Is it reasonable?

S

Sybarite

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 Dec 2002
Messages
27,783
Location
France
Visit site
Just had a quote to replace 2 plexiglass windows (on 30' boat) and interior wood lining. £1975 (equivalent) including 40 hours work.

Saw a Flying 15 for sale at the same price.

What do you think?

John
 
Is that including VAT?

I had the main window replaced in the cabin, about 2' long (29' boat) by the yard as an insurance job and it cost nearly £200. Mind you that was in 1989, but 40 hours, nearly a whole man-week, to replace a pair of windows? That's a lot of tea breaks you're paying for; 40 hours at £25/hour = £1000.
Allowing for inflation since 1989 £975 for two windows and some wood lining, at boatyard prices, sounds about right though.
 
Re: Is that including VAT?

Well I don't know what the cost of your parts and materals are, but it doesn't seem like you're paying anything like top rate for labour.
 
Re: Is that including VAT?

Someone is taking the mickey here.... thats outrageous!

Besides, I don't think a Flying Fifteen would fill the hole left by the removed window very neatly..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously, thats an awful lot of money....... I've been looking recently at replacement windows, and they are generally around £200 each.... so at 40 hrs thats £40 per hour.....
 
The price includes VAT @ 19.6%. Labour is £30 an hour including VAT £1195 : plexi = £450 Elm plywood £133 screws, sikaflex etc the rest.

John
 
[ QUOTE ]
The price includes VAT @ 19.6%. Labour is £30 an hour including VAT £1195 : plexi = £450 Elm plywood £133 screws, sikaflex etc the rest.

John

[/ QUOTE ]

It might be a scandal, amybe not as skilled trades seem to be dying out in modern Britain, but £30 per hour is a good rate I'm afraid.
 
I don't think £30/h is a scandal - seems very reasonable to me.

Ask yourself how much you need to charge your time out at - bearing in mind you may only be gainfully employed 30% of the time.

Magic
 
Certainly if you compare that to the rates being charged by plumbers, chippys, sparkys and the like, to work on your home, £30p/hr is very reasonable. I use the phrase 'it may be a scandal' on the basis that it may be but it may not. Personally I think we pay far too much for all sorts of these things but it's a free market... it's the free market that enables most yachtys to have a boat in the first place.
 
I dont think that the hourly rate is neccessary a scandal, even at £40/hr, I would be more concerned that 40 hours is quite a lot of time.... thats pretty much a full working week.....

I know that windows can be tricky, but that seems a lot of hours....
 
Last year I replaced all 8 aluminium windows in my Trintella 29. There is a wooden lining on the inside but it was only screwed on so easy to remove to get at the bolts (except there were non - they had just been screwed into the fiberglass!).

I got quotes from quite a few manufacturers (as I needed the windows made uing the originals as patterns) and by far the cheapest was Crouch Marine Window Co Ltd, Unit 6, Springfield Industrial Estate, Springfield Rd., Burnham on Crouch, Essex. CM0 8TE. Tel 01621 782 664. I even got a reference from Jeremy Rodgers co. as they make the windows for Contessa 32's now.

Took a few weeks from order to delivery but well worth it. Took 1 day with my dad helping to fit all 8 windows - just needed to re-drill a few holes and seat in with silicone sealant then screw wood lining on again. 2 man job though.

Cost of all 8 windows was £861 inc vat & carriage.

6mm safety glass - not sure if that makes them cheaper or not.

Hope that helps.
 
Slow workers?

That was my conclusion. I resealed one of the same windows I mentioned above, removed, cleaned, sikaflexed and replaced in about half a day. A professional would hardly take longer, it must be the wood lining that's the tricksy bit. Still, you get what you pay for and I'm not sure I'd always go for the cheapest quote for a cosmetic job.
 
John

Why do they need replacing? If they are just crazed it is usually only a surface and cosmetic thing rather than structural so removing and resealing might be all you need do, and that only if there is a leak. That way you could get the Flying 15 to moor off your new house!

I suspect their quote is for 2 people working (well one working the other holding the screws from the other side and making the coffee). The cost of the Plexiglass seems a tad high for just 2 windows and I would certainly ask them for the rest of the sheet of elm ply that they didn't use but charged for. Presumably they would need to varnish the wood too afterwards, so a return trip for a 2nd/3rd coat would add time. The actual charge per hour itself is reasonable especially for marine labour.

Robin
 
[ QUOTE ]
What is 6mm safety glass please? Is it toughened or laminated?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe it's two layers of glass either side of a plastic film.
 
Starboard window is cracked from top to bottom and water ingress has caused ply lining to delaminate. The crazing I'm afraid may also make the windows brittle.

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top