cowsgomoo Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 (edited) the scaffolding quote we have for our loft conversion and full internal remodel starting next March has come to an eye-watering £17,000 (excluding 20%-VAT). It's an empty property at back to brick stages. Included in that quote is a temporary roof covering which I understand might be a large portion of the cost of it (I dont know exactly how much). Two of the other builders we interviewed said it a temporary roof covering shouldnt be needed, but the one we are working with (because he seems the most reliable) wants us to have it, but to be fair they're not the one paying for it. My question is - do we really need the temporary roof covering? I'd rather have a short-ish delay because of rain than pay this amount for a temporary roof covering. The scaffolding quote just seems extortionate (more than double our other builders quote for scaffolding, but includes the temporary roof) TIA Edited December 15, 2021 by cowsgomoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperPav Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 Being in the middle of enduring 6 months of a bungalow with the roof removed *without* a roof covering, I'd have happily spent another £10k just to have the place covered as the works have taken 3 times as long as planned, and the impact of not even having a dry area in the house has been very demoralising. If everything is going to run to time, and you don't mind the inside being literally ruined and soaked through, then maybe go with out it - it's not *needed* in the sense of all the external works can happen with or with out it. But if it's going to be months exposed, I would not want to go through what we're dealing with currently - it is the most depressing thing ever. Every time I drive past the two other houses in town getting work done with a roof cover, I am filled with envy. It also obviously depends on how big the overall project/spend is. If it's £17k out of £50k, that's very different to £17k out of £100k! Not sure I've helped here... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 Ask for a break down on cost and get another quote. A mate of mine in London pays about £5000 for a tin hat on his loft projects and says they are worth every penny. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsgomoo Posted December 15, 2021 Author Share Posted December 15, 2021 2 hours ago, SuperPav said: Being in the middle of enduring 6 months of a bungalow with the roof removed *without* a roof covering, I'd have happily spent another £10k just to have the place covered as the works have taken 3 times as long as planned, and the impact of not even having a dry area in the house has been very demoralising. thank you for sharing, sorry you had to deal with that. did you live in the bungalow during the works? we won't be living in our building. do you think if you didn't live there you would change your mind about the £10k... 1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said: Ask for a break down on cost and get another quote. A mate of mine in London pays about £5000 for a tin hat on his loft projects and says they are worth every penny. ok, ta, well worth asking if we can be getting more quotes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said: on his loft projects and says they are worth every penny. The difference being that in a normal loft conversion you are protecting the existing, finished house. No new-build houses have a complete enclosure to work within. Is yours effectively a new-build, or do you have to protect any sensitive internal finishes? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsgomoo Posted December 15, 2021 Author Share Posted December 15, 2021 It is not a new build, it is back to brick 1920s house which needs everything doing. there is nothing to protect except the bricks and ideally we would want to avoid LONG delays.... how long does it take for wet bricks to be ready for internal fit out after watertight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragsterDriver Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 3 hours ago, Russell griffiths said: Ask for a break down on cost and get another quote. A mate of mine in London pays about £5000 for a tin hat on his loft projects and says they are worth every penny. yeah I pay around £5k a pop, usually split the cost with the customer. Means I save a couple of hours a day sheeting/unsheeting and no rained off days. what is often an earner for the builder is that he’s already priced scaffold to gutter height and the tin hat is on top of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 3 hours ago, Russell griffiths said: Ask for a break down on cost and get another quote. A mate of mine in London pays about £5000 for a tin hat on his loft projects and says they are worth every penny. What's the duration i.e how long do you get for £5K? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperPav Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 16 hours ago, cowsgomoo said: thank you for sharing, sorry you had to deal with that. did you live in the bungalow during the works? we won't be living in our building. do you think if you didn't live there you would change your mind about the £10k... No, not living in it, but were before the works! it's only habitable for rats at the moment! Depending on your circumstances, the things that really bothered us with it all was: 1) We couldn't move *everything* offsite, so there was still stuff we had to leave on site (in storage boxes or wrapped up etc). No matter how much you try, it will get damaged and ruined 2) Literally nowhere to store stuff away from the elements when ordering in advance or if materials end up lying around longer than anticipated. 3) Egger board went down on first floor joists, even if laid 100% as per manufacturer spec with zero gaps in the glue etc and all edges sealed (which I suspect no paid labour will ever pay as much detail to as you would yourself), this ended up being exposed for months and months, way longer than the "design allowance" as we still haven't got a roof 4) Just the lack of an area where you can work in the dry (to cut timber/sheets) is annoying As per my previous post, these are all not insurmountable, and may not apply to your situation and on a smaller budget/build it may certainly not be worth spending extra on it, but if it were me doing it again, I would 100% want a cover, as I won't rely on builders/trades sticking to a schedule, and taking care of the building, materials and my stuff the same way that I would. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jimbo Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 I have done loads of refurbs, while living in the property. It is not great. Even things wrapped very well get ruined. Kitchen utensils are always filthy. T.V's end up knackered. Etc, etc. Roof off, tin hat on in my opinion. I was lucky once, when i took the side, and back off a roof One morning. Got a gable, and rear dormer built in the day. By the time it got dark my Mrs had been up on the dormer and felted it. By the end of day Two i had the front roof tiled back in.The new gable, and dormer covered in building paper, and the ridge tiles cemented back in. Still don't know how i managed it. (I was young and flexible then) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redoctober Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 What is the sequence of work to be carried out? It appears two builders are happy to continue without, so presumably whatever work they are going to undertake can be managed alongside the weather. Why is the favoured builder requiring a roof covering? Is it simply to ensure he can get your project done in a suitable time that suits his agenda? Is the roof structure the first thing to be tackled? If so, will that allow you to shorten the amount of time the"roof covering" is required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 22 minutes ago, Big Jimbo said: ... I have done loads of refurbs, while living in the property. It is not great. Even things wrapped very well get ruined. Kitchen utensils are always filthy. T.V's end up knackered. ... MODS, please delete the post referenced above. Reasons as follows Too much reality. Its Christmas Boastful claim of refub experience Inappropriate reference to domestic arrangements ( @Big Jimbo doesn't do the washing up) Innapropriate violence towards TVs. 'Nuff said ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 18 hours ago, cowsgomoo said: 1920s house which needs everything doing. there is nothing to protect except the bricks and ideally we would want to avoid LONG delays... That made me smile. I think we'd all LIKE to avoid long delays... it won't stop the rain though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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