Question for people who remember the 90s crash

[King Penda]

1 minute ago, SpectrumFX said:

Liverpool was blessed with the pathfinder bulldozers.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/27/liverpool-rotting-housing-renewal-pathfinder

 

 

ive found figures for 16,000 nation wide.i suspect a lot more got bulldozed

[One percent]

3 minutes ago, stokiescum said:

ive found figures for 16,000 nation wide.i suspect a lot more got bulldozed

They have always done this. “Slum clearance” in the 50s, 60s, early 70s. Ripped the heart out of my home town and levelled some very old buildings. 

[SpectrumFX]

7 minutes ago, stokiescum said:

ive found figures for 16,000 nation wide.i suspect a lot more got bulldozed

And a load fell derelict waiting for the bulldozer.

https://moneyweek.com/3526/how-john-prescott-wasted-22bn/

The final evidence of the stupidity of the scheme was released last week when the National Audit Office published a report saying that it was “not possible to identify a causal link” between the Pathfinder programme and changes in the local property markets. Prices have gone up, but that’s been the case across the entire country. So the £2.2bn project has achieved no visible results. And yet the Government has just assigned a further £1bn to the Pathfinder scheme.

In any case, it’s almost impossible to work out exactly what the Government was hoping to achieve anyway. The idea that improving houses in isolation and driving up the prices can somehow regenerate areas bereft of jobs and decent infrastructure is hopelessly naive. Even estate agents know that the key to finding a decent home is ‘location, location, location’.

So we are left with a baffling policy that has led to 10,200 houses being demolished, 1,000 built and 37,000 fell derelict awaiting the bulldozer. And for what? Because the Government was horrified that houses were selling for “as little as £5,000”.

[King Penda]

2 minutes ago, One percent said:

They have always done this. “Slum clearance” in the 50s, 60s, early 70s. Ripped the heart out of my home town and levelled some very old buildings. 

but did they wait 20 years then to replace them,theres still empty plots of land all around hanley where terraces once stood.i thought at the time they did it under the ruse of the local council geting prime land in order to expand the city center

[One percent]

1 minute ago, stokiescum said:

but did they wait 20 years then to replace them,theres still empty plots of land all around hanley where terraces once stood.i thought at the time they did it under the ruse of the local council geting prime land in order to expand the city center

Much of it is now a car park. Some of it was replaced but not much. 

[maffo]

Trades for £150 a day? Maybe back when that house last sold (96)!!

[spunko]

Trades can still be had for £150 a day in the SE still, but the going rate seems to be £180 - £200 mostly. Electricians normally a bit more.

[Bobthebuilder]

44 minutes ago, maffo said:

Trades for £150 a day? Maybe back when that house last sold (96)!!

If its a house refurb with approx 30 days guaranteed work all materials supplied then yes £150. How many do you want? I know loads.

[SNACR]

7 hours ago, SpectrumFX said:

And a load fell derelict waiting for the bulldozer.

https://moneyweek.com/3526/how-john-prescott-wasted-22bn/

The final evidence of the stupidity of the scheme was released last week when the National Audit Office published a report saying that it was “not possible to identify a causal link” between the Pathfinder programme and changes in the local property markets. Prices have gone up, but that’s been the case across the entire country. So the £2.2bn project has achieved no visible results. And yet the Government has just assigned a further £1bn to the Pathfinder scheme.

In any case, it’s almost impossible to work out exactly what the Government was hoping to achieve anyway. The idea that improving houses in isolation and driving up the prices can somehow regenerate areas bereft of jobs and decent infrastructure is hopelessly naive. Even estate agents know that the key to finding a decent home is ‘location, location, location’.

So we are left with a baffling policy that has led to 10,200 houses being demolished, 1,000 built and 37,000 fell derelict awaiting the bulldozer. And for what? Because the Government was horrified that houses were selling for “as little as £5,000”.

I've always had my suspicions that government employment legislation's main aim may have been turning as many workers, as possible, into viable mortgage lending prospects rather than anything else.

[MrXxx]

10 hours ago, Bobthebuilder said:

If its a house refurb with approx 30 days guaranteed work all materials supplied then yes £150. How many do you want? I know loads.

Its interesting how wages in the trades really haven't change much...a relative is a builder and I can remember him telling me about 20 years ago that he wouldn't get out of bed for anything less than £150 a day!...maybe it's different for Sparks, but wages for 1st fixing trades really don't seem to have moved for years...that's why bookies and pubs have been having such a bad time! :-)

[spunko]

1 hour ago, MrXxx said:

Its interesting how wages in the trades really haven't change much...a relative is a builder and I can remember him telling me about 20 years ago that he wouldn't get out of bed for anything less than £150 a day!...maybe it's different for Sparks, but wages for 1st fixing trades really don't seem to have moved for years...that's why bookies and pubs have been having such a bad time! :-) 

The thing that has changed is that they'll try to bump that up by doing fixed price jobs, getting a day rate is not easy.

"I don't do day rates"

"Okay, but what is your day rate?"

They don't like saying.

[One percent]

7 minutes ago, spunko said:

The thing that has changed is that they'll try to bump that up by doing fixed price jobs, getting a day rate is not easy.

"I don't do day rates"

"Okay, but what is your day rate?"

They don't like saying.

Funny I have had the opposite. I want a fixed price but they will only give me an hourly rate. 

[spunko]

2 minutes ago, One percent said:

Funny I have had the opposite. I want a fixed price but they will only give me an hourly rate.  

Fixed price is a tough one, cos they can either over-estimate (which they obviously want to do) but if they under-estimate then they'll be short, so at least in my experience they don't like doing this. It might be because my house isn't "standard" so it's harder to estimate things - not sure.

[One percent]

1 minute ago, spunko said:

Fixed price is a tough one, cos they can either over-estimate (which they obviously want to do) but if they under-estimate then they'll be short, so at least in my experience they don't like doing this. It might be because my house isn't "standard" so it's harder to estimate things - not sure.

I can just see it running away if not a fixed price. “Sorry guv (sucks through teeth), we came across this widget thing.  Didn’t expect....  gonna cost....”

[spunko]

Just now, One percent said:

I can just see it running away if not a fixed price. “Sorry guv (sucks through teeth), we came across this widget thing.  Didn’t expect....  gonna cost....”

It might be because you're a woman and they often try it on, if anyone tries that with me I get them to explain it and pick apart things. That way they know not to bother in future. Half the time I don't know what I'm talking about I just research it online when they're not around

[One percent]

32 minutes ago, spunko said:

It might be because you're a woman and they often try it on, if anyone tries that with me I get them to explain it and pick apart things. That way they know not to bother in future. Half the time I don't know what I'm talking about I just research it online when they're not around

Lets see. They haven’t started yet....  

[maffo]

On 05/02/2019 at 21:14, Bobthebuilder said:

If its a house refurb with approx 30 days guaranteed work all materials supplied then yes £150. How many do you want? I know loads.

I think your prices are a bit off! 😳

[Bobthebuilder]

8 minutes ago, maffo said:

I think your prices are a bit off! 😳

That's expensive. I have been working with kitchen fitters for 20 years.

Usually the fitters only get 50% of price quoted.

B&Q for example, who no longer offer a fitting service would typically charge around £5000 for a fit, the fitters would get around £1500. Less materials, CIS, van, petrol, etc etc.

[Bobthebuilder]

35 minutes ago, maffo said:

I think your prices are a bit off! 😳

Let me give you an example.

The daily rate for a plumber on that quote is £350.The sub contract rate for fitting a combi boiler with British Gas is £350.

Watch the middlemen.

[MrXxx]

10 hours ago, maffo said:

I think your prices are a bit off! 😳

Are these pre or post Brexit rates?...and how loosely do your apply the terms? I.e Carpenter=did woodwork at school...:-)

[One percent]

9 hours ago, Bobthebuilder said:

Let me give you an example.

The daily rate for a plumber on that quote is £350.The sub contract rate for fitting a combi boiler with British Gas is £350.

Watch the middlemen.

I’m employing trades direct. The sparky and plumber are 25 quid an hour, the chippy 19. 

[Bobthebuilder]

1 hour ago, MrXxx said:

Are these pre or post Brexit rates?...and how loosely do your apply the terms? I.e Carpenter=did woodwork at school...:-)

Exactly, plumber? gas safe licence? or just some hillbilly with some pushfit fittings and no knowledge of open vent systems.

[One percent]

41 minutes ago, Bobthebuilder said:

Exactly, plumber? gas safe licence? or just some hillbilly with some pushfit fittings and no knowledge of open vent systems.

So, am I being treated fairly with the above prices?  (I think I am). 

[sleepwello'nights]

On ‎04‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 22:44, Agent ZigZag said:

For the South East Prime Central London Top spec fit out £150 - 200sqft with the upper end if a complete rip out and refurb is required.

 

Zones 3-4 for  typical london house at £50-75 - £100sqft range.

We rebuilt the bungalow my son brought into a two storey house, well a chalet bungalow really, but reroofed, so apart from a bit less blockwork and slightly less facing bricks or timber exterior cladding effectively added another floor. Total costs came in at £90 sq ft. That included a new kitchen with appliances, branded German stuff so not cheap, 3 bathrooms, under floor heating, new Vaillant combi boiler, all windows replaced with new double/triple glazed units, oak flooring to ground floor and new carpets for stairs and first floor. 

Sure we shopped around for materials and got a good deal on an ex display kitchen that we only needed to add a few additional cupboards to. The build included a new single garage as well.

I still reckon my £100 sq ft ball park figure is about right for a new build. The extra needed would be the ground work and concrete for foundations. Maybe bringing services in would involve a ridiculous figure I'm out of touch with.  

We had a small builder do the whole job and he brought in the trades as needed. I bet he didn't pay the day rates shown on the costing schedule shown earlier. Perhaps some might have been paid in cash. This was in the South East, so prices must be lower than London.

[sleepwello'nights]

55 minutes ago, One percent said:

So, am I being treated fairly with the above prices?  (I think I am). 

How big is the job?