their cost, unfortunately we don’t do it for fun.
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u/TheCarrot007 Jul 31 '24
so went BnQ instead...
I usually go to B&Q browse for things and then go elsewhere where it is cheaper. Often amazon next day. (And that has held true ecven when they had a 15% off event, of which is was go to argos to also get the same thing instantly).
With their poor stock (screw boxes taped up with many missing no reduction, no restock becuase something else is on the shelf), I have no idea how they are still in business.
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u/Result_Necessary Jul 31 '24
I do the same but with screwfix or Toolstation sometimes. But there are times where it is just more convenient to go there hold the items in your hand measure them up yourself and go buy it there and then.
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u/TheCarrot007 Jul 31 '24
Yeah.
I guess it depends on what you want. I often want plumbing bits. And despite saying they have them in the B&Q range tends to be missing bits or completely the wrong thing. (and having the same parent company screwfix has the same for cheaper (possibly!)).
Need something screwfiz does not do (large items, wood, etc, it's probably easyier there as the local wood merchants is quite a way away).
Though in that case I tend to order for collection and let someone lese find it in the mess of stock that is the shop! (For random example. I have a pond in this house. I wanted a cheap bridge. So scaffolding plank. Pick up! (replaced it with bridge bought during covid which is muich nicer but it was a need to get to the other side for maintenance! Also yes sounds poshj but no, just house sellers with a pond where the poor fish had no room because they let a lilly just grow. The roots were pretty much a coffin sized. Had to buy wellies and a suitable saw and get in there to fix (I kept 4/5 and potted them (as would have been normal to keep them to a size (still have to repot occasiaonally) Have 7 goldfish in there. They grow large and seem fine. Needs a £100 filter every 3 or so years, died this year with lack of weater resitance to the UVB buld, took a wekk to cstart being less green, fish are fine in such just hard to see))
Well I blathered on, sorry, just story!
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u/Fantastic_Push6212 Aug 01 '24
I've ordered for collection and they still don't have it! I agree though, B and Q for something I need to see, Screwfix for most things. Often end up going to Screwfix after cos there's always something they don't have in stock at B and Q, even if they think they do.
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u/FatDad66 Jul 31 '24
Fun fact. Screwfix and B&Q are part of the same group of companies.
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u/Fantastic_Push6212 Aug 01 '24
Which is weird, because Screwfix has their stock system bloody perfected, and B and Q doesn't have a clue what they have and where.
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u/morgano Jul 31 '24
Here’s an unethical life hack. I often look in B&Q, Google and see it cheaper on Amazon. If I’m in B&Q it’s normally because I need something ASAP and I need to view it. Buy it in B&Q and then order it on Amazon. Take the Amazon delivery to B&Q next time you’re there (3 months return window) and get it refunded. Best of both worlds.
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u/Glydyr Aug 01 '24
Im the opposite, i normally browse cheaper stuff online and then go to b&q, wickes and pay more because i often decide to do something and want to do it NOW 🤣
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Jul 31 '24
Thanks for this - will save me money on my leaving conservatory gutter!!! You're a star!!!
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u/Quantum_Object Jul 31 '24
I can't say for sure it's a perm fix cause I wouldn't expect it to be a perm fix for 20 quid but it's gonna piss it down tomorrow and my mum just wanted the leaks sorted.. it should survive for at least the winter or maybe a year otr two but she'll need them replacing eventually. - but it seems like it's really good stuff.
the superglue is bril.. it's expensive stuff but you know, she doesn't have a spare grand laying around but i think it's ridiculous quote tbh.
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u/ibumrambo Jul 31 '24
The corners are probably cheaper than the glue for when it does go. They click into place, I had the same ridiculous kind of quote, it cost me a fraction of the cost and about an hour's work.
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u/Quantum_Object Jul 31 '24
my mum said she can't be arsed to 'fuck around with stuff' and just got the patch tape.
her money, not mine, I did say you can just replaced the rubber bits but she said the BnQ staff are useless and would rather be in and out and '20 quid will save me 5 mins looking for someone and trying to ask them and then find out they knew fuck all anyway'
lmao.
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u/RedPlasticDog Jul 31 '24
Fixed our conservatory gutter joints with gorilla tape too. Couple of years on and it’s been fine.
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u/surfrider0007 Jul 31 '24
You can buy new clips and seals for the corner joints, that would be the best thing to do. New clips are best as the UV in sunlight tends to break them down and they lose their springiness over time, or just clean it and lubricate with silicone grease. Job done 👍🏽
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u/Quantum_Object Jul 31 '24
That's pretty much what has happened. - she'll have me up there doing that this time next year when the patch stuff fails lol
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u/MrJoell Jul 31 '24
Similar issue with the corners on my conservatory where the rubber seals had failed. Finally found a use for that left over tube of sealant I had lying around.
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u/Quantum_Object Jul 31 '24
I guess replacing the entire guttering would make sense for a buisness as it's how they will make there money.. but 1100 quid?
it's just a small conservatory.. like 3x3 with a roof on it... that's never in a million years gonna cost 1100 quid to replace.. it's just 3 bits of 3 meter guttering with 2 joints and a downpipe.. i'm not bothered cause he's lost a sale and I've paid 20 quid.
same as last year...mum was quoted a grand to replace the lawn, I replaced the lawn with a 5 quid box of grass seed.
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u/MrJoell Aug 01 '24
Both cost and cowboys have lead me to do more & more of it myself. We’ll be replacing our conservatory over the next few years with an extension so a permanent fix wasn’t needed, if we weren’t I’d have just replaced the guttering and bypassed any tradesmen
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u/Birdie0235 Aug 01 '24
This is why it’s important to get multiple quotes from reputable tradesmen. Too many chancers out there.
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u/Correct-Junket-1346 Aug 01 '24
I've seen some absolutely insane prices for guttering, I don't understand how the markup goes so insane, guttering is cheap.
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u/complicatedsnail Aug 01 '24
Woah! Last year I paid £800 to have a roughly 6m x 1.5m flat fibreglass roof installed with guttering around half of it with a downpipe.
Sod 1k just for guttering
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u/nadiestar Aug 01 '24
Can you link what you bought my guttering is leaking in one place and causing my patio to go green in one patch. Doesn’t help with the rain we’ve had.
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Aug 01 '24
I was recently quoted £10k for garage roof replacement. I wouldn’t mind if I could guarantee good high standard work at the end..
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u/spiralphenomena Aug 04 '24
If it’s a fibre glass roof it’s fair enough I suppose, it’s a nasty job to do, still about twice what I’d expect though. Definitely DIYable with enough YouTube though.
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Aug 04 '24
Nope not fibre glass, just greedy. I’m disabled. I would have done it myself but cannot anymore. My uncles a roofer but had his van and tools stolen so got a leaky garage for the foreseeable future.
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u/Jonomeus Aug 01 '24
That gorilla tape is incredible. Half my guttering is held together with it… and parts of my roof
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u/DreamsAroundTheWorld Aug 01 '24
I was quoted £1200 to replace 2 roof slates that they felt due to heavy wind next to the edge of the roof
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u/Ed_Carron Aug 01 '24
had a similar thing with gutters: they were blocked with leafs etc, so found a guttering company on a check a trader. Guy came round and starts going off about how the guy who fitted them must have a cowboy stuff's on backwards, it's the wrong size for a roof this big, and on and on. Tells me I need to get the whole thing redone. After he leaves I think "fuck this" lean out of a window with a stick and unblock it myself.
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u/Rinsa91 Jul 31 '24
Fucking chancers 1100 for half a day's work 🤣
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u/whiskitforabiscuit Aug 01 '24
Had the same problem with a fence… £1500 for 4 hours of work & they drove off in their Tesla. While that was almost a months wages.
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u/Quantum_Object Jul 31 '24
lmao. it's literally 3 bits of 3 meter guttering, 2 joints and a single downpipe, they be in and out in a couple of hours. joke of a qoute. lol
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u/Burbblebum Jul 31 '24
You could just replace the seals? They're not expensive or difficult to fit.
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u/Necessary_Reality_50 Aug 01 '24
I mean I save hundreds of pounds most weeks by doing DIY. Mind boggles at people who pay for someone to do basic maintenance on their house.
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u/mrpandypoo Jul 31 '24
I honestly read this and thought you said you were 15 years old, I was like “wow this is a really fkin confident school kid” 😂